


The Profiler and the Nurse: Book Two

by ahowell1993



Series: Spencer Reid/Clarissa Hotchner series [2]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Autistic Spencer Reid, Discussion of Abortion, Divorce, F/M, Hotch has two siblings, Mentions of Suicide, Minor Character Death, No Drug Addiction for Spencer, Out of Character Moments, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sean Hotchner is an ass, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 05:35:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 97
Words: 469,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15041885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahowell1993/pseuds/ahowell1993
Summary: Sequel to TP&N:BO. Now that Spencer's out of Hankel's clutches and his marriage to Clarissa Hotchner is no longer a secret, he has to deal with PTSD for the rest of his life while his family continues to grow during good and bad times. AU. Post Revelations to mid-season 5.  AU & eventual M/G and H/P pairing. Post Revelations to mid-season 5.





	1. The BAU Officially Meets Clarissa and Diana

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the first chapter of my sequel to Friends, Lovers, Husband and Wife, to Parents. So if you haven't read the prequel, please read it so you readers know who my OCs Clarissa, little Diana, and Lucy are.
> 
> This story starts on February 8th of 2007, and I'm going to have it that Spencer and Hotch will continue being on first name basis outside of work while being on last name basis when they're on duty.

Hotch, Gideon, JJ, Morgan, Emily, and Garcia were flying back to Quantico when Garcia looked at JJ.

"You alright, Peaches?" asked Garcia.

"I'm shocked that the reason why Spence never returned the crush I had on him was because he's been married for over four years while having a three year old daughter and another child on the way." said JJ.

Morgan looked at Emily, JJ, and Garcia.

"I tried setting him up, but he explained that he wasn't interested in dating since he wanted to get at a good place in his career." said Morgan before chuckling, "I met Clarissa a few times before Reid joined the BAU, and I tried flirting with her only for her to tell me that she's married and expecting her first child. I knew that their time overlapped at Yale, but when seeing them together earlier I was like Clarissa's definitely out of his league." said Morgan.

Hotch laughed causing the others to look at him.

"My sister's actually not out of Spencer's league." said Hotch.

"Why?" asked Morgan.

"Even though their personalities makes them polar opposites, Clarissa's always been a huge nerd when it came to science fiction while being an avid reader." said Hotch.

"So she's like a female Reid?" asked Morgan.

"She's not a genius like Spencer, but loved science while graduating as valedictorian." said Hotch.

"When did Clarissa introduce Spence to you?" asked JJ.

"I ended up meeting Spencer over 30 minutes after they met since Clarissa didn't want to leave him alone, and when I saw the glances they were giving each other I instantly knew that they would end up falling in love." said Hotch.

"How was he around you that day?" asked Morgan.

"On the day I met him he was a bit imitated of me, but I started asking him questions to help him get comfortable around me." said Hotch before smiling a bit, "When they became a couple, Spencer joined Haley, Sean, and I for Christmas and New Years. During that time I made sure to spend one on one time with him to get him more comfortable around me." said Hotch.

"At least you meeting him when he was 19 helped him since he was definitely comfortable around you on his first day at the BAU since he didn't even flinch when you rested your hand on his shoulder like I did." said Morgan.

"When it came to my baby sister dating, I'm glad that Spencer's the one that married her." said Hotch.

"Are you two going to be in trouble for revealing the secret?" asked Emily.

"When I alerted Strauss about Spencer being abducted, she told me that you guys can find out after we found Spencer since he will need all support he can get." said Hotch before smiling a bit, "Strauss always had a soft spot for Spencer since she met him when he spent the first summer after his adopted parents deaths with his godparents so he can be close to Clarissa." said Hotch.

"So are you still going to be calling Reid by his last name during cases?" asked Morgan.

"I'm still going to be calling my brother-in-law Reid during work, but when we're not working Spencer and I will be on first name basis." said Hotch.

"Do you have a copy of Diana's first picture?" asked Garcia.

Hotch opened up his wallet and showed his teammates his first picture of Diana before grabbing a recent family portrait of the Reid family.

"Diana was born on December 21st of 2003 when Spencer and Clarissa were both 22 years old, and luckily Clarissa and Diana got out of the hospital the day before Christmas Eve." said Hotch.

"Look at that hair." said Garcia as she took in the sight of the curly brown hair while thinking back to seeing Diana with long curly brown hair while flashing back to Jack's first trip to the BAU, "Reid's comment about baldness and wrinkles when you and Haley brought Jack to work for the first time, was he teasing you two about your niece being born with a full head of hair?" asked Garcia.

"He was, and after the case when Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana came over for our weekly post case dinner Haley put him on diaper duty for that comment about the baldness and wrinkles while calling her Mrs. Hotchner." said Hotch causing laughter.

JJ looked at the picture of Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana together and noticed how happy the family of three looked together.

"What's Diana like?" asked JJ.

"Other than being a perfect mixture of her parents when it comes to her looks, she's definitely a genius like Spencer while having Clarissa's outgoing personality." said Hotch.

"Does Diana have the Hotchner glare down?" asked Morgan.

"She mastered the glare around 16-months-old." said Hotch proudly.

Everyone laughed at the thought about a three-year-old glaring at her daddy like her uncle.

"Seems like she got the best from both Reid and Clarissa." said Morgan.

"She sure did, and Diana's excited about meeting her baby brother or sister in August." said Hotch.

xxxxx

Five days later Clarissa helped her tired husband get into his wheelchair when there was a knock on the open door causing Spencer to see Detective Farraday.

"Well this is a surprise Detective." said Spencer.

"When I asked Agent Hotchner if I could come visit you, he asked me if I could take you to the airport since your getting discharged." said Detective Farraday before seeing two women and a little girl, "I didn't know that you have a wife and daughter." said Detective Farraday.

Spencer introduced Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy to Detective Farraday before Spencer looked at his daughter.

"Want to ride on my lap?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy." grinned Diana as she climbed onto her daddy's lap.

Spencer wrapped an arm around his little girl before taking hold of one of Clarissa's hands.

"Let me help you guys with your bags." said Detective Farraday.

"Thank you." said Lucy.

A minute later a nurse was pushing Spencer out of his hospital room while Detective Farraday and Lucy carried Spencer's, Clarissa's, Diana's, Lucy's bags while Clarissa carried her husband's crutches with her free hand.

xxxxxx

A few hours later Clarissa looked at her husband as she helped her husband get settled into bed.

"I'll wake you up when your having a nightmare." said Clarissa as she fluffed her husband's pillows.

"OK." said Spencer before looking at his pristine white cast, "I'm thinking about letting Diana use this cast as a canvas tomorrow." said Spencer.

"Before you let our daughter draw on your cast, let me sign the cast." said Clarissa as she quickly grabbed a sharpie and wrote on it, "Get well soon my personal willow tree, love Clarissa Reid." said Clarissa.

"Thank you." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "I'm sorry that I put so much stress on you this past week." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"With what happened to you will help you remember never to split up with your partner again, and I will always be by your side while you combat PTSD." said Clarissa.

"I'm thinking about attending meetings to help combat the possible cravings for Dilaudid." said Spencer.

"I was already going to recommend that you attend a meeting." said Clarissa.

"Even though I was hoping that Diana could be here tonight, I'm glad that Aaron and Haley insisted that we have a child free night tonight." said Spencer.

"We're going to have some rough nights ahead of us while your working on battling PTSD." said Clarissa before yawning, "We should get some sleep." said Clarissa.

"We should." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Before you fall asleep you should take your antibiotics for your head wound." said Clarissa as she hurried off to the bathroom where she grabbed two pill bottles, "Even though the antibiotics are a must, are you willing to take ibuprofen for the pain you must be dealing with?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer looked at the medication that Dr. Miller prescribed for him with a wary look on his face.

"Ibuprofen isn't a narcotic so I'm willing to take it for my broken foot." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Clarissa was singing her husband to sleep before she fell asleep.

xxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer slowly swung himself into the kitchen with Clarissa by his side to see Lucy putting breakfast onto the kitchen island.

"How did you sleep?" asked Lucy.

Spencer got himself settled onto a stool while Clarissa leaned his crutches against the counter.

"Clara had to wake me up from nightmares a few times." said Spencer.

"I know how PTSD can affect people." said Lucy.

"Have you ever dealt with a traumatic experience in the field?" asked Spencer.

"I was shot in a shoot out, and with the support of my husband, I was able to physically and mentally heal to return to work." said Lucy.

"What about returning to work?" asked Spencer.

"I dealt with severe PTSD when I returned to work when it came to flashbacks and loud noises that sounded like a gun shot bothered me, but eventually I was able to return to my old self." said Lucy before looking at Spencer, "When you return to work in six weeks, you will be dealing with  
PTSD." said Lucy.

"I know." said Spencer before his stomach growled.

"I made some of your favorites so I can help you gain back the weight you lost." said Lucy.

"Thank you." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "Do you know when I start therapy?" asked Spencer.

"Aaron said that you'll be seeing Dr. Merrill at Quantico tomorrow since its been decided that you deserve a day to settle in at home." said Clarissa.

"She already knows about you." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "Happy Valentines Day, love." said Spencer.

Clarissa leaned forward and kissed her husband.

"Happy Valentines Day." said Clarissa.

"I was going to take you out for dinner and dancing tonight, but now those plans are ruined since I can't get around without crutches." said Spencer.

"We can think of something else to do." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxx

Later on that afternoon Diana ran into the house and she smiled when she saw her mommy and daddy cuddling on the couch.

"Why did I go to uncle Aaron's last night?" asked the three year old girl.

Clarissa looked at her daughter.

"We wanted to arrange a surprise for you." said Clarissa.

"Really?" asked Diana.

"Let's go into the kitchen." said Spencer.

Clarissa helped her husband get propped up on his crutches before the growing family headed into the kitchen where Diana saw ingredients to make cookies.

"We make cookies?" asked Diana.

"Heart shaped cookies since its Valentines Day." said Spencer as he pointed at the small vase of flowers, "I got these roses for you, Diana." said Spencer.

"Thank you, Daddy." said Diana as she hugged her daddy while making sure to not knock down her daddy.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Let's get you seated so we can start making cookies." said Clarissa.

A few minutes later the family of three were making heart shaped cut out cookies from scratch together.

xxxxxxx

The next day Spencer swung himself into Dr. Merrill's office with Clarissa by his side.

"Spencer has told me a lot about you, Clarissa." said Dr. Merrill as she shook hands with Clarissa before noticing Clarissa's 12 week baby bump, "And congratulations on the upcoming new addition." said Dr. Merrill.

"Thank you." said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "I'm going to go visit my brother at the BAU, so I'll be back in an hour." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer as he gave his wife a gentle kiss before Clarissa helped him get comfortable before leaving the room.

"So the secret is out?" asked Dr. Merrill.

"After what happened, I'm going to need all the support I can get. Luckily Diana's nanny already has experience with PTSD since she's a retired FBI agent." said Spencer.

"Good." said Dr. Merrill before looking at Spencer, "How has settling in at home gone?" asked Dr. Merrill.

"I've been dealing with nightmares, but when I'm awake Clarissa and Diana have kept me distracted." said Spencer as he started to explain how hia first day back at home has gone before he had to recount his abduction and torture to Dr. Merrill.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Hotch looked up from his desk and smiled when he saw his sister.

"Spencer's with Dr. Merrill right now?" asked Hotch.

"He is, and I thought that I should let you know how yesterday has gone." said Clarissa as she shut the door before sitting on her brother's couch.

"How did it go?" asked Hotch.

Clarissa started explaining about how PTSD has already taken affect and how she and Diana have been helping Spencer out before there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." said Hotch.

Garcia came into Hotch's office and gasped when she saw Clarissa.

"I didn't know that you were here." said Garcia.

"Spence's talking to a bureau psychologist right now, and I'll be picking him up in 10 minutes." said Clarissa.

"Can I come over later since I now know why I've never been to Reid's house?" asked Garcia.

"How about waiting tomorrow since Spence and I have my 12 week check up while Spence deserves another quiet evening at home before he's hounded by you guys." said Clarissa.

"Deal." said Garcia.

A few minutes later Clarissa left her brother's office so she could go collect her husband.

xxxxxxxx

Two hours later Dr. Larson looked at Spencer and noticed his bandaged head and cast on his left leg.

"What on Earth happened to you, Spencer?" asked Dr. Larson.

"I got held captive by an unsub for two days during my last case, and I'm on leave for the next five weeks so I can go to therapy for PTSD while going back to work when I'm out of this cast." said Spencer.

Dr. Larson looked at his patient.

"I hope that you stayed calm the entire time for your health's and the baby's health." said Dr. Larson.

"I was, and I ended up taking care of my husband in the hospital." said Clarissa.

Dr. Larson started his exam on Clarissa before the two young parents allowed tears to fall down their faces as they watched their second child on the computer monitor.

xxxxx

The next evening a covered up Spencer was laying on the couch with his head on Clarissa's lap while his broken foot was propped up on a few pillows when Hotch entered the room with Morgan, JJ, Emily, and Garcia.

"Hi guys." said Spencer softly.

"Where's Diana?" asked Hotch.

"Lucy decided to get her out of the house while you guys came to visit Spence." said Clarissa before looking at her husband's teammates, "Feel free to take a seat." said Clarissa.

After everyone took their seats, Morgan looked at Spencer as he noticed how comfortable the two 25 year olds were in their current position.

"How you doing Reid?" asked Morgan.

"Other than having to spend the past five days in the hospital, I'm glad to be home again." said Spencer.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"When I joined the BAU I did my own background check on you, and there was nothing about marriage and being a father in your digital file or online." said Garcia.

"Strauss kept certain information off the database." said Spencer before looking at JJ, Emily, Morgan, and Garcia, "I'm sorry that I kept my life away from the BAU a secret, but I was under orders about not speaking a word to you guys." said Spencer.

"Its OK since I know what its like to keep a secret for years, but I hope that you give me advice since you have more game than me." smiled Morgan.

Emily thought about her own secrets.

"I barely know you, so I'm not upset." said Emily.

Spencer looked at Garcia.

"I'm a little bit upset about you hiding your little girl away from me, but be prepared for me to occasionally abduct your wife for a girls night out while I get to spoil her and the baby genius that you guys are expecting." said Garcia.

Clarissa who was still stroking her husband's curls laughed.

"Diana's already spoiled since she has Spence wrapped around her finger." laughed Clarissa.

"You call him Spence too?" asked JJ.

Spencer noticed the slight glare that JJ was giving his wife.

"Clarissa started to call me Spence on January 1st of 2001." said Spencer.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"So what was your wedding like?" asked Garcia.

Clarissa looked at Garcia.

"We actually have the wedding and some of the reception on tape since Spence's aunt Elena couldn't make it out here for the wedding." said Clarissa.

"Can we see it?" asked Garcia.

"Sure." said Clarissa before looking at her brother, "Would you mind putting it in." said Clarissa.

"Are you two comfortable?" asked Hotch as he smiled slightly at his sister and his brother in law.

"This was how I got Spence to get some sleep earlier since he was dealing with nightmares last night." Clarissa.

Emily, Morgan, JJ, and Garcia all exchanged glances as they realized that Spencer is already dealing with symptoms of PTSD.

"I just want to be close to the baby." said Spencer as he turned his head a bit and kissed Clarissa's 12 week baby bump, "Daddy loves you, so keep on growing big and strong and mommy and I will see you in August." whispered Spencer.

Clarissa wiped a tear.

"Damn hormones." muttered Clarissa.

"You two are cute together." said Garcia.

Hotch who had put in the DVD looked at everyone.

"Its starting." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxx

After the DVD was over, Garcia who was wiping a tear looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"That was a beautiful wedding, and the first two songs you danced to were perfect." said Garcia.

"Our first dance as husband and wife was to honor my parents since they danced to the same song." said Spencer.

At that moment the front door opened and Diana grinned when she saw her parents while her nanny helped her remove her winter jacket and remove her shoes.

"Mommy! Daddy!" cried Diana as she ran to her parents.

"You have fun with Lucy?" asked Spencer as he gave his daughter a gentle hug before kissing her forehead.

"I got you a present." said Diana as Lucy handed her a bag, "I got you a teddy bear to cuddle with." said Diana.

Spencer ignored the smirk on Morgan's face while looking at his daughter.

"I love it, Diana. What do you think I should name him?" asked Spencer.

Diana thought about one of her grandmother's books that her daddy read to her.

"Tristan." said Diana.

"Tristan it is." said Spencer as he gave his daughter another kiss.

"Aww." cooed Garcia.

Diana quickly noticed some people.

"Are you daddy's and uncle Aaron's team?" asked Diana.

"We sure are, sweetie." said Garcia.

Diana looked at Garcia.

"You are Penelope." said Diana before pointing out each person, "Derek, JJ, and Emily." said Diana.

"How did you know?" asked Morgan.

"I've told her about you guys, and she had inherited my eidetic memory." said Spencer.

"What do you like to do for fun?" asked Garcia.

"Play the piano, read, and ice skate." said Diana.

"Ice skating at three years old?" asked Emily.

"Spence and I took Diana ice skating for the first time when she was two, and she's already taking figure skating lessons since I use to be a competitive figure skater." said Clarissa.

"Use to?" asked Emily.

"I dreamed about getting into the 2002 Winter Olympics, but the day after I finished my junior year of high school, I was in a car accident that killed my mom and shattered my left ankle. I was hospitalized at Children's National for two weeks, and with how depressed I was, one of my nurses took me down to the day room and asked me to help her entertain the children which led me to go into pediatric nursing." said Clarissa.

"Are you still in contact with that nurse?" asked Emily.

"Nurse Janet Powell is still working at Children's National, and she's Diana's godmother." said Clarissa.

"Who's godfather?" asked Morgan.

"Gideon." said Spencer.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"Are we going to see uncle Sean?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at his daughter.

"We'll be going in three weeks so I can have some time to recover." said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

Spencer winced.

"Inside voice, Diana." said Spencer sternly.

"Sorry, daddy." said Diana quietly.

"Its OK, Diana, but my head still hurts." said Spencer.

Diana kissed her daddy's head.

"Better?" asked Diana.

Spencer tickled his daughter's belly.

"Your kisses are magic." said Spencer.

"Aww." cooed Emily and Garcia before Garcia looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Could we please have a tour of this house?" asked Garcia.

"Sure." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "I want to move around a bit." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her brother.

"Can you please grab Spence's crutches for me?" asked Clarissa.

Hotch quickly grabbed Spencer's crutches before helping his brother in law get situated before smirking at Spencer's cast.

"I see that Diana already decorated your cast." said Hotch.

"She wanted to give me something to smile about." said Spencer before looking at his teammates, "Before you guys leave, you guys can sign my cast." said Spencer.

"Let's start the tour." said Clarissa.

Spencer slowly swung himself towards the kitchen with Clarissa walking by his side.

"This is our kitchen." said Spencer.

"Look at that kitchen." said Garcia as she saw all the updated appliances before smiling at the drawings that were displayed on the fridge.

A few minutes later Spencer and his teammates entered the home library.

"This is one of my most favorite rooms in this house." said Spencer.

Emily, JJ, Garcia, and Morgan gasped at all the books that were on the floor to ceiling book shelves before Morgan looked at Spencer.

"I know that you take files home, so where do you do them since I didn't see a desk at all?" asked Morgan.

Spencer smirked.

"What your about to see is why this room is one of my most favorite rooms." said Spencer as he looked at his wife, "You want to show them how I gain access to the attic?" asked Spencer.

"Sure." said Clarissa as she went to the bookcase and moved it causing gasps at the stair case.

"This house was part of the underground railroad, and when the relator showed me this hidden staircase I instantly knew that I wanted the attic to be my office." said Spencer as he flicked on a light and looked at his teammates, "Go on up." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I'll stay in here with Diana." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer as he started to slowly follow his teammates up the stairs, and two minutes later he looked at his teammates, "So what do you think of my office?" asked Spencer.

"I restore houses as a side job and I have to say that this is a really nice house." said Morgan.

"Clarissa found this house when I was in the academy, and when she showed me this house I ended up falling in love with this room." said Spencer.

"So with there being two empty bedrooms, are you and Clarissa going to have more kids after the baby's born?" asked Garcia.

"We're planning on having at least two more children since I married someone who wants to have a lot of kids." said Spencer before looking at Morgan, JJ, Emily, and Garcia, "Even though I kept a huge secret from you guys, are you guys still going to want to work with me when I'm cleared for duty?" asked Spencer.

"You've became a little brother to me, and like I told you before, you better give me advice." said Morgan.

"Yes." said Emily.

"Yes." said Garcia.

Spencer looked at JJ who had stayed silent for most of the visit

"Yes." said JJ.


	2. Working Towards Recovery & Exciting News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Criminal Minds
> 
> This chapter starts on February 18th, and this chapter goes until Tuesday March 13th of 2007 when Clarissa's 16 weeks pregnant.

Spencer woke up gasping just as Clarissa came out of the bathroom.

"You OK, Spence?" asked Clarissa as she looked at the clock and noticed that it was 1 AM.

Spencer looked at his 13-week pregnant wife as he got himself to sit up in bed.

"I had a nightmare." said Spencer.

"Want to tell me about it?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded and a few seconds later Clarissa joined her husband in bed, and he spent the next 10 minutes telling Clarissa about his nightmare. When he was finished Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Need me to help you get back to sleep?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded, and a few seconds later Clarissa was straddling him before kissing him.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Seven hours later Clarissa looked at her husband as they got ready for church.

"Are you sure that you want to try and attend church today?" asked Clarissa.

"Dr. Merrill told me that I should try to find out if going to church triggers any flashbacks, and you reading certain parts of the Bible out loud yesterday didn't trigger any flashbacks." said Spencer.

"We'll sit in a back pew today, and if you start having a flashback just squeeze my hand and we'll head to the fellowship hall." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer.

"At least Diana will be going to Sunday school while we're at today's service." said Clarissa.

"I know, and I know that its important that I don't isolate myself here during my recovery." said Spencer.

"How about we arrive a bit earlier so we can talk to Reverend Alden before the service." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer as he propped himself up on his crutches and left the master bedroom with his wife.

xxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer swung himself into the church with Clarissa by his side when Reverend Alden approached them.

"I missed you guys here last week." said Reverend Alden.

"Its practically my fault about why none of us were here last week since I was in the hospital out of state." said Spencer.

Reverend Alden noticed Spencer's cast before noticing Spencer's healing head wound.

"What happened?" asked Reverend Alden.

"I was abducted and held captive by a serial killer who was using religion to justify murder." said Spencer.

Reverend Alden quickly connected the dots to recent events from two Sundays ago.

"The Raphael killer down in Georgia?" asked Reverend Alden.

Spencer nodded as his eyes darkened causing Clarissa to rest a hand on her husband's arm.

"Having the Bible memorized helped save my life, and my FBI appointed therapist recommended that I try and come today and see if going to church triggers me to have flashbacks." said Spencer.

"Your therapist is right about confronting the issue, and if you do have a flashback there's no problem with you heading to the fellowship hall earlier." said Reverend Alden.

Clarissa looked at Reverend Alden.

"Since I'm 13 weeks pregnant today, feel free to announce that there's going to be a new member in about 27 weeks." said Clarissa.

Reverend Alden smiled at the two 25-year-olds.

"I guess I'll start with announcements first, and I hope you don't mind if I ask everyone if they're willing to pray for your recovery, Spencer." said Reverend Alden.

"I don't mind since Clarissa told me that she was praying for me to be found alive when she was told that I was MIA." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Hotch and Spencer watched Diana and Jack play together in the Reid family living room while Haley, Clarissa, and Lucy were preparing their traditional Sunday roast when Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"How did attending church go this morning?" asked Hotch.

"No flashbacks at all, but I just hope that next week goes well too." said Spencer.

"Even though you had one appointment with Dr. Merrill so far, I was pleased with the report I received." said Hotch.

"Clarissa, Diana, and the baby are reasons why I'm cooperating with my therapist, and you know how your sister is when it comes to getting me to open up." said Spencer just as Diana came over.

"Can you please play the piano, daddy?" asked Diana.

"Only because you said please." said Spencer as he reached over for his crutches before propping himself.

30 seconds later Spencer was settling himself onto the piano bench while his broken foot was propped on a smaller stool when Spencer looked at Diana.

"Any requests?" asked Spencer.

"The Magic Flute." said Diana.

"Queen of the Night Aria by Mozart it is." said Spencer as he closed his eyes and started playing while not even realizing that Clarissa, Lucy, and Haley came into the room to watch him play.

xxxxxxxxxx

10 days later Spencer was playing his violin when he heard a familiar voice.

"I see that you got yourself into some trouble during your last case." said Elle as she glanced at Spencer's cast.

Spencer stopped playing and looked at Elle.

"I take it that Clarissa called you and told you that I was abducted and tortured?" asked Spencer.

Elle nodded just as Diana came into the room.

"Mommy is taking me to the mall." said Diana.

Spencer set down his violin and hugged his daughter before giving Diana a kiss on the forehead.

"Have fun shopping with mommy." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." said Diana as she kissed her daddy's cheek before running off so her mommy could get her ready.

A few minutes later Spencer recounted about what happened to him while mentioning the Dilaudid, and when he was finished he looked at Elle who looked like she was about to cry.

"I've been to therapy four times already since I'm going to therapy twice a week, and Aaron has been getting reports from my therapist." said Spencer.

"I take it that he's making sure that you cooperate because of what I did?" asked Elle.

"He already feels guilty about what happened to both you and me, but I know that I'm cooperating because of Clarissa and Diana." said Spencer before looking at Elle, "Have you been getting help?" asked Spencer.

"I've been getting help, and I decided to go back to school to become a sexual assault therapist." said Elle.

"That's great." said Spencer before looking at Elle, "I would ask you to sign my cast, but I know that you don't want any of the team to know that I've been in contact with you." said Spencer.

Elle nodded.

"The rest of the team now knows about Clarissa and Diana." said Spencer.

"Really?" asked Elle.

"With needing all the help I can get, its been decided that Clarissa and Diana are no longer a secret especially since I'm about to become a father again." said Spencer.

"So do you think your getting another daughter or do you think your finally getting a son?" asked Elle.

"We're all thinking that its another girl, but we'll find out in two weeks." said Spencer.

"I expect you to mail me a letter as soon as you find out what the gender is." said Elle.

"I promise." said Spencer.

Elle looked at the clock.

"I better get going just in case any of my former teammates are planning on stopping by." said Elle.

"My brother-in-law and the rest of the team got called in for a case yesterday, and since my second full day out of the hospital Clarissa, Diana, and I have been going out and about since Clarissa insisted on buying a wheelchair for me so I don't have to rely on my crutches the entire time." said Spencer.

"At least your not spending your medical leave sitting at home and watching soap operas like I did." said Elle.

"I was told not to isolate myself." said Spencer.

Elle gave Spencer a hug.

"I have to get going, and just focus on getting better so you can return to work." said Elle.

"I promise." said Spencer as he grabbed his crutches and propped himself up on them, "I'll walk you out." said Spencer as he swung himself to the front door.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A week later Diana grinned when she saw her uncle Sean.

"Uncle Sean!" grinned Diana.

Sean scooped his niece and hugged her before looking at his brother-in-law and noticed that Spencer was propped up on crutches and his left foot was covered in a cast.

"What happened to you, Spencer?" asked Sean.

"After you spend time with your niece, I'll tell you." said Spencer tersely before swinging himself into Sean's apartment and sat down on the couch before propping up his foot.

Sean turned to give his little sister a questioning look before his eyes went wide when he saw his sister wearing a t-shirt that said BABY ON BOARD.

"So you decided to tell me that I'll be an uncle again personally instead of calling me." asked Sean.

"We were planning on visiting next weekend, but with Spence getting injured four weeks ago we decided to come a few days sooner." said Clarissa.

"How long are you guys in town for?" asked Sean.

"We're taking a train back tomorrow evening since Spence has a doctor appointment in two days." said Clarissa before looking at her brother and whispered, "If you are planning on making any fish please don't." whispered Clarissa.

"You can't handle fish this time?" asked a smirking Sean.

Clarissa glared at her brother.

"The smell of cooked fish causes Spence's PTSD to emerge." said Clarissa before looking at her brother, "I'm craving spaghetti right now." said Clarissa.

Sean chuckled before realizing that Diana fell asleep.

"Why don't you help me in the kitchen while Diana takes a nap." said Sean.

"OK." said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "Do you need anything before I help Sean with dinner?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm fine." said Spencer.

Sean laid his niece out on the couch.

"If you need anything just yell." said Sean.

"OK." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Clarissa and Sean were in the kitchen preparing dinner while Clarissa told her brother what happened to Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

When Clarissa was finished, Sean looked at his sister.

"That must have been hard on Aaron for sending Spencer into the lions den." said Sean.

"It was hard on Aaron, but Spence and I both straightened him out since neither of them knew that Hankel was the unsub. It will be awhile before Spence's back to his old self, but he's been going to therapy for PTSD while Lucy and I told Diana that her daddy might not be himself for awhile." said Clarissa.

"Good." said Sean.

Clarissa rubbed her belly.

"This baby is giving Spence a reason on why he should work hard on recovering." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer looked at Dr. Merrill.

"I went to New York City on Sunday to visit my other brother in law and returned last night." said Spencer.

"How did that go?" asked Dr. Merrill.

"Even though loud noises bothered me, I enjoyed getting to spend some time in New York City when it came to Diana getting to enjoy New York City more." said Spencer.

"I'm glad that you have a family to help you through the trauma you went through four weeks ago." said Dr. Merrill.

"Even though things are going good at home, I know that I'll be dealing with PTSD when I return to work." said Spencer.

"The first couple of weeks will be hard for you, but then things will get better for you." said Dr. Merrill before looking at Spencer, "When it comes to being drugged with Dilaudid against your will, have you thought about attending meetings to help you with the cravings you have been dealing with?" asked Dr. Merrill.

"I found a meeting that I'll be going to tonight." said Spencer.

"Good, and I'll have it in your file that your going to meetings as a precaution." said Dr. Merrill before her watched beeped.

xxxxxxxxxx

Later on that night Spencer swung himself to the front of the room where police officers and government agents of the DC area were sitting.

"Hello, my name is Spencer." said Spencer.

"Hello, Spencer." chorused everyone.

"This is my first meeting." said Spencer.

"Welcome." chorused everyone.

"I've never had a drug addiction or had a problem with alcohol before, but the last case I worked a month ago caused me to be drugged with Dilaudid over six times by suspect that held me hostage for two days before I was able to rescue myself by doing a kill shot on my captor." said Spencer before hearing some gasps in the room, "On the way to the hospital I told my superior that I was injected with Dilaudid against my will six times, so I went through detox while I was in the hospital with my wife by my side. When it comes to being married for over four years to one of the most beautiful girls in the world who has been my best friend and confidante for over six years, having a beautiful three year old daughter, and another baby on the way I know that I need all the help I can get since I don't want to develop an addiction to Dilaudid." said Spencer before he swung himself back to his chair.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A half hour later a pea coat clad Spencer was propping himself up on his crutches when an older man approached him with a cup of coffee and a bunch of sugar packets.

"I was wondering if you were going to come here, Spencer." said John.

Spencer's eyes went wide when he recognized one of the assistant directors of the FBI.

"Sir." said Spencer as he sat back down before accepting the coffee that John held out to him.

"No sirs here since its just John, and you should never tell your wife and teammates about running into me here." said John before looking at Spencer who was adding sugar into his coffee, "I hope that I brought you enough sugar." said John.

"I take it that my sugar flavored coffee preference has made it all the way up to you?" asked Spencer.

"When it comes to being one of the youngest agents in the bureau, you have quite a reputation when it comes to coffee and refusing to shake hands." said John.

"Despite telling everyone here that I've never had an addiction before, will there be a problem with me coming here?" asked Spencer.

"I already read the report about your abduction and torture, and you decided to tell your brother-in-law that you've been drugged against your will instead of deciding to continue taking Dilaudid. Also with knowing the extent of your background, its better that you find all the help you can get since you didn't let those losses stop you from falling in love and starting a family." said John.

"I hope there's no problem with my marriage no longer being kept a secret." said Spencer.

"With what happened to you four weeks ago, you need all the support you can get." said John before looking at Spencer's cast and noticed a certain get well soon message, "What your wife wrote about you being like a willow tree is very fitting since not many agents would have been able to survive like you were able to." said John.

"I don't know what I would have done without Clarissa. Despite being 15-weeks pregnant, she has been waking me up from nightmares and helping break out of flashbacks." said Spencer.

"You'll be dealing with PTSD for the rest of your life." said John.

"I know, and I've been seeing a bureau therapist who recommended that I attend meetings." said Spencer.

"I've been keeping track of your progress and you've been doing very well." said John.

"I know, but I'm aware of the PTSD symptoms I'll most likely be dealing with when I return to work." said Spencer just as his cellphone vibrated causing him to see a text from Lucy.

I'M WAITING OUTSIDE WITH A SLEEPING DIANA. ~ LR

"My ride's here." said Spencer.

"Need help getting up onto your crutches?" asked John.

Spencer nodded.

A few seconds later John was helping Spencer prop himself on his crutches.

"I'll walk you to the door." said John.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile Clarissa looked at Emily and Garcia as she took a sip of her soda while feeling saddened at the thought of JJ declining to join them while using work as an excuse.

"I just hope that JJ warms up to me soon." said Clarissa.

"Its just that she had a crush on Reid since her first day and finding out that he's been married for over four years was a big blow for her." said Garcia before smiling a bit, "I'm just glad that he has a family to go home to, and I hope you weren't upset when I took Reid out to eat after Nathan Harris." said Garcia.

"I was working third shift that week, so thank you for being there for my husband." said Clarissa.

"Have you worked third shift since finding out that your pregnant?" asked Emily.

"Ever since I told me boss that I'm pregnant again, there's been no more working third shift or being on call 24/7 for me." said Clarissa.

"Was it like that for you when you were pregnant with Diana?" asked Emily.

"Yes." said Clarissa.

"Did you enjoy being pregnant with Diana?" asked Emily.

"I loved being pregnant with Diana, but it sucked that Spence had to miss five months of that pregnancy with Diana due to being in the academy." said Clarissa.

Emily and Garcia exchanged glances as they thought about the topic they wanted to breech.

"How has Reid been doing at home?" asked Emily.

"Even though he's been dealing with PTSD, I'm making sure that he doesn't isolate himself." said Clarissa.

"Now how are you doing?" said Garcia.

"I'm just glad that Spence's not shutting me out and is cooperating with the therapist that's been assigned to him." said Clarissa before smiling a bit, "Luckily being a pediatric nurse helped me prepare for handling Spence's PTSD since I've dealt with trauma victims and I'm using the techniques I learned in nursing school on my husband." said Clarissa.

"Let's move on to lighter things since you promised us that you will agree to an interrogation about your relationship with Reid." said Garcia.

Clarissa smirked a bit.

"If one of your first questions is about how my husband is in bed, don't bother asking since having a three-year-old daughter while being 15 weeks pregnant with baby number two is proof that my husband is good in bed." smirked Clarissa.

Emily's and Garcia's jaws dropped.

"I have to say that your definitely Reid's polar opposite since you seem like a perfect mixture of Hotch and Sean when it comes to your personality." said Garcia.

Clarissa laughed before Emily got serious.

"If you two have been together for over six years, what led you two to only have a three-year-old while now being 15-weeks pregnant with your second child?" asked Emily.

Garcia nodded in curiosity.

"With seeing you with Reid the past four weeks, you two could have had a house full of kids by now." said Garcia.

"Spence and I were the type of couple that waited until our wedding night for our first time." said Clarissa before smiling a bit, "When it comes to giving birth to Diana six days after my 22nd birthday, Spence and I agreed that I would be put on an IUD birth control until after Spence turned 25 years old so we would both be 25 when we become parents again." said Clarissa as she rubbed her belly.

"So what do you think your having?" asked Garcia.

"I believe that Spence and I are going to be proud parents to another little girl." smiled Clarissa.

"I bet you have fun dressing Diana." said Garcia.

"I sure do, and Spence enjoys braiding Diana's hair on the mornings that he's in charge of getting Diana ready." said Clarissa.

"Aww." cooed Emily and Garcia.

"Even though Aaron might not be happy if I tell you ladies this, but he learned how to braid hair when I was a little girl since he helped take care of me after my dad died." said Clarissa.

"Aww." said Garcia.

"Which brother is your favorite?" asked Emily.

"Even though Sean's a year older than me, I'm more closer to Aaron since there are times that he stepped in as a father figure for me." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxx

Five days later Diana was sitting on her daddy's lap when Dr. Larson smiled at the growing family.

"Baby Reid decided to show the gender." said Dr. Larson as he smiled at the 16-week pregnant mother, Spencer, and Diana.

"Am I getting a little brother or a little sister?" asked Diana.

"Your getting a little sister." said Dr. Larson.

"Yay!" cheered Diana while Spencer and Clarissa allowed happy tears fall down their faces, "Why are you crying, mommy?" asked Diana.

"They're happy tears. On the day you were born, daddy and I cried happy tears." said Clarissa.

"Are we telling uncle Aaron and auntie Haley?" asked Diana.

"They're coming over for dinner along with my teammates." said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer and Clarissa were cuddling in bed while Diana took a nap in her room.

"I already knew that we were having another girl before your 12 week appointment." said Spencer as he rested his hands on Clarissa's belly.

"How?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his wife with sad eyes.

"During those few minutes that I was clinically dead before I was given CPR, I was reunited with my parents, aunt Ethel, and uncle Gordon and mom told me that the baby your pregnant with is a girl." said Spencer as tears fell down his face.

"Really?" asked Clarissa as she wiped her husband's tears.

"She said that when it comes to being dead for nearly 21 years that a mother knows." said Spencer.

"I still want to name our second daughter Bridget after my mom." said Clarissa.

"Bridget's a perfect name since Bridget means 'strength'." said Spencer before giving his wife a small smile as he rested a hand on Clarissa's 16-week pregnant belly, "You, Diana, and little Bridget are some of the reasons why I stayed strong and survived during those two days in that shed." said Spencer.

"What about middle names?" asked Clarissa.

"Due to me having a Scottish heritage we should do Mackenzie." said Spencer.

"Bridget Mackenzie Reid definitely rings a good bell." said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Clarissa was sitting on the arm rest of the recliner that Spencer was sitting in with Diana on his lap when Clarissa looked at her brother, sister-in-law, and her husband's teammates.

"We found out the gender today." smiled Clarissa.

"So is it a boy or a girl?" asked Garcia.

"In about 24 weeks Bridget Mackenzie Reid will hopefully have me wrapped around her finger like her mother and big sister do." said Spencer with a small smile on his face before a laughing Clarissa slapped him lightly on the shoulder before they were congratulated by everyone.

"Your going to be dealing with a house full of women." teased Morgan.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"I'm happy for you, Spence." said JJ.

"I'm happy about having another little girl." said Spencer.

"Why Bridget?" asked Garcia.

Hotch who was hugging his sister looked at Garcia.

"Mom was named Bridget." said Hotch.

"With Diana being named after my mom, we agreed that our second daughter gets named Bridget." said Spencer before smiling sadly as he covered Diana's ears with his hands, "When it comes to the events of last month, I have to say that Bridget is the perfect name since Bridget means 'strength", and Bridget's one the many reasons why I stayed strong during my captivity." said Spencer before he uncovered Diana's ears.

Garcia decided to move onto lighter topics by looking at the three-year-old girl who insisted on staying on her daddy's lap.

"So are you happy to have a little sister?" asked Garcia.

"Yes, and mommy and daddy say that my sister can share my room with me when she's in a big girl bed." said Diana.

Hotch looked at his sister and his brother in law.

"So have you two decided on when to start the nursery?" asked Hotch.

"Even though we're using Diana's old furniture for the nursery, we're going to wait with painting until I'm out of this cast." said Spencer.

"When do you think you'll get out of that cast?" asked Gideon.

"Depending on how tomorrow's x-rays are, I'll be getting this cast off while switching to a walking boot for a maximum of four weeks while going to physical therapy." said Spencer.

"That's great." said Emily.

"I know, but that means that I'll be returning to work in a walking boot." said Spencer.

"Based on how well your cooperating with Dr. Merrill our original plans of having you return to work on March 26th are still in motion, but no participating in take downs until your doctor clears you." said Hotch.

"I know." said Spencer.

JJ looked at Spencer's cast and noticed the drawings that Diana and Jack did on the cast.

"Are you keeping the cast?" asked JJ.

"I am since I never get rid of Diana's and Jack's artwork." said Spencer as he smoothed back Diana's hair, "And now I can start displaying some of Diana's artwork on my desk along with a few other photos." said Spencer.

"What types of photos?" asked Emily.

"A picture from my wedding day and a copy of the latest family portrait that was done." said Spencer.

Diana yawned before curling into her daddy's chest.

"Seems like its bath time and bedtime for someone." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were saying goodbye to everyone before they took their tired daughter upstairs to get her ready for bed.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was leaving the doctor's office with a smile on his face while hobbling with one crutch while carrying Diana on his hip with his free arm holding his daughter tightly while his left foot sported a walking boot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Next chapter will take place during Fear and Loathing, so Spencer will be returning to work in a walking boot while having to deal with PTSD for the next couple of chapters.


	3. Fear and Loathing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts on March 25th of 2007, so Clarissa's 18-weeks pregnant and Spencer's still wearing a walking boot.
> 
> Spencer will be dealing with flashbacks in this chapter and other than Spencer having a talk with Morgan, Hotch will be talking with Spencer since Hotch doesn't want to fail his brother in law like he did with Elle.

Spencer looked at Diana as he tucked his daughter into bed.

"I go back to work tomorrow." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Diana.

"You know that two times a week I had to go down to Quantico to see a therapist and when mommy went back to work you and Lucy took me to therapy?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as she thought about the lollipops that Dr. Merrill gave her.

"I got a sucker from the nice lady." said Diana.

"Dr. Merrill cleared me for work." said Spencer before gesturing to his black walking boot, "Except the doctor that I was seeing for my foot hasn't   
cleared me for full duty yet, so uncle Aaron will keep me at the police station." said Spencer.

"OK." said Diana.

"Let's start story time so you can go to sleep." said Spencer as he grabbed the book that he was currently reading to Diana and started to read out loud until Diana was asleep.

xxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer looked at his 18-week pregnant wife as they cuddled on the couch.

"Are you sure that I'm ready to return to work?" asked Spencer.

"Even though you made really good progress in therapy, I believe that your ready to return to work." said Clarissa.

"What if I can't handle the PTSD?" asked Spencer.

"Even though you can't handle the smell of cooked fish or rotting leaves anymore, you made really great progress. I know what you went through caused you not to be the same Spencer that I fell in love with anymore, but I'll always be there for you." said Clarissa before kissing her husband, "I might not always be able to answer your phone calls or text messages when I'm performing my rounds or assisting a patient, but I'll always get back to you as soon as possible." said Clarissa.

"I love you." said Spencer as he rubbed Clarissa's 18-week pregnant belly.

"I love you too." said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer's eyes went wide when he felt a slight flutter.

"Bridget just kicked." said Spencer.

"I know." said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "Want to go upstairs and celebrate you returning to work before we get some sleep?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded, and a few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were making out in bed.

xxxxxxxx

The next morning Hotch looked at his brother-in-law as he drove them to Quantico.

"Are you sure that your ready to return to work today?" asked Hotch.

"Since I've done very well in therapy, Dr. Merrill cleared me to return to work today. I know that the first few weeks back will be hard for me, but knowing you, your going to keep an eye on me since you promised your sister that you would keep me safe." said Spencer.

"Your right about that." said Hotch.

"One thing I'm glad about is that I no longer have to sneak away for phone calls." said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

A half hour later Spencer sat down at his desk for the first time in over six weeks and a few seconds later he was reaching into his messenger bag where he grabbed a framed copy of Clarissa and him together on their wedding day, a framed copy of the latest Reid family portrait, and a framed copy of the latest ultrasound photo, and a drawing that Diana did over the weekend and set the photos onto his desk. A minute later a bunch of agents and civilian staff were coming over to him to welcome him back and to ask him questions about Clarissa and Diana before congratulating him on the upcoming new addition.

xxxxxxxxx

A half hour later Spencer sighed sadly as he saw a video of a 16-year-old girl singing causing him to think about Diana and his unborn daughter.

"Sandra Davis, 16 years old. This is her singing at her high school talent show a month ago." said JJ before showing a crime scene photo, "This is her on again, off again boyfriend Ken Newcombe. Their bodies were found in a park near the male victim's car in Groton, an affluent, mostly white suburb of New York City in Westchester county. It's the third of 3 killings believed to be a series of hate crimes." said JJ.

"Hate crimes?" asked Emily.

More photos came onto the monitor.

"The first 2 victims were Keisha Andrews, 15, And Vickie Williams, 17. They disappeared from their homes in central Westchester one night. Their bodies were found in a wooded area in a southern part of the county near the city." said Hotch.

Spencer glanced at the crime scene photo that involved one of the girls found dead in the leaves causing him to flash back to Hankel hitting his head.

"Strangled, beaten, stabbed." said Gideon.

JJ showed a picture of a swastika painted onto a face.

"And this was painted on their faces." said JJ.

"What about this couple? How were their bodies found?" asked Morgan.

"Another swastika. This one on the boyfriend's car." said JJ as she showed a picture of the car.

"It's a different victimology." said Emily.

"Maybe just an escalation." said Morgan.

"Or a different killer." said Gideon.

"And it doesn't end there. Yesterday an African American community leader, a Reverend Williams, decided to take this on as a political issue. Racial hate in the suburbs." said Hotch.

JJ played the video.

"What we are seeing is pure apathy. Black kids are getting killed and the police are doing nothing to stop it. When will these racists be confronted?" asked Reverend Williams.

"Apparently, in response to Reverend Williams' muckraking, a black kid was beaten on the streets of Groton this afternoon. Connecticut Neo-Nazi group called the White Stallions claimed responsibility." said JJ.

"There are Neo-Nazi groups in Connecticut?" asked Emily.

"The mayor of Groton called me this morning, frantic. He's desperate to solve these crimes Before it escalates even more." said JJ.

Spencer looked down at another crime scene photo before flashing back to when Hankel dragged him across the field.

"What are the racial demographics of Groton?" asked Gideon.

"Population 42,000. 8% black." said JJ.

"I'd say the mayor has reason to be worried. If it doesn't stop soon, it could flare up?" asked Gideon.

A minute later Hotch gave a departure time before looking at his brother-in-law and noticed how pale he was.

"I need to talk to you in my office now." said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer was standing in his brother-in-law's office.

"Why didn't you say a word during briefing?" asked Hotch.

"When looking at the crime scene photos, I ended up having two flash backs when it came to Hankel knocking me out and dragging me across the cornfield." said Spencer.

"Flashbacks were bound to happen." said Hotch.

"I know." said Spencer softly.

"Are you sure that you want to go to Westchester County?" asked Hotch.

"I want to go with you guys since my doctor cleared me for traveling." said Spencer.

"If you have any other flashbacks, please let me know." said Hotch.

"I promise, and Dr. Merrill told me that I should journal my PTSD symptoms." said Spencer.

"Good idea, and knowing my sister, she's probably waiting for your text message to tell her that your going away." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was at his desk sending Clarissa a text message.

I'M GOING TO WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK. I ALREADY HAD A FEW FLASHBACKS DURING BRIEFING, AND I TOLD YOUR BROTHER THAT I HAD FLASHBACKS DURING BRIEFING. I LOVE YOU, AND I'LL TRY AND CALL THIS EVENING. ~ SR

A minute later Spencer had Lucy on the phone.

"Everything OK, Spencer?" asked Lucy.

"I'm going away for a case, and I'm wanting to talk to Diana before I head to the airstrip." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer smiled briefly when he heard Diana's voice.

"Hi, daddy." said the three-year-old.

"Daddy's going away for a few days, so I want you to behave for mommy and Lucy." said Spencer in a soft and yet stern voice.

"Yes, daddy." said Diana.

"I'll try and call at bedtime so I can hear about your day." said Spencer.

"You promise?" asked Diana.

"I promise, bumble bee." said Spencer before looking at his watch, "I have to get going, and if are a good girl while I'm away, this weekend we'll have a daddy/daughter date by going to the movies to see "Meet the Robinsons" together." said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy." said Diana.

"Love you too, bumble bee." said Spencer before hanging up.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer looked out the window as he noticed New York City.

"New York, New York." said JJ.

"Too bad we're flying straight to the suburbs." said Morgan.

Emily noticed something in her copy of the coroner report.

"Hey, this is weird. There are traces of GHB found in in the first two victims. But no sign of sexual assault. So... Why would the unsub use a date-rape drug to commit a hate crime?" asked Emily.

Spencer quickly flashed back to when Hankel drugged him before he used the breathing techniques he was taught to calm himself down.

"Maybe he wants to weaken them so they can't fight back." said Spencer.

"But there was no GHB in the victims of the double homicide." said Emily.

"There's a lot that's different about the double homicide." said Morgan.

"The question is why." said Hotch.

JJ pulled something out of the printer.

"All right, we just got new information. A few weeks before the murder of Sandra Davis and Ken Newcombe, a threatening letter was delivered to Sandra Davis' door. She showed it to her parents, who then notified the police. The police never figured out who wrote it." said JJ before she handed the note to Spencer.

Spencer looked at the note.

""We see Ken with you and it makes us sick. Take care to stop this now, or you will pay. If you tell anyone about this, you will pay. "" read Spencer before studying the note more, "Strange. Doesn't seem real." said Spencer.

"What do you mean?" asked JJ.

"First of all, the use of "we" in a threat this direct is almost always bogus." said Spencer.

"One individual trying to diffuse responsibility." said Emily.

"Also, the message itself seems contradictory. On the one hand, "take care to stop this now, or you will pay"? Presumably, they want them to stop seeing each other. But then, on the other hand, they don't want them to go public with it. "If you tell anyone about this, you will pay. "" said Spencer.

"The point of hate crimes is to increase publicity, not decrease it. It's like terrorism." said Hotch.

"An effective threat let's everybody know that they're in danger If they do this behavior. The author would want Sandra to tell people about the note." said Spencer.

"Doesn't sound like a guy who's actually prepared to kill." said JJ.

Spencer looked at the note again.

"Actually, it... doesn't sound like a guy at all. "Take care to stop this" implies empathy. "Take care"? Males don't use this type of language, especially when they're trained to threaten somebody. This message is certainly written by a female, and based on the lack of psychological sophistication, I'd say it's most likely an adolescent." said Spencer.

JJ briefly laughed.

"You think a girl killed these kids?" asked JJ.

"I think a girl wrote this note." said Spencer.

"Let's call that mystery number one." said Gideon.

Hotch looked at Gideon.

"You got a number 2?" asked Hotch.

"Maybe. Says here the autopsy on Sandra Davis was inconclusive." said Gideon.

"She suffered blunt force trauma to the face, she had some bruising around her neck. Cause of death is still unclear. Coroner's working on it." said JJ.

"A lot of questions. Let's get started on some answers." said Hotch before looking at his brother in law, "Will you be comfortable going to the morgue?" asked Hotch.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"Then you'll be station bound for the rest of this case while doubling up with me at the hotel." said Hotch.

Spencer nodded before his personal cellphone vibrated causing Spencer to see a text from Lucy.

DIANA ASKED ME TO TELL YOU TO CHECK YOUR MESSENGER BAG SINCE WE BOTH SLIPPED SOME SURPRISES INTO YOUR BAG TO HELP CHEER YOU UP WHILE YOU WERE GETTING READY. ~ LR

Spencer reached into his messenger bag and he shook his head when he pulled out a paper bag that contained triple chocolate chip cookies and an apple before chuckling when he found his 5 by 5 Rubik cube.

"Why would you have cookies, an apple, and a Rubik cube in your bag?" asked JJ.

Hotch looked at his team while Spencer was twisting his Rubik cube.

"Diana has a habit of slipping a Rubik cube into her father's messenger bag, so that's why you guys see him fiddling with a Rubik cube." said Hotch.

"What about the cookies and the apple?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked up from his Rubik cube.

"That's definitely Lucy's doing since she made it a goal to put weight on me since the day that Clarissa and I hired her to take care of Diana when Clarissa and I are working." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Ever since getting released from the hospital she's been making sure to make my favorites to help me gain the weight I lost during my captivity." said Spencer while not mentioning that his PTSD causes him to loss his appetite.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer walked over to his brother-in-law with a cup of coffee in his hands and the coroner reports.

"Coroner's report." said Spencer before he tilted his left heel up so he could rest his foot.

""Victim had been beaten so extensively, "The cause of death was indeterminate. Post mortem stab wounds were also discovered. "" read Hotch.

"Post mortem stabs, huh?" asked Morgan.

"What?" asked Detective Ware.

"Post mortem stab wounds almost always indicate sexual homicide." said Hotch.

"Uh, this is also a fairly extreme overkill, Which is markedly different from the other 2 girls." said Spencer.

Detective Ware looked at Spencer.

"So you're saying this was a different killer." asked Detective Ware.

"No, we're saying if it was the same killer, the overkill indicates he didn't get what he wanted from someone..." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at the board that contained crime scene photos before he quickly flashed back to the Charles personality beating his left foot before he brought himself back to the present.

"Sexual predators kill for sexual needs. And in this case, there's no sign of sexual assault on his victims. That tells us that he probably fetishises. Takes some souvenir from his victims that He uses to get off." said Morgan.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, it doesn't sound like the MO of a hate crime." said Detective Ware.

"No, we're pretty certain that hate wasn't the primary motive at all." said Hotch.

"He has a specific physical type And he tries to cover his tracks." said Emily.

xxxxxxx

Spencer looked at Hotch as they both set their go bags on their beds.

"I had a flashback that dealt with Hankel beating my foot earlier." said Spencer.

"When?" asked Hotch.

Spencer repeated the words Hotch said that triggered his flashback before Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"If you weren't showing any signs of PTSD, I would have been worried." said Hotch.

"Even though I'm now wary about pain medication, I'm just glad that your sister and I are the type of people who refuse to indulge in alcoholic beverages since we both lost loved ones to drunk drivers." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "Clarissa told me that I remind her of a willow tree." said Spencer.

Hotch thought about everything his brother-in-law had gone through.

"Very fitting analogy." said Hotch.

"I know." said Spencer before yawning.

"We should try and get some sleep, and if you have a nightmare I'll wake you up." said Hotch.

"OK." said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

Five hours later Hotch woke up to Spencer whimpering, and a few minutes later he had successfully woken up his brother-in-law.

"Your safe in our hotel room, Spencer." said Hotch.

Spencer blinked a few times at his brother-in-law.

"I had a nightmare?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, and you should tell me about it before you take a shower since your soaked in sweat." said Hotch.

Spencer started recounting his nightmare to Hotch, and when he was finished, Hotch pulled his brother-in-law into a hug.

"Like I have told you earlier, things will get better soon." said Hotch.

"I know." said Spencer as he got out of bed and walked over to his go bag, "I'm going to go take a shower like you recommended." said Spencer.

"I'll call someone to bring clean sheets." said Hotch.

"Thanks." said Spencer before heading into the bathroom before Hotch called the front desk before sending Clarissa a text message.

I HAD TO WAKE SPENCER UP FROM A NIGHTMARE, AND WE TALKED ABOUT HIS NIGHTMARE. ~ AH

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was sitting next to Emily as he watched Reverend Williams speak to the press.

"And when did the FBI. Finally arrive? Only after a white boy was killed. We cannot rely on the police. We must protect ourselves. Let the people   
who are taking our daughters Know they will not get away with this." said Reverend Williams as he held up a bat.

"That's not helpful." said Gideon as the TV was turned off.

"Explain this to me. The swastikas on the bodies. What do they mean?" asked Detective Ware.

"They're a distraction for us. Perhaps this killer isn't driven by hate, but he wants us to think so. So we won't guess his real motive, which is serial   
sexual homicide." said Hotch.

"I'm confident the unsub's from this county. He knew the kind of hysteria that would flare up from these swastikas." said Gideon.

"Reverend Williams took the bait." said Detective Ware.

"JJ is trying to buy us some time. She's talking to the reverend to see if he'll cool his rhetoric a little bit." said Hotch.

"Hate crimes are political. If we're right, this was personal." said Gideon.

"Well, we need to confirm that the double homicide is linked to the first two murders." said Hotch.

"We need to speak to the families of the victims." said Morgan.

Spencer's personal phone vibrated causing Spencer to see a picture from Lucy that caused his lips to curl up a little bit as he saw a picture of his napping daughter with Merton.

"A picture of Diana?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded causing Detective Ware to look at Spencer.

"You have kids, Dr. Reid?" asked Detective Ware.

"I have a beautiful three-year-old daughter, and my wife's currently 18-weeks pregnant with our second child." said Spencer as he ended up pulling out his wallet to show Detective Ware a photo of Diana.

"She's beautiful." said Detective Ware.

"She was my most favorite Christmas gift since she was born a few days before Christmas in 2003." said Spencer.

"Do you know what you and your wife are having for baby number two?" asked Detective Ware.

Spencer's lips curled up slightly.

"Its a girl." said Spencer.

"Congratulations, and you must be happy to be in a house full of girls." said Detective Ware.

"Even though I'm the only male in my house, I love my family." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Suspect we're looking for is a black male, Statistically between the ages of 20 and 35. We know he's black because of his victims. Sexually motivated killers almost always kill within their own race." started Hotch.

"The victims he's chosen are good girls. They're good students. No behavioral problems. They're what we call "low-risk."" said Morgan.

"And the lower the risk of the victim, the higher the intelligence of the unsub." said Emily.

"Guy's a smooth talker. Makes people feel at ease. Gains their confidence. You'd be amazed what these guys can talk people into." said Gideon.

Spencer who was sitting because of his healing foot, looked at the police force and Mayor Gregory Hughes.

"Jeffrey Dahmer was once pulled over by police officers for driving over the center line. He'd thrown the garbage bag full of body parts in the back seat of his car, But he was so calm and so self assured, That he convinced the officers not to look in the bag. He then went on to kill at least 15 more people." said Spencer.

"This guy's a hustler. He may not have a lot of education, But he knows how to treat impressionable young girls. Victor Paleologus used to troll shopping malls pretending to be a movie producer. He told Kristine Johnson for a James bond movie. And that was the last time she was ever seen alive. We think that because all these girls are singers, that the unsub may be connected in some way to the recording industry." said Hotch.

"We know the unsub has a vehicle. Big enough to transport a body. It's clean. It's not too old. Nice enough to make a girl feel comfortable inside, but it's not flashy. This is not a guy who wants to attract attention to himself." said Morgan.

"Probably a large, dark sedan." said Hotch.

"We recommend putting this profile on the news, the paper, anywhere it might be seen by the people in this town." said JJ.

"This guy's ruse didn't work on everybody. Somewhere out there is at least one woman who didn't fall for his game, and.." said Morgan while JJ's cellphone rang, "That's who we need to find." said Morgan.

"The key to this unsub's psychology Is the souvenir he takes. We don't know what it is yet, but... We know that once he has it, his victim then becomes disposable, and that's when he kills her." said Hotch while JJ left the room.

"The unsub's ritual was interrupted when he killed Sandra Davis. We don't believe he was able to take a souvenir from her. We think he may revisit   
her house and any place she may have frequented." said Gideon.

"We recommend surveillance in locations where the unsub might approach young girls. Churches, high schools, libraries, coffee shops." said Hotch.

"Stick with the community. The people of this county should be able to offer some good leads. Thanks a lot. Good luck." said Gideon.

xxxxxxx

"Tips have just started to come in. So far, we have fingers pointed at a minister..." said JJ.

Spencer flashed back to 'Raphael' holding a bullet before loading a revolver and pointed at his head before getting himself back to the present.

"A janitor at his school, and... Oh! The reverend Jesse Jackson." said JJ.

"Is anything useful?" asked Gideon without looking up from the file he was reading.

"Not so much." said JJ.

"Keep digging." said Gideon.

An officer approached them.

"Hey, uh, I got someone who remembers seeing a black guy they didn't recognize driving around in a black Lincoln in front of our last victim's house yesterday." said a beat cop.

"That's the second sighting for that vehicle." said JJ.

"It fits the profile... Large, dark sedan." said Spencer.

"Include it in the press release." said Gideon.

"Yeah." said JJ before walking away.

Spencer's cellphone rang causing Spencer to recognize Clarissa's ring tone.

"Clarissa calling?" asked Gideon.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"Go ahead." said Gideon.

A few seconds later Spencer answered his phone.

"Almost Diana's bedtime?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Clarissa.

"Please put her on." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer smiled briefly when he heard Diana's voice.

"Hi, daddy." said Diana.

"Hello, Diana." said Spencer.

"You come home soon?" asked Diana.

"Hopefully I'll be home in time for our date on Saturday, Diana." said Spencer.

"And we'll have our usual date night on Friday?" asked Clarissa.

"Hopefully." said Spencer before he listened to Diana tell him about his day before he hung up.

xxxxxx

Later on that night Spencer hurried over to Gideon and JJ.

"Guys we got a witness. A girl who saw the report on the news. She says a guy came up to her about a month ago, claiming to work for a record company. She's on the way in." said Spencer.

JJ sighed as she picked up the phone.

"I'll call the others." said JJ.

xxxxxxx

Spencer stood by JJ and Morgan when Morgan got Garcia on the phone.

"I was beginning to think you guys had forgotten all about me." said Garcia.

Morgan laughed.

"Well, we need you now more than ever, hot stuff." said Morgan.

"Aww, it's like candy to my ears, sugar. Go." said Garcia.

"All right, here's the scoop. The guy's a freelance musician. Played keyboard for the girls' high school musical. We contacted the school, and they gave us a name... Terrance Wakeland." said Morgan.

"Terrance Wakeland." said Garcia to herself as she typed, "In the New York metropolitan area including Westchester County. Computer says 3." said Garcia.

"He may work at a recording studio or record company." said Spencer.

"OK, I'm going to cross reference with IRS Records. Gotcha. Mount Vernon, just outside the Bronx. A & l studios... Looks like they went belly up a few months ago. But he still works there as a security guard." said Garcia.

"Thanks, mama. You're the best. Let's go." said Morgan.

"I'm suppose to stay here since I can't participate in raids until this boot is gone." said Spencer as he pointed at his left foot.

"I know, kid." said Morgan.

xxxxxx

The next evening Spencer dosed off a bit while Emily and Morgan talked, and after Emily walked away, Morgan looked at Spencer.

"You all right? Reid." said Morgan.

Spencer opened his eyes.

"Hmm?" asked Spencer.

"I said, are you all right?" asked Morgan.

"I'm fine." said Spencer before looking around, "Thanks for broadcasting it." said an annoyed Spencer.

"Hey, talk to me. Whatever you say to me in confidence is between us. You know that right?" asked Morgan.

"I don't have anything to tell you." said Spencer.

"Reid, listen to me. What you went through out there, Nobody expects you to rebound..." said Morgan.

Spencer glared at Morgan.

"I can still do my job, all right. I'm not gonna freak out." said Spencer.

"You think I don't know that." said Morgan.

After 30 seconds of silence Spencer decided to tell Morgan about his flashbacks.

"It's the crime scene photos." said Spencer softly.

"Crime scene photos?" asked Morgan.

"The dead girls in the leaves." said Spencer softly.

"Reid, we've seen worse." said Morgan.

"I know. I know we've seen worse, but... For the first time, I know. I look at them, and... I look at them and I... I know what they were thinking. And I know what they were feeling, like, right before." said Spencer as he tried to hold his composure.

"That's called empathy. And it's a good thing." said Morgan.

Spencer rubbed his eyes as he thought about going home to Clarissa and Diana.

"It's not. It's got me all messed up. I don't know how to focus. I can't do my job as well." said Spencer before looking at Morgan 10 seconds later, "So, what do I do?" asked Spencer.

"You use it. Let is make you a better profiler, a better person." said Morgan.

Spencer sniffed a bit.

"A better person. Hmph." said Spencer.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"I know that your worried that I would end up like Elle and snap, but I'm not going to. I've been to therapy 11 times during my medical leave, and having a wife, daughter, and another daughter on the way is the reason why I accepted professional help." said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer's gold wedding band.

"Even though the bombshell of you being married and a father was dropped six weeks ago, there are times that I'm still shocked that your married to Hotch's little sister." said Morgan.

"Clarissa and I were friends for two weeks until I asked her to be my girlfriend on her 19th birthday." said Spencer before smiling sadly, "She helped me clean out the house that I lived in since I was 12 while showing up at my aunt's and uncle's funeral to support me as a friend. I ended up asking her to sit with me, and before the priest started to talk, I reached over for her hand and held it the entire time until I had to give my eulogy." said Spencer.

"Really?" asked Morgan.

Spencer nodded.

"Holding her hand gave me strength through the service." said Spencer.

"How long did it take you to ask her to marry you?" asked Morgan.

"I asked her on the one year anniversary of the day we met, and I proposed to her at the same spot we met." said Spencer.

"Now that's romantic." said Morgan.

"Marrying Clarissa on the two year anniversary of the day I met her was romantic too." said Spencer.

"Hopefully I'll be able to find love like you did someday." said Morgan.

"Hopefully you will too." said Spencer.

Spencer's personal phone vibrated and Spencer quickly checked to see that it was Clarissa.

"I'm flying home right now." said Spencer.

"That's great." said Clarissa before putting her phone on speaker, "Diana wanted to say goodnight to you before I tuck her in." said Clarissa.

"Hi, daddy." said Diana.

"Hi there, bumble bee." said Spencer.

"Are you coming home?" asked Diana.

"I'm flying home right now, but as soon as I come home, I'll go into your bedroom to kiss you goodnight." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." said Diana.

"I love you, Diana." said Spencer.

"I love you too, daddy." said Diana.

A few seconds Clarissa spoke up.

"Diana just fell asleep." said Clarissa.

"Good." said Spencer before speaking again, "Will you stay up for me?" asked Spencer.

"Damn straight I will." said Clarissa.

"I will be landing soon, and luckily I'll be coming straight home since we all did our paperwork today in New York since we payed our respects for the detective's family." said Spencer.

"Try to get some rest." said Clarissa.

"I will." said Spencer.

"Love you." said Clarissa.

"Love you too." said Spencer.

xxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer told Clarissa about all the flashbacks he had before the two 25-year-olds decided to celebrate Spencer coming home before they took a bubble bath together.

xxxxxxxx

A few days later Spencer had Diana on his hip as he bought their movie tickets so they could see "Meet the Robinsons", and a few minutes later Spencer and Diana were sharing a container of popcorn as "Meet the Robinsons" started.


	4. Broken Bone and Distress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though this episode took place around Valentines Day of 2007, this chapter is taking place during the first week of April because it was important that Spencer took over a month off to work on recovering from Hankel.
> 
> There will be a snappy Spencer in this chapter and I hope you readers love the reason why Spencer would show up to the BAU late.

Spencer and Clarissa both woke up at 12 AM to a crash before hearing Diana crying.

"What the hell happened?" asked Clarissa as she and Spencer both quickly put on their glasses.

A few seconds later Spencer found Diana on the floor crying.

"What's wrong, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"I fall out of bed." cried Diana as she clutched her leg.

Clarissa came into the room and instantly started to examine her daughter's right leg before noticing the swelling that was already happening.

"We better quickly get dressed before we take Diana to the emergency room." said Clarissa.

10 minutes later Spencer was carrying Diana to Clarissa's SUV before he drove Clarissa, Diana, and himself to Children's National.

xxxxxxxx

An hour later Dr. Ramona Edwards looked at Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana before laying her eyes on Spencer who was the only one who didn't have a tear stained face.

"With the x-rays I'm about to show you guys, you might want get Clarissa to sit down, Dr. Reid." said Dr. Edwards.

Spencer helped his crying wife sit down before resting a hand on Clarissa's shoulder before taking Diana's hand with his free hand.

"So what's the verdict, Ramona?" asked Clarissa.

"Diana has a greenstick fracture on her right Tibia, so she'll need a cast for at least month while staying off her feet." said Dr. Edwards before smiling at Diana who was in less pain due to the Ibuprofen she was given, "What color do you want for your cast?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"Purple." said Diana.

Spencer grinned at his daughter.

"Nice choice." said Spencer.

Dr. Edwards looked at Clarissa.

"Since you have worked with me before, would you like to assist on holding Diana's leg in place while I put on the cast?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"Sure." said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "You can entertain Diana with some magic tricks." said Clarissa as she grabbed some latex free gloves.

A few minutes later Spencer was doing an array of magic tricks for Diana while Clarissa assisted Dr. Edwards with putting a purple cast on Diana's right leg.

xxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer placed Diana into his and Clarissa's bed.

"Eventually you'll feel better." said Spencer.

Diana looked at her purple cast.

"Can you please draw on my cast, daddy?" asked Diana.

"Sure, bumble bee." said Spencer as he grabbed a Sharpie from his messenger bag and wrote GET WELL SOON, BUMBLE BEE. LOVE, DADDY.

"Thank you, daddy." said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer's work phone started to ring causing Spencer to see that he had missed over four calls before he answered his phone.

"Reid, we have a case and I've been trying to get ahold of you for the past hour." said Hotch.

Spencer winced as he heard the concern in his brother-in-law's voice.

"There was a medical emergency that caused Clarissa and I to take Diana to the emergency room at midnight while forgetting to grab our phones, but I'm leaving the house in a few minutes." said Spencer.

"I'll leave a file on your desk." said Hotch.

"I'll explain what happened to Diana after briefing." said Spencer before hanging up.

Spencer held up his phone and looked at Diana.

"Can you please smile for me?" asked Spencer.

Diana smiled for her daddy as Spencer took a picture, and a minute later Spencer was hurrying out of the house while Clarissa joined Diana in bed.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer walked into the conference room where he saw Hotch giving him a concerned look while he noticed the various looks on Gideon's, JJ's, Emily's, and Morgan's faces as he sat down causing him to be upset.

"The ward's detectives are inundated with homicides. Gang violence is a big problem. Shootings, armed robberies, it's an everyday occurrence, but this type of street attack Is new to them." said JJ.

Spencer noticed Morgan looking at him.

"Could it be gang related, maybe some new type of initiation rite?" asked Emily.

"The gangs in the ward use guns. In fact, no known gangs exhibit this type of MO." said JJ.

"What about dope? These guys come up with pretty freaky ways of killing the competition to get their message out." said Morgan.

"Yeah, but there just doesn't seem to be any connection between the victims and the drug world." said JJ.

"Homeless man, a construction worker... Security guard." said Gideon.

"Just three dead men and no witnesses." said JJ.

"We're looking for a homicidal serial criminal in a neighborhood populated by criminals. The challenge will be separating him from the rest." said Hotch.

"We have no evidence, no apparent interaction between the unsub And the victims pre or postmortem, And an indistinguishable MO should be simple." said Spencer as he thought about the lack of sleep already affecting him.

A minute later Spencer was in his brother-in-law's office.

"So why was Diana in the emergency room for a few hours?" asked Hotch.

Spencer pulled out his phone.

"Look at Diana's new accessory for the next month." said Spencer as he showed his brother-in-law a picture the picture he took.

Hotch's eyes went wide when he saw his niece sporting a purple cast on her right leg.

"What happened?" asked Hotch.

"Apparently Diana turned the wrong way in bed causing her to fall out of bed and develop a greenstick fracture on her right leg, and her screaming woke Clarissa and me up." said Spencer.

"Is she OK now?" asked Hotch.

"Diana's happy to have a cast in her favorite color, but she's disappointed that she won't be using crutches like I did." said Spencer before yawning, "Despite Clarissa and I both having an unpleasant wake up call, I also had a rough night despite going to bed at 9 PM." said Spencer.

"Nightmares?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded before scratching his chin.

"I didn't even have time to shave since it was important to rush Diana to the emergency room." said Spencer.

"Why don't you let Clarissa know that your going to Houston." said Hotch.

Spencer nodded as he pulled out his phone and sent Clarissa a text message.

I'M GOING TO HOUSTON. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU, DIANA, AND LITTLE BRIDGET. ~ SR

xxxxxx

Spencer was sitting against the corner of the couch as he listened to Morgan talk.

"We got a construction worker... Outsider in the community. We got a security guard... That's an authority figure. And then we got a homeless man. That's a powerless victim that no one would notice missing. So who's he targeting?" asked Morgan.

"Let's see if any of the victims frequented the same stores or sites." said Hotch.

"He used blitz attacks, which means he most likely lacks the interpersonal skills. He needed to coerce his victims into coming close. And he also used the element of surprise, which means he may have stalked his victims prior to killing them." said Spencer tiredly.

"Well, if that's the case, I want to go to the last crime scene to see where he may have been hiding." said Morgan.

"I want to see the neighborhood for myself. I'll go with you." said Gideon.

"Good. The rest of us will go to the precinct and set up shop." said Hotch.

"I'll map out the area and see if I can find any places the victims would have visited in the neighborhood." said Spencer.

"Good. Maybe we can find a connection between them. I'll help you with that." said Emily.

"I can handle it." said Spencer.

Emily and Morgan both looked at Spencer in shock.

"I wasn't suggesting that you couldn't." said Emily.

"You know what "I'll help you with it" means?" asked Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law and thought about Spencer's ongoing symptoms of PTSD and how Spencer's upset about Diana getting hurt.

"Reid." said Hotch as he waited for his brother-in-law to give him eye contact, "Prentiss will help you with the geographical profiling and victimology." said Hotch.

"Fine." muttered Spencer as he sank in his seat as he noticed looks that his teammates were giving him.

"Remember, this is a high crime area. Be vigilant. Nobody goes anywhere alone." said Hotch as he glanced as his brother-in-law who was scratching at his unshaven face before he closed his eyes.

A few seconds later Gideon looked at Hotch.

"Why is Spencer acting the way he is?" asked Gideon quietly.

"Despite Reid telling me that he and Clarissa were in bed by 9 PM, Diana fell out of bed at midnight and broke her leg." said Hotch quietly.

Gideon winced.

"Ouch." said Gideon.

"Apparently Spencer and Clarissa were so worried about Diana that they forgot to grab their phones so that's why I couldn't get ahold of Reid until they got home from the hospital." said Hotch quietly.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer grimaced at the headache he was having from the lack of sleep and the noise from the construction work as he worked on his geographical profile as Emily and Hotch both watched him before JJ came into the room with a plate.

"What's that?" asked Hotch.

"One of the detectives' wives made us cookies." said JJ as she ate a cookie.

Emily got up.

"Wow. Homemade cookies?" asked Emily.

"Yeah, I guess that's what they mean by southern hospitality." said JJ as she tried to mimic a southern accent.

Spencer squinted as he felt his headache intensify.

"What are you saying?" asked Spencer.

"Southern hospitality!" said Emily in a louder voice.

"I need to concentrate..." as he walked to a window and closed it, "How can anybody hear with all this work going on?" asked Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law and realized that his PTSD symptoms were emerging.

"Well, you're gonna have to get used to it. Construction crews are working around the clock." said JJ.

"Saw it on the way in." said Emily.

Spencer scratched his chin as he thought about his skin always being sensitive.

"City's trying to return to its splendor, and that means that Houston's poorest are being kicked out of their homes." said JJ just as Gideon, Morgan, and Detective Fuller came into the room.

"Unsub might be homeless." said Gideon as he walked towards Spencer who was working on his geographical profile, "Appears to have been living in a building next to where the security guard was attacked." said Gideon.

Spencer pointed at his map.

"These are the locations of the last three murders, all near abandoned buildings." said Spencer before stepping away.

Gideon put on his reading glasses so he could get a closer look.

"I noticed the neighborhood. Maybe he was recently displaced." said Hotch.

"Could be a motive. Construction worker, security guard at a construction site. Payback?" asked Emily.

"What about the homeless man?" asked Morgan.

"We get a lot of beefs down there among the homeless. That one could have just been a fight about space or food." said Detective Fuller.

"Let's get a list of residents Who've been kicked out of their homes by the gentrification." said Gideon before looking at Emily, "You and Reid check the shelters?" asked Gideon.

"Yeah, we're on it." said Emily enthusiastically before thinking about Spencer's behavior, "Unless... you OK with that, Reid?" asked Emily.

"I'm fine with that." said Spencer as he walked over to his messenger bag and picked it up.

A few minutes later Spencer had his phone out and he sent Clarissa a text.

HOW'S DIANA DOING? ~ SR

A minute later Clarissa replied.

SHE'S IN PAIN AND UPSET THAT SHE CAN'T DO ANYTHING BUT SIT ON THE COUCH WITH HER LEG ELEVATED WHILE BEING ONLY ALLOWED TO READ, COLOR, AND WATCH TV WHILE HAVING TO RELY ON LUCY CARRYING HER AROUND. HOW ARE YOU DOING? ~ CR

Spencer typed his reply.

I DEFINITELY HAVE A HEADACHE FROM THE LACK OF SLEEP AND IT DOESN'T HELP THAT THERE'S A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION IN HOUSTON WHICH ARE BOTH MAKING ME MORE IRRITABLE. SO IT DOESN'T HELP THAT MY ONGOING PTSD SYMPTOMS ARE AT ITS WORST TODAY. ~ SR

A minute later Clarissa replied.

EVENTUALLY YOUR PTSD SYMPTOMS WILL LESSEN. ~ CR

Spencer typed a reply.

CAN YOU ASK DIANA TO DRAW A PICTURE FOR ME AND SEND IT TO ME LATER? ~ SR

A minute later Clarissa replied.

DIANA'S DRAWING YOU A PICTURE RIGHT NOW. ~ CR

xxxxxxx

Spencer stood with Emily when a woman approached them.

"You all are looking for someone in charge? I'm Angie, one of the administrators." said Angie as she looked at Spencer and Emily.

"Hi. I'm Agent Prentiss. This is Agent Reid. We're with the FBI." said Emily.

"Really?" asked Angie.

"Really." repeated Spencer.

Emily closed her badge.

"It looks like you have your hands full." said Emily.

"With the demolitions in the projects and the abandoned buildings, there's no place else for people to sleep." said Angie.

"Well, thank God there are people like you who take the time..." said Emily.

Spencer instantly felt impatient

"Do you have a list of everyone who comes through here?" asked Spencer.

"Uh, we have a sign In sheet, but we don't force anyone to sign if they don't want to. Some who do don't even use their real names. Elvis eats here a lot." said Angie.

Spencer raised his eyebrows.

"We would appreciate any lists you have." said Emily.

"Why?" asked Angie.

"Have you noticed anyone who acts unusually aggressive towards the other residents?" asked Spencer.

"What's this about?" asked Angie.

"A series of murders in the area. The perpetrator may be a homeless man. Maybe someone who stays here. He may even be in this room as we speak." said Spencer as he looked around.

"My God, Reid." muttered Emily.

"Have you noticed anyone who acts paranoid or displays explosive, unprovoked bursts of violence, More than just pushing and shoving? I mean, someone who really tries to harm others." said Spencer.

"There are territorial fights over food and places to sleep. The nurse treats people for minor injuries all the time, but no one's seriously hurt." said Angie.

Spencer reached into his messenger bag and pulled out a business card.

"If anyone does come to mind, give us a call. Thank you." said Spencer before walking away.

As soon as Spencer got outside his personal phone vibrated causing Spencer to smile softly at a picture of a smiling Diana holding up a picture   
of her, Clarissa, and himself with Merton and a puppy.

DIANA ASKED IF WE COULD GET A PUPPY, SO WHEN YOU GET BACK WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHETHER WE SHOULD GET A DOG OR NOT. ~ CR

As soon as Spencer pocketed his phone Emily came outside and stormed over to him.

"There's a high presence of mental disorders with the homeless." said Spencer.

"Yeah. What the hell was that in there?" asked Emily.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"He may even be in this room as we speak"? We have nothing to support that." said Emily.

"We're investigating a serial homicide. Should I have pretended there's no danger?" asked Spencer.

"We just left that woman potentially afraid of every man who walks into this shelter," said Emily.

"Again, until we find this unsub, how is that a bad thing?" asked Spencer.

"What is the matter with you?" asked Emily.

"What do you mean, what's the matter with me?" asked Spencer.

"I have never seen you act like this." said Emily.

Anger flashed in Spencer's eyes as he decided to raise his voice a bit.

"Oh, really? Oh, in the months that you know me, you've never seen me act this way? Hey, no offense, Emily, but... You don't really know what you're talking about, do you?" asked Spencer before walking away.

A few minutes later a sighing Spencer looked at Emily who was gripping the steering wheel as she drove.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you." said Spencer as he decided to explain himself, "Over the weekend I had to deal with the 21st anniversary of my biological parents deaths and on top of that I had only two hours of sleep last night since Clarissa and I had to spend a few hours at Children's National with Diana before Hotch finally gotten ahold of me." said Spencer.

Emily instantly soften after hearing Spencer's explanation.

"What happened to Diana?" asked Emily.

Spencer pulled out his personal phone and showed a picture of Diana causing Emily to gasp at the picture of Diana sporting a purple cast that went up to Diana's knee.

"Oh my goodness." said Emily.

"Diana rolled out of bed and ended up having a greenstick fracture on her right tibia." said Spencer as he then showed Emily a picture of the x-ray he took.

Emily winced as she realized that she was looking at a picture of an x-ray that was taken.

"Ouch." said Emily.

"When it comes to adjusting being back at work, dealing with the anniversary of my biological parents deaths, and Diana getting injured last night I ended up making you a target for my anger." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry." said Spencer.

"Its OK since you have a lot going on right now." said Emily.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer approached Hotch who was getting off the phone.

"Just got back from the local homeless shelter. The administrator hasn't noticed anyone new displaying aggressive behavior." said Spencer as he clipped his ID back to his suit jacket.

"He's not in a homeless shelter. I just talked to Gideon and Morgan. They think that he's killing to protect some makeshift shelter of his own." said Hotch.

"So are we ready for a profile yet?" asked Spencer.

"We're missing something. How did this homeless man learn to kill so efficiently?" asked Hotch.

"You know what we need?" asked Emily.

"We need to get lucky. We need him to make a mistake." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer's cellphone rang causing Spencer to look at his brother-in-law.

"Its Clarissa calling so I can say goodnight to Diana, do you want to join in since this is your sister and niece calling me?" asked Spencer.

Hotch nodded and a minute later they were away from everyone else while Spencer had his phone on speaker.

"Your on speaker with Aaron and me." said Spencer.

"Hi Aaron." said Clarissa.

"Hi daddy. Hi uncle Aaron." said a tired Diana.

"I heard about your fall." said Hotch.

"Will you come see my cast when you and daddy come home?" asked Diana.

"I sure will, and I will sign your cast." said Hotch.

"I sleep with mommy tonight." said Diana.

"You two are having a sleepover without me?" asked Spencer.

Hotch shook his head when he saw the pout on Spencer's face.

"We'll have another sleepover when you get home, Spence." said Clarissa.

"Well uncle Aaron and I have to get back to work, so I hope you have a good night sleep, Diana." said Spencer.

"I will, daddy." said Diana.

"I love you two girls." said Spencer.

"We love you too." chorused Clarissa and Diana.

"I love you, uncle Aaron." said Diana.

"I love you too, Diana." said Hotch.

"I love you, big brother." said Clarissa.

"Love you too, sis." said Hotch.

Spencer hung up before looking at his brother-in-law.

"Do you mind if I could take some time to shave and take a nap?" asked Spencer.

"Not at all, and if there's any developments I'll wake you up." said Hotch.

"Thanks." said Spencer softly.

xxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was looking at his geographical profile while Hotch thought about Diana as he recounted his interview with Maria.

"He asked if she was ok and why was she crying. He wasn't aware of what he was doing to her." said Hotch.

JJ approached them.

"Garcia's on line one." said JJ as she answered the phone, "Go ahead, Penelope." said JJ.

"All right, cowgirls and boys." said Garcia.

"Hey." said Hotch.

"I've got the comparison satellite images of the before and after pictures, and I found something. Check it." said Garcia.

JJ pulled up a photo.

"Do you see it yet?" asked Garcia.

"Yeah." said Hotch.

"Yeah, an SOS." said Emily.

"Yeah, it's made of debris and other rocky bits of gobbledygook. This is the building where the security guard got killed." said Garcia.

Spencer's mind started racing as he thought about his own ongoing PTSD symptoms when it came to loud noises.

"He's asking for help." said Hotch.

"Wait, guys. Listen outside." said Spencer as he pointed at the window.

Hotch thought about his brother-in-law's current PTSD symptoms and how loud noises bothers Spencer.

"Chaos. SOS." said Hotch.

"He's a war veteran." said Emily.

"He thinks he's in a war zone." said Hotch.

A few minutes later they had Gideon, Morgan, and Detective Fuller on the phone.

"He left a distress signal on the roof of one of the buildings." said Hotch.

"The quick strikes are consistent with trained military tactics." said Morgan.

"He must have served in a place that looked or sounded like this ward." said Emily.

"Well, we were right about him being homeless, in a sense. Wherever he is, in his mental state, he's certainly not at home." said Gideon.

"He may not even be aware he's killing." said Hotch.

"Now, how's that?" asked Detective Fuller.

"When soldiers suffered from anxiety, depression, and flashbacks in World War 1, it was called shell shock. In World War II, battle fatigue. Now we refer to it as PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder, war related. A side effect of which is slipping into dissociative states." said Spencer.

"The mind divorces itself from reality so it can cope with the trauma." said Emily.

"He's reliving a memory. He's trapped in his head in some war zone." said Gideon.

"Hiding and defending himself from the enemy." said Morgan.

"OK, so how do we find a man who's trapped inside his head?" asked JJ.

Emily looked at Spencer and Hotch who were both sporting wedding rings.

"He's got a wedding ring. Someone's missing him." said Emily.

"Good. I'm with Detective Fuller. Morgan has last crime scene to check." said Gideon.

JJ hung up.

"JJ, check missing persons reports, See if anyone matches the description. It would have been filed recently, the last 2 or 3 days." said Hotch.

"OK." said JJ.

"Thanks." said Hotch.

xxxxxx

Spencer leaned against a table as he listened to Dana talk about her husband.

"He was on his way home from work. He called before he left the office and said we needed to talk when he got home. He sounded upset. That   
was the last I heard from him." said Dana.

"What was he upset about?" asked Emily.

"He didn't say." said Dana.

"Dana called me that night when Roy didn't show up. So... The next morning we filed a missing persons report." said Max.

"Mrs. Woodridge, where does your husband work?" asked Hotch.

"He's a consultant at a security firm downtown." said Dana.

"Did your husband ever serve in combat?" asked Gideon.

Max instantly became guarded.

"Excuse me?" asked Max.

"Is he a war veteran?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah. Uh... We both are. We were in special ops. 75th ranger regiment, Bravo company, 3rd battalion. But Roy... He retired shortly after things went bad in Mogadishu." said Max.

"That was back in 1993." said Spencer before looking at Dana and Max, "Let me ask you this... Does he display any sort of, uh... Behavioral tics...   
Certain everyday things, they make him jumpy or startled?" asked Spencer as he realized that he listed his own PTSD symptoms.

JJ looked at Spencer as she realized that Spencer was dealing with PTSD causing her to think about the dogs she encountered.

"Why?" asked Dana.

"Does he?" asked Spencer.

"Is this going to help find him?" asked Dana.

"Mrs. Woodridge, please. We need to know everything we can about your husband." said Emily.

"We all had a... hard time over there, you know...you bring some things home with you." said Max.

"Like what?" asked Hotch as he thought about Clarissa telling him about Spencer's PTSD symptoms.

"He has a hard time with loud noises. He can't be in crowds. He has nightmares and wakes up in cold sweats. The smells are the worst. He... If he smells something burning, Like a barbecue or gas or fire... He gets sick. It really only got bad about a year ago." said Dana.

"What happened to him in Somalia?" asked Gideon.

"Nothing. Combat happened." said Max.

"What does that mean?" asked Gideon.

"I'm gonna get a drink of water." said Max as she got up and left the room before Gideon trailed after him.

xxxxxx

Hotch poured Dana a glass of water.

"Thank you." said Dana before looking at everyone in the room, "Could somebody please tell me what's going on?" asked Dana.

"There have been some people hurt recently, and we think that there may be someone lost on the streets. Someone who thinks that he's still at war." said Hotch.

"But Roy would never hurt innocent people. Well, why would he even be in this neighborhood?" asked Dana.

At that moment the phone rang causing JJ to answer the phone.

"Hey, Garcia. We have Mrs. Woodridge here with us." warned JJ.

"Oh, uh, well, I found an '02 white Ford F150 pickup truck." said Garcia.

Dana gasped.

"Oh, my God. That's his truck." said Dana.

"It was impounded. Uh, it had a flat tire and was picked up on Lyon street about a quarter of a mile from highway 59." said Garcia.

"He takes the East Tex freeway to work every day." said Dana.

"Mrs. Woodridge, I'm very sorry... But this is definitely your husband." said Emily.

Spencer was sitting at a table looking at a file when Gideon came into the room.

"We need to put a SWAT team together, plan a grid search and go building to building." said Gideon.

"He's reliving the war, isn't he?" asked Hotch.

"A specific incident in which he killed a child." said Gideon.

"Guys, the SWAT team's gonna have guns, right? What happens if he tries to fight them?" asked Spencer.

Gideon stormed out of the room.

xxxxxx

Spencer was narrowing down his geographical profile when his brother in law came over to him.

"Reid, what are you working on?" asked Hotch as he looked at his brother in law.

Spencer turned around to see his brother-in-law looking at him confused.

"Three days ago police shut down the freeway at 5 PM for 10 minutes. Cars were stalled and Roy must have tried to exit on the surface streets. Sadly, he ended up in an unfamiliar area with a flat tire. He was changing that tire when an 8 story building on market imploded 5 blocks away. He heard the explosion and reacted like a mortar bomb had landed nearby. This explosion is what triggered his dissociation. And since then, he's been stuck in that state. Running when he needed to, sleeping when he could, camouflaging himself into his surroundings, and hiding from his perceived enemies." said Spencer.

Hotch thought back to seeing Spencer dead on the cabin floor for a few minutes before Hankel came back to give Spencer CPR causing Haley to   
wake him up from nightmares before he called his sister to ask if Spencer was still alive.

"He's relieving the worst moment of his life. He's gotta be terrified." said Hotch.

"Yeah." said Spencer sadly.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law with sad eyes before he left the room while making a mental note to talk to Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer's cellphone rang causing Spencer to see that it was Garcia calling.

"Yeah, what do you have?" asked Spencer.

"Why isn't Derek answering his phone?" asked a worried Garcia.

"He's probably stuck underground somewhere." said Spencer.

"Underground?" asked Garcia.

"I'll explain later." said Spencer.

"Oh. OK. So, I finally got through All those recent police reports he asked me to check, which, by the way, it was no hopscotch through the park,   
because that precinct you're at is kind of tragically behind on their paperwork." said Garcia.

"Yeah, they're undermanned." said Spencer.

"Oh, Jeez, really? I can't imagine what that feels like. Oh, no, wait. Yes, I can, 'cause..." said a slightly angry Garcia.

Spencer sighed.

"Garcia, do you have anything for me?" asked Spencer.

"Well, he told me to look for anything unusual, and it's all usual. Minor break ins, apartment burglaries, televisions, stereos, car thefts, and smash and grabs. Common stuff in the world of burgling." said Garcia.

"Nothing a guy lost in the streets might use for survival?" asked Spencer.

"No, nothing reported. It...like I said, it's all petty. There's a... Some vandalism at construction sites. Communications radio missing from one of them." said Garcia.

Spencer's head shot up.

"Wait... Did you say radio?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah. Construction Foreman reported that one of their trucks had been broken into and a hand held radio was stolen." said Garcia.

Spencer quickly hung up before he quickly walked as he could towards the rest of the team.

"Guys. He may have stolen a radio, a walkie talkie." said Spencer.

A few minutes later everyone was in a conference room when Morgan came into the room.

"We were right. He had a nest of sorts right near every murder scene." said Morgan.

"There was a burglary of a two way radio from a construction site recently." said Spencer.

"That could be Roy. We only used UHF back then." said Max.

"He's looking for help." said Gideon.

"And he'll keep trying to contact operations command." said Max.

"Detective, can we get a dozen UHF radios set up in this room, and each of them tuned to each of the preset channel frequencies?" asked Hotch.

"Right away." said Detective Fuller.

"Wait a minute. When he calls, we need to be very careful with the communication, because we set up specific responses to contact op com so we could avoid hostile interception and to establish "no danger" signals. And we had specific names to identify our squad to the operator." said Max.

"Do you remember the language you set up?" asked Gideon.

"I couldn't forget it. Roy and I wrote it. The call out was, "this is John Doe looking for Mark Rippen." Rippen was our hero at the time... Number 11, quarterback for the Redskins in 1993." said Max.

"Now we know where he is in his head. He calls in, we'll be on the other end when he does." said Gideon.

"What if he doesn't call? What if he just kills someone else?" asked Detective Fuller.

"Well, we'll deal with that if it happens." said Gideon.

"Kind of easy for you to say. This guy may be messed up, but that doesn't change the fact that he has killed 4 innocent people. Now, why don't we just do the grid search?" asked Detective Fuller.

"If you set up a grid search and he confronts one of your men, you'll be planning a funeral." said Max.

"I can guarantee you we're right about his profile. This man wants to get rescued. All I'm asking is that you just give us a chance to bring him in." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxxx

After listening to Max talk to Roy on the radio, Garcia was able to get a location causing Spencer to stay at the station with Emily and JJ.

xxxxxxx

Spencer listened to Morgan on the phone telling him that Roy was dead before he looked over at Emily and JJ with sad eyes and shook his head before JJ started to comfort Dana.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was working on his paperwork when Detective Fuller came into the room.

"Folks. Thank you so much for coming here No one ever makes this place a priority. We're grateful to you." said Detective Fuller.

"I wish it had ended differently." said Emily.

"Yeah. Me, too." said Detective Fuller.

"Hey, has anyone seen Gideon?" asked Emily.

"Agent Gideon left some time ago. Said he meet you all at the airport." said Detective Fuller.

"Did he say where he went to?" asked JJ.

"No." said Detective Fuller.

"I think I know where he is." said Hotch before leaving the room as he thought about Gideon constantly avoiding Spencer unless it was a group gathering.

xxxxxx

Spencer was sitting away from the rest of his team when Hotch approached him.

"I know that your PTSD was at its worse during the case we just worked especially since you identified with the unsub." said Hotch quietly.

"I know, and I really blew up at Emily earlier." said Spencer.

"I know and she told me that you apologized." said Hotch.

Spencer's cellphone vibrated and he saw that it was Clarissa.

JUST SO YOU KNOW DIANA AND I WILL BE WAITING AT THE BAU FOR YOU SINCE YOU TOOK THE TRAIN TO QUANTICO. NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT ME CARRYING DIANA SINCE DR. LARSON GAVE ME THE OK TO CARRY DIANA. ~ CR

Spencer typed a reply.

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU. ~ SR

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Clarissa and Diana will be picking me up from the BAU." said Spencer.

xxxxx

Spencer exited the elevators with his teammates and a few seconds later he saw Garcia holding Diana on her hip with Clarissa standing by before Morgan noticed the three-year-old girl on Garcia's hip before seeing a purple cast.

"What happened to you, Diana?" asked Morgan.

Garcia laid her eyes on a sheepish looking Spencer.

"Why didn't you tell me that Diana has a broken leg?" asked Garcia.

Diana grinned when she saw her daddy.

"Hi, daddy." said Diana before noticing her uncle, "Hi, uncle Aaron." said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer had Diana on his hip before he pecked Clarissa on the lips.

"I was going to say something after this case." said Spencer before looking at JJ and Morgan, "Two nights ago Diana fell out of bed, and an hour later at Children's National we found out that Diana has a greenstick fracture on her right tibia. So having to spend a few hours at Children's National was not a great way start of my day yesterday especially with the PTSD I'm trying to combat." said Spencer.

"Can I sleep with you and mommy?" asked Diana.

"Since I missed out on having you sleep with mommy and me last night, you can sleep with us." said Spencer as he blew a raspberry on Diana's cheek.

Diana giggled causing Spencer to smile at his daughter's laughter.

"I love you too, daddy." said Diana.

"I love you too, Diana." said Spencer.

Clarissa rested her hands on her hips.

"What about me?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer wrapped his free arm around his wife while resting a hand on Clarissa's 19-week pregnant belly causing him to feel Bridget kick.

"I love all three of my girls." said Spencer as he thought about his girls being the reason why he accepted professional help right after rescuing himself from Hankel's clutches.

xxxxxxxx

A few days later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana were leaving an animal shelter with a female two year old Bichon Frise dog named Daisy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daisy was the only dog that tolerated Spencer at the animal shelter and that the animal shelter allowed the Reids to adopt Daisy quickly when they found out that Spencer's been dealing with PTSD.


	5. Jones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you readers love the changes I made to Jones since when it comes to Spencer and Hotch being brother in laws, Spencer knows that he needs to ask his brother in law for the night off. I'm sorry for the lack of Diana in this chapter, but I promise that the next chapter will include more Diana.

Spencer looked at his wife as he got dressed for work.

"I'm not sure if I want to work for the BAU anymore." said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband in shock.

"I thought that you love your job." said Clarissa.

"Before Hankel I loved my job" said Spencer as he took a deep breath, "Except when it came to being clinically dead for a few minutes, you were almost a widow, Diana almost lost me, and Bridget would have never get to meet me." said Spencer as he rested a hand on his wife's 20-week   
pregnant belly and felt his unborn daughter kick.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Since we have to get to my 20 week ultrasound, why don't you work one more case before you make your final decision." said Clarissa.

"Deal." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A half hour later Dr. Larson smiled when he saw Spencer.

"I see that you got rid of the cast." said Dr. Larson.

"I got rid of it last Friday, so now I'm back to full duty." said Spencer.

Dr. Larson smiled at Clarissa.

"Let's get started on your exam, Clarissa." said Dr. Larson.

"We can't wait to see Bridget again." said Clarissa.

Dr. Larson looked at the two young parents.

"So baby girl Reid's name is going to be Bridget?" asked Dr. Larson.

"Bridget Mackenzie Reid." said Spencer.

"Beautiful name for a little girl who will be beautiful like her big sister." said Dr. Larson.

xxxxxxxxxx

After Dr. Larson finished performing an ultrasound, he looked at the two 25-year-olds.

"Any new pictures of Diana you two want to show me before Clarissa starts her shift in the maternity ward?" asked Dr. Larson.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances as Spencer pulled out his phone and showed the gynecologist that delivered Diana a picture of Diana.

"What happened to her that caused her to get a purple cast?" asked Dr. Larson.

"She ended up having a greenstick fracture on her left tibia after she fell out of bed." said Spencer.

"Was she jumping?" asked Dr. Larson.

"She accidentally rolled out of bed, so we both had an unpleasant wake up call to a crash and Diana crying in pain." said Spencer.

"At least a three-year-old's bones will heal much faster than adults." said Dr. Larson as he handed Spencer and Clarissa each a copy of the ultrasound.

"I know." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "I should probably start heading to Quantico." said Spencer as he gave his wife a kiss.

"Text me if you get a case." said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was sitting at the round table.

"We've got a serial killer in New Orleans who killed at least 3 men pre-Katrina. Until now, the New Orleans Police Department believed that the serial killer died in the storm." said JJ.

"What's happened to tell them otherwise?" asked Morgan.

"A fourth body was found in the french quarter last night. Same MO another male. Throat slashed, eviscerated." said JJ.

"A year and a half? That's a long cooling off period. Are we sure this is the same unsub?" asked Emily.

"He claims to be. He sent a letter to the head detective on the case." said JJ.

"Does LaMontagne have any leads?" asked Gideon.

"He died in Katrina. His son is actually leading the case now." said JJ.

"Hmm. That can't be easy." said Morgan.

"Well, we need to pour over the evidence from the first three murders and determine the pattern." said Hotch.

"Katrina washed everything away. The 3 victims we know of, their autopsy reports, witness statements. DNA test results." said JJ.

"So, basically, all we have to go on is the latest victim?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah." said JJ.

"Until he kills again." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was in Hotch's office.

"Why are you sounding a bit depressed?" asked Hotch.

Spencer sighed.

"I'm just thinking about my future." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Hotch.

"Ever since I returned to work Gideon has been ignoring me while Morgan and Emily are constantly giving me searching looks, and with me going to be holding Bridget for the first time in 20 weeks, I'm thinking about working a safer job." said Spencer.

"Have you talked to Clarissa about what you are thinking about doing?" asked Hotch.

"I did, but she told me to work one more case before I made my decision." said Spencer.

"Didn't you mention that your friend Ethan most likely moved New Orleans after dropping out of the academy?" asked Hotch.

"He did." said Spencer.

"Why don't you think about tracking him down and talk to him about why he dropped out of the academy before you make your decision." said   
Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message.

I'M GOING TO NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA RIGHT NOW. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU, DIANA, AND BRIDGET. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxx

Morgan looked at Spencer and noticed a thoughtful look on Spencer's face while thinking about how Spencer looked much better.

"Hey, Reid. What's goin' on up there?" asked Morgan.

"I was just thinking of an old friend of mine from Las Vegas, Ethan. I'm pretty sure he lives in New Orleans now." said Spencer.

"Really? Gonna give him a call?" asked Morgan.

Hotch gave Spencer an amused look as he thought about the few times he met Ethan.

"Grew up competing against each other in absolutely everything. Spelling bees, science fairs. He came to New Haven for aunt Ethel's and uncle Gordon's funeral, and he was my best man when I married Clarissa." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "We also both had our hearts set on joining the Bureau, but... first day at Quantico he backed out." said Spencer.

Emily looked up from her file.

"He probably just couldn't take the heat." said Emily.

Spencer gave Emily a look that he uses when he scolds Diana.

"It's not really for us to judge, is it?" chided Spencer.

"Right. My bad." said Emily.

Morgan looked at Spencer before JJ got serious.

"These are copies of the newspaper articles on the murders, Dating back to early August 2005. It's all we have to go on." said JJ as she passed out newspaper articles.

"He killed 3 times, he stopped for 19 months, then he started killing again." said Hotch.

"We should have Garcia run a list of any offenders in the area. Anyone who spent the last year and a half doing time." said Gideon.

"Or anyone that relocated after Katrina and recently moved back." said Spencer.

"What is the victimology in killing a mechanic, a real estate broker, and a cook, with ages ranging from 22 to 45?" asked Emily.

"And this latest is a 33 year old taxi driver. They just don't seem to have very much in common." said JJ.

"Besides being male and walking the French Quarter late at night." said Morgan.

"Which is notorious for muggings off the main drag." said JJ.

"Yeah, but this guy isn't in a rush to flee the scene. A slaughter like this takes time." said Emily.

"Andrei Chikatilo fantasized that the men he killed were his captives and then torturing and mutilating them somehow made him a hero." said Spencer.

"The city's barely back to life. Something like this could cripple its psyche." said Gideon.

"So where do we start?" asked JJ.

"Well, with no case file there's only one place we can start. At square one." said Hotch.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"When was the first time you met Ethan?" asked Morgan.

"During my first piano lesson, and he was slightly jealous that I picked up playing the piano much faster than him since having an eidetic memory and applying music to mathematics had its perks." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer looked at the body as the coroner removed the sheet.

"4 layers of fatty tissue sliced through like butter. I only seen that 3 other times." said the coroner.

"You work this case initially?" asked Spencer.

"Nah. You don't forget victims like this. It's like they were dissected." said the coroner.

"I can still smell the alcohol on him." said Emily.

"This is New Orleans. Dead or alive, it' a smell you get used to." said the coroner.

Spencer leaned forward a bit.

"The victim has no defense wounds. Meaning this is most likely a blitz attack." said Spencer as he walked to the other side while Emily lifted the   
sheet, "No hesitation marks or rapid thrusts. Cuts were methodical. Almost procedural." said Spencer.

"My guess... Whoever gutted this guy was taught to." said the coroner.

"So you think he might have some medical training?" asked Emily.

"How else could he carve around every organ and leave each one intact?" asked the coroner.

"Have any of his relatives come to claim the body? Anyone we could speak with?" asked Emily.

"No. I'll end up boxing up the poor bastard's ashes, left to collect dust in storage. All the bodies I've been through in the last year and a half, it's a wonder I still have room." said the coroner.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Emily entered the work space they were given to find Hotch looking at the letter.

"Is that the letter from the unsub?" asked Emily.

"Yeah." said Hotch as he started to read out loud, "I'm back with a vengeance. I wanted you to know. The last guy made it easy, being out so late, Stumbling home drunk. I enjoyed slicing around his organs. I thought about sending you one. He was asking to be ripped, don't you think, boss? Yours truly."" read Hotch.

"To say that the victims were asking to be killed Denies all culpability. Most sexual sadists rationalize their own behavior by blaming the victims like that." said Spencer.

"But there was no evidence of sexual assault in the autopsy. He could be a homosexual male stabbing because he needs violence for arousal." said   
Emily.

"Every kill he's acting out a fantasy of revenge." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at the words that he was reading.

"What if he's trying to act out something else?" asked Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Like what?" asked Hotch.

"Except for the victims were men, it's the same MO." said Spencer.

"What are you talking about?" asked Emily.

"All 4 victims were found with their throats slashed, eviscerated, and the murders perpetrated in semi-public places after dark. Investigators taunted with the letters addressed to "boss." The only difference is that case was 100 years ago and the murders took place in London." said Spencer.

Emily realized what Spencer was talking about.

"Jack the Ripper." said Emily.

"The unsub wants us to think that he's the modern day version loose in New Orleans." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer briefly smiled when he saw Clarissa's face on his laptop.

"Hi, Spence." said Clarissa.

"Hi, Clara." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "Even though I talked to Diana on the phone earlier, how was your day?" asked Spencer.

"It went well, and today I ended up finding out if my thesis will be accepted." said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled at his wife as he thought about they spent a good chunk of his medical leave having him help Clarissa with her thesis for her   
Masters.

"And?" asked Spencer.

"Next month I'll be earning my Masters." grinned Clarissa.

Spencer grinned.

"That's great, and when are you planning on starting your first day as a pediatric nurse practitioner?" asked Spencer.

"I decided that I don't want to become a nurse practitioner." said Clarissa.

"Why?" asked Spencer.

"I'm happy with my job." said Clarissa.

"Well I'm still deciding on what I should do, but I tracked down Ethan and sent him a message to contact me so hopefully I'll find out why he decided to quit after one day of training." said Spencer before Clarissa placed bulky headphones around her 20-week pregnant belly so Spencer could read to Bridget.

xxxxxx

Spencer looked at Mark's friends.

"So the 3 of you were out together last night?" asked Spencer.

"Mark had just paid his tab at one bar and he was on his way to meet us at another." said one of the friends.

"You guys get in any trouble? Drunken brawl? Anyone get out of hand?" asked Morgan.

"We were just out to have fun, you know? Minded our own business." said the other friend.

"Could mark have met a girl? Maybe upset her boyfriend?" asked Morgan.

"No, sir." said one of the friends.

"He struck out like we all did." said the other friend.

"Thanks, guys." said Morgan.

"OK." said one of the friends before walking away.

"Getting hard to keep up with this guy." said Will.

"Well, if he's mimicking Jack the Ripper, that might be precisely the point. He terrorized London for months without ever getting caught." said   
Emily.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd gather your men. We'd like to give you a profile of who you're up against." said Gideon.

Will nodded.

xxxxxxxxx

As soon as he got to the station, Spencer pulled his brother-in-law aside.

"I ended up calling Ethan and he wants to meet with me at 5 PM." said Spencer quietly.

"How about you take tonight off." said Hotch.

"Are you sure?" asked Spencer.

"This is your best friend from childhood, and with not there being any leads, there shouldn't be a problem with you taking the night off." said Hotch.

"When I'm done meeting with Ethan, would you pick me up?" asked Spencer.

"I was already planning on that." said Hotch before looking at his brother-in-law, "I appreciate you asking me for permission to take the evening   
off." said Hotch.

"Clarissa would be upset with me if I didn't tell you that I'm meeting up with Ethan." said Spencer.

"She would be." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer saw Ethan approaching the area where they were meeting up causing him to have some fun by kicking a can and a bottle before he walked right into Ethan's face with a grin on his face.

Ethan instantly recognized Spencer.

"Jeez! Reid, you scared me." said Ethan.

"Always been one step ahead of you, man." grinned Spencer.

"Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night. I'm glad you called. It's good to see you." said Ethan as he clapped Spencer on the shoulder.

"You, too." said Spencer.

"Let's get a drink." said Ethan.

"No alcoholic beverages for me." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Ethan.

"When it comes to losing my parents, aunt, and uncle to drunk drivers I refuse to drink alcohol and so does Clarissa since a drunk driver killed her mom." said Spencer.

Ethan noticed that Spencer was wearing his wedding band.

"Things are still going strong with her?" asked Ethan.

Spencer nodded.

"My marriage was kept a secret for over three years since I'm on the same team as my brother-in-law." said Spencer.

Ethan thought about the few interactions he had with Aaron Hotchner.

"Any kids with Clarissa?" asked Ethan.

"We have three-year-old daughter named Diana and our second child will be born in 20 weeks." said Spencer.

"Know the gender?" asked Ethan.

"Its a girl, and we decided on the name Bridget Mackenzie Reid." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

As soon as Spencer sent Hotch a text message that included his location, his cellphone rang causing Spencer to see that Emily was calling him causing him to decline the call and pocket his phone.

"So… Are you gonna ask the question?" asked Ethan.

"What question?" asked Spencer.

Ethan looked at his early childhood friend as he thought about all the sadness that Spencer had to deal with until he met Clarissa.

"Come on, man. It's me here. We haven't talked to each other in years. I know it's why you called me. Ask the question." said Ethan.

"Why did you quit after only one day of FBI training?" asked Spencer.

Ethan looked at Spencer as he picked up his own drink.

"Well... I'm sure you've considered the evidence, analyzed the signs." said Ethan.

Spencer thought about how much Ethan had drank on his wedding night.

"You were battling what's your own demons. You didn't have time to analyze someone else's." said Spencer.

"Not bad. Not bad. Those days, I did prefer Jack Daniel's to Jeff Dahmer. They both weigh on your soul eventually." said Ethan.

Spencer's phone started to ring again.

"Sorry." said Spencer as he saw that it was Emily again causing him to decline.

Ethan looked at Spencer's work phone.

"The bat phone." said Ethan with sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"Let me ask you this, Ethan. Do you ever regret it?" asked Spencer softly.

"You know, I may not be changing the world, but... my music makes me happy. It doesn't take a profiler to see that you're not." said Ethan.

Spencer looked at the tiny amount of Brandy that Ethan coaxed him to get before pulling some money out of his pocket and placed it onto the table before he followed Ethan.

"It's not easy." said Spencer as he sat down, "And it's not... I... don't think you'd believe some of the things that I've seen." said Spencer.

"John Coltrane. He was a genius, too. Died of cancer. But most people think it was the booze and heroin that did him in." said Ethan.

"What are you trying say?" asked Spencer.

Ethan looked at Spencer and thought about noticing that Spencer lost some weight.

"You look like hell." said Ethan.

"I'm fine." said Spencer as he leaned back in his seat more.

"Come on, man. I'm a jazz musician in New Orleans. I know what it looks like when someone's not well. This may be the one time I can tell you something that you don't already know." said Ethan as he pointed at the tiny amount of Brandy that he convinced Spencer to get, "That might help you forget, but it won't make it go away. And if I can tell... You're surrounded by some of the best minds in the world, and if you think they don't notice..." said Ethan as he mimicked shaking hands, "Well... For a genius, that's just dumb." said Ethan.

Spencer looked at Ethan.

"I've been going to therapy for PTSD." said Spencer.

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Ethan.

For the next hour Spencer told Ethan about the Hankel case and the aftermath, and when he was finished he looked at his old friend.

"When it comes to my boss being my brother-in-law, he's been there for me since I rescued myself from Hankel." said Spencer.

"Clarissa's oldest brother was definitely a good influence on you." said Ethan.

"Hotch's been talking to me every day, and he was the one who suggested that I look you up." said Spencer before yawning, "I should call my brother-in-law and let him know that I'm ready to head to the hotel." said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and called Hotch.

"Are you ready to head to the hotel for the night?" asked Hotch.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"Since I already have the address I'll come pick you up, but please wait inside." said Hotch.

"I will." said Spencer before hanging up.

"Mind as I see picture of your little girl while you wait for Agent Hotchner?" asked Ethan.

"Sure." said Spencer as he showed Ethan pictures of his daughter to Ethan.

Ethan's eyes went wide when he saw Diana's purple cast.

"What happened to her leg?" asked Ethan.

Spencer snorted.

"Last week she fell out of bed and broke her right tibia, so Clarissa and I were woken up to Diana crying." said Spencer.

"Is she OK?" asked Ethan.

"She is, and to help her with her boredom I've been teaching her more songs for the piano." said Spencer.

"I always envied you for mastering songs quicker than me." said Ethan.

Spencer smirked a bit.

"Even though my eidetic memory has been a curse when it came to working for the BAU, Clarissa and Diana have helped me make positive   
memories." said Spencer.

"I'm glad that you have Clarissa and Diana, and maybe I should come up to DC after Bridget's born." said Ethan.

"Diana does want to meet her uncle Ethan since I told her about you." said Spencer.

"Uncle?" asked Ethan.

"You were originally suppose to be her godfather, but then I picked Gideon." said Spencer before looking at Ethan, "Any special girls in your life?" asked Spencer.

"I prefer to stay single, but I knew that you were the type who would want to settle down and start a family." said Ethan.

Spencer noticed Hotch coming towards them.

"Hey, Hotch." said Spencer.

"You ready, Spencer?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

Ethan looked at Hotch.

"Nice to see you again, Agent Hotchner." said Ethan.

"You too, Ethan." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the front seat of an SUV.

"I've been getting phone calls from Emily when I'm suppose to be off the clock, so what's going on?" asked Spencer.

"Gideon wanted you to go to Galveston with Morgan and Prentiss, and after Gideon told me that you didn't get on the plane, I explained to Gideon that I gave you the night off would be picking you up when you were done talking with your friend." said Hotch.

"So I might be dealing with Morgan and Emily being angry?" asked Spencer.

"You might, but I will deal with them tomorrow." said Hotch before looking at his brother-in-law, "Did you talk with Ethan help?" asked Hotch.

"Talking with Ethan did help." said Spencer.

"Good." said Hotch.

"Just so you know, Clarissa decided that she won't take the necessary steps to become a nurse practitioner when she earns her Masters next month." said Spencer.

"Really?" asked Hotch.

"She mentioned that she's happy with her job." said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer walked into the police department with a cup of coffee in his hands when he saw Morgan and Emily.

"Hey, you guys are back from Galveston?" asked Spencer.

"First light this morning. Where were you?" asked Morgan.

"I was out with a friend. I already told you that Hotch gave me last night off." said Spencer.

"Right." said Emily.

Spencer decided to steer his teammates back on topic.

"What's going on?" asked Spencer.

"Our unsub's a woman." said Morgan.

Hotch approached them.

"We just found another body in the quarter." said Hotch before looking at Morgan and Emily, "I did tell Reid to take the night off last night." said Hotch.

xxxxxx

Spencer stood at the crime scene with Gideon, Emily, and Morgan.

"Throat's been cut. He's been disemboweled, too." said Morgan.

Gideon crouched down by Morgan.

"Reeks of booze. It's more than a pattern." said Gideon.

"Only this time he cut off the earlobe." said Morgan.

"She's sticking with the Ripper's paradigm." said Spencer.

"What do you mean?" asked Emily.

"In one letter of correspondence, Jack the Ripper promised to cut the earlobe off of his next victim. He did. It was the one day that he killed twice." said Spencer.

Gideon looked at Spencer and thought about the talk he had with Hotch the night before about Hotch giving Spencer to take the night off due to struggling.

"So she's gonna kill again by the end of the day." said Gideon.

"OK, what do we know about female serial killers?" asked Emily.

"Basically, you have two types." said Gideon.

"The Sante Kimes model. Cold, calculating. Preys on men for money. Takes her time building relationships." said Morgan.

"It's more likely we're dealing with The Aileen Wuornos archetype, motivated by paranoia and fear, luring men with sex." said Spencer.

"Our unsub's organized. She follows a routine. She meets men in a bar, flirts with them over drinks, And suggests that they consummate the evening in an alley." said Gideon.

"We need to be in those streets." said Morgan just as Detective LaMontagne approached them.

"Office just brought me this." said Will as he passed the letter to Emily.

"Dear boss, by now I have rid the world of one more. So many men, so little time. I hope you don't mind the mess. They make is so easy, I just can't help myself. Yours truly." read Emily.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that night Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Is there something more than PTSD that your dealing with right now?" asked Morgan.

"Why?" asked Spencer.

"I know that Hankel drugged with you with Dilaudid, kid." said Morgan.

Spencer glared at Morgan.

"How did you find out?" asked Spencer.

"I saw you take something from Hankel and we all know that Hankel was addicted to Dilaudid, and there are times that you have disappeared for awhile since returning to work." said Morgan.

"I'm not addicted to Dilaudid." said Spencer.

"Then why would you disappear?" asked Morgan.

"When it comes to Hotch and a few higher ups knowing that I was drugged against my will, they decided that I would have frequent drug tests to prove that I'm sober while having mandatory daily therapy sessions when we're not on a case." said Spencer.

"So its really PTSD?" asked Morgan.

"Yes, and I would never hurt Clarissa, Diana, and my unborn daughter since I love my girls." said Spencer before noticing a woman looking around, "Dark Curls, 3 o'clock." said Spencer.

"I got it. She's eying those guys outside that bar. Let's go." said Morgan.

A few minutes later they saw the woman giving the man back his wallet while finding out that they knew each other before they met up with the others.

"We got nothin'." said Morgan.

"Well, the day's almost over, so if you're right, we just ran out of time." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer, JJ, Emily, and Gideon approached Detective LaMontagne who was looking disappointed.

"She's mocking us." said Will.

"And she's true to her word." said Emily.

Spencer noticed something in the victim's mouth causing him to look at a crime scene tech.

"Do you have any tweezers?" asked Spencer.

A tech gave Spencer tweezers.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

"What is that?" asked JJ.

"I have no idea." said Spencer as he gently pulled out the paper before opening the paper, "It's a note from the unsub, addressed to your father."   
said Spencer as he looked at Will.

"Let's see it." said Gideon.

Spencer handed the note to Gideon.

"Dear boss, He wanted it, with that sharp tongue and vulgar hand. Thought you'd like to know another will soon get what he deserves. Yours truly." read Gideon.

"It's weird. Typically, offenders write letters to be heard. Jack the Ripper bragged about not being caught. This unsub isn't using correspondence to flaunt her latest kill, only to explain why she did it." said Spencer.

"It's possible she considers herself a vigilante. That the men she's killing deserve to die." said Emily.

"Or maybe she's contacting your father, not because he was the lead detective on the case, but... Because she believes he'd understand." said Gideon.

"You think he knew her somehow?" asked Will.

"Can you think of a woman in your dad's life he helped through a tough time? Might be another police officer, I don't know, a prostitute he helped get off the street?" asked JJ.

"He hasn't dealt with prostitutes since he worked sex crimes." said Will.

"The unsub wrote, "he was asking to be ripped." "I just couldn't help myself, " and he wanted it." What if she's mirroring the man who raped her?" asked Spencer.

"Where are the files stored from your sex crime division?" asked Gideon.

"They were housed the same place as homicide. Most of them were washed away." said Will.

"Did your dad have a partner?" asked JJ.

"Yeah. J. R. Smith. Smitty, they called him." said Will.

"He might remember something." said JJ.

"Yeah, but they had a falling out." said Will.

"What about?" asked Emily.

"I don't know. They stopped talking when he left sex crimes. That was nine years ago. The guy didn't even come to my daddy's funeral so." said Will.

"Do you have a problem calling him?" asked Gideon.

"Not if it means breaking this case." said Will before he noticed something that caused him to look at JJ, "Honey, may I borrow your hand for a minute?" asked Will.

JJ crouched down and allowed Will to use her gloved hand to look at the victim's hand.

"I'll be damned." said Will.

"What is it?" asked Emily.

"The stamp on the victim's hand... It's admittance into the Mon Cherie. It's a bar in the French Quarter." said Will.

"Oh, yeah?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah. 9 years ago it was called Jones." said Will.

"Bingo. Get Garcia on the horn." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer watched JJ and Emily question Mr. Tibideaux with Hotch, Will, and Morgan before Will spoke up.

"Guy's not giving up anything." said Will.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Reid, right after the double murder, what was the Ripper's next move?" asked Hotch.

"He mutilated and dismembered Mary Kelly in her one room flat until she was unrecognizable. It's believed to be his most vicious kill of all." said Spencer.

"Because he had privacy." said Hotch.

"And time to torture his victim before killing her. Maybe we're not too late." said Morgan.

xxxxxx

Spencer turned on a light.

"She's not here." said Will.

"Guys, there are some Ripperologists who speculate that Mary Kelly was actually killed in a flat that Jack the Ripper rented for the night." said Spencer.

"I'm going to have Garcia check Sarah Danlin's credit card accounts. It's a long shot, But maybe we can trace her room back to her charge cards." said Morgan.

xxxxxx

Hotch picked something off the coffee table.

"Souvenirs. These are from bars in the french quarter. This is from Mon Cherie." said Hotch as he passed Morgan what he found.

"She's trolling for victims in the place where it all began." said Morgan.

"She can't move on. The rape isn't the whole story. I'll bet there's a history of sexual abuse that contributes to her rage as well." said Hotch.

"It's almost like by taking on the Ripper persona, she was trying to kill something within herself." said Spencer.

Morgan's cellphone rang causing Morgan to answer his phone.

"Yeah, mama, what do you got?" asked Morgan as he listened to Garcia talk, "Ah, baby girl, you never disappoint. Thank you. Royal Ruby Inn." said Morgan.

"That's 2 blocks from here." said Will.

"Let's go." said Morgan.

xxxxxx

"FBI!" shouted Hotch as he, Will, Morgan, and Spencer barged into the hotel room.

"Drop the knife." ordered Morgan.

"Drop the weapon." ordered Hotch.

"He wanted it... and he got it." said Sarah.

"Put it down now." ordered Morgan.

Hotch spoke into his mic.

"We need an EMT tech right away." said Hotch.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Sarah.

"Ma'am, we don't want to shoot you." said Morgan.

"Be such a shame to waste this. Do you want it, too?" asked Sarah.

"What I want is for you to put that knife down." said Morgan.

"Come on. Don't fight it." said Sarah.

"Sarah, we don't want to hurt you." said Hotch.

Will set his gun down.

"Men." said Sarah.

Will walked closer to Sarah.

"Sarah, my name's William LaMontagne Jr. You knew my daddy?" asked Will.

"Yeah, yeah." said Sarah.

"You trusted him. So trust me." said Will.

"Where is he?" asked Sarah as tears streamed down her face.

"The storm took him." said Will as he walked closer to Sarah, "Come on. It's over." said Will.

Sarah handed Will the knife.

"It's over. Hey. Hey there." said Will as he lifted Sarah up.

xxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was listening to Ethan play the piano before seeing Gideon taking a seat near him.

"How'd you find me?" asked Spencer.

"You're not all that hard to profile." said Gideon as he listened to Ethan play while thinking about the times he had listened to Spencer play the   
piano, "Your friend is good." said Gideon.

"I did ask Hotch for the night off." said Spencer.

"I know." said Gideon before looking at Spencer, "Aaron told me that you were trying to find some answers, so did you find them." said Gideon.  
Spencer took a deep breath.

"I'm struggling." said Spencer softly.

"Well... anybody who's been through what you've been through recently... Would." said Gideon.

"This is all I was groomed for. I never even... I never even considered another option." said Spencer.

"Now you're questioning whether or not you're strong enough to be here?" asked Gideon.

Spencer nodded.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

"I have been playing at this job In one way or another for almost 30 years. I've felt lost. I've felt great. I have felt scared, sick, and insane. I don't   
know. I guess the day this job stops gnawing at your soul and hands. Tour hands stop feeling cold... Maybe that's the time to leave." said Gideon.

"I guess I just needed to try to figure out if I could step away from this job." said Spencer.

"And?" asked Gideon.

Spencer pulled out his walled and looked at a picture of him, Clarissa, Diana, Hotch, Haley, Jack, and Sean that was taken on Christmas Day causing him to think of meeting Clarissa helped him gain a family.

"I can't." said Spencer.

After listening to Ethan play for a few minutes, Gideon looked at Spencer.

"Aaron ended up telling me what happened to you off camera, and I'm proud that you handed Aaron the drugs and went though detox in the hospital while cooperating with the Bureau psychologists." said Gideon.

"When it comes to becoming a father again, I wanted to make sure that I'm almost back to my normal self by August." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next evening Spencer and Clarissa were walking hand in hand in old town Alexandria when Spencer looked at his 20 week pregnant wife.

"I made my decision." said Spencer.

"What's your decision?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm staying in the BAU." said Spencer.

"I'm glad because Diana would be upset if her favorite knight stopped slaying dragons for a living." said Clarissa as she kissed her husband.


	6. Family Time & Ashes and Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I decided that I needed to introduce the family that I mentioned in the beginning of chapter 30 of this story's prequel Friends, Lovers, Husband and Wife, to Parents since I have it that Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana will socialize with families from church who have kids Diana's age.
> 
> I've been inside the butterfly pavilion at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History on April 9th of 2009 with my childhood best friend and the assistant principal when I went on the DC trip when I was in 9th grade. Blame my Asperger's syndrome as the reason why I remember the date I went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Spencer carried Diana on his hip as he walked beside his wife in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

"Can we please see the butterflies, daddy?" asked Diana.

"We sure can, bumble bee." said Spencer.

Three-year-old Courtney Barry who was on her own daddy's hip, looked at Spencer.

"Can you give me facts about butterflies, Mr. Spencer?" asked Courtney.

Spencer smiled at Diana's best friend and playmate.

"I sure can, Courtney." said Spencer.

Six-year-old Darren looked at his mother.

"I don't want to see the butterflies." said Darren.

Clarissa looked at Sarah who nodded at her before she rested her hands on her 21-week pregnant belly.

"I could go for some ice cream right now since the baby wants some ice cream, so do you want to get some ice cream with me?" asked Clarissa.

Darren looked at his parents.

"Can I?" asked Darren.

"Sure." said Peter before looking at his daughter, "As soon as we're done in the butterfly pavilion, we'll go get ice cream." said Peter.

"Yay!" cheered Diana and Courtney in unison.

Clarissa looked at Sarah.

"You want to join us so our men can have quality time with the girls?" asked Clarissa.

The 30-year-old woman looked at Clarissa.

"Sure." said Sarah.

A few minutes later Spencer, Diana, Peter, and Courtney were getting in line for the butterfly pavilion.

xxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer grimaced as he watched Clarissa squeeze some maple syrup onto a plate of pickles.

"How can you eat that?" asked Spencer as he prepared a vegetarian lasagna for dinner.

"What?" asked Clarissa as she took a bite of a maple syrup covered pickle.

"I can't believe that your able to eat a disgusting combination like that." said Spencer.

Clarissa glared at her husband causing Spencer to back away from his wife while his hands were in surrender mode while Diana who was coloring looked up at her daddy.

"You in trouble now, daddy." said Diana seriously.

Clarissa rubbed her 21-week pregnant belly.

"This is delicious." said Clarissa.

Diana who was sitting in her booster seat that was attached to a stool looked at her mommy.

"Can I try some?" asked Diana.

"Sure, sweetie." said Clarissa as she allowed her daughter to have a bite.

Diana wrinkled her nose.

"Yucky." said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa laughed at their daughter's antics

"Just wait until you are carrying daddy's and my first grandchild in your tummy in over 20 years." said Clarissa.

"Please don't remind me of grandchildren." muttered Spencer.

Clarissa groaned when she felt Bridget kick causing Diana to look up from her coloring book.

"You OK, mommy?" asked Diana.

"Your baby sister just kicked." said Clarissa as she made her way to Diana and took her hand and placed it on her belly, "Just wait." said Clarissa.

Spencer quickly grabbed his phone and took a picture of the sweet moment before Diana's eyes went wide.

"That's my sister?" asked Diana.

"Bridget's saying hi to you." said Clarissa.

Diana's eyes went wide when she felt her sister kick again while Spencer was taking a sip of his tea.

"Does that freak you out?" asked Diana.

Spencer quickly did a spit take with his tea while a laughing Clarissa had tears streaming down her face.

xxxxxxxx

After the growing family and Lucy sat down at the kitchen island for dinner, Diana looked at her mommy.

"Why did you have tears fall down your face when you laughed at daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer instantly blushed,

"When I felt you kick for the first time, mommy was almost 29-weeks pregnant with you." said Spencer.

"Why wait that long to feel me kick?" asked Diana.

"I was separated from your mommy for 20 weeks since I had to go through basic training at Quantico before I could join your uncle Aaron as a  
profiler." said Spencer as he took a sip of his sparking grape juice.

"Oh." said Diana before she decided to focus on her lasagna.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer sat down at his desk and Emily looked at him.

"How was your weekend?" asked Emily.

Spencer looked at a photo of him, Clarissa, and Diana together over a week ago on Easter Sunday.

"Other than getting to spend quality time with my girls, my weekend was busy" said Spencer.

"How busy?" asked Emily.

"On Saturday I ended up doing my monthly magic show at Children's National and had a date night with Clarissa. Yesterday dealt with going to church before getting together with another family from church who has a daughter Diana's age." said Spencer.

"What did you guys do?" asked Emily.

"After going out for lunch we went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History." said Spencer.

"Did you carry Diana the entire time or was she in a stroller?" asked Emily.

"Both, and Diana's anxious to get her cast off since she's tired of getting carried around, being pushed in a stroller, or being pulled in her wagon." said Spencer.

"She's a very energetic three-year-old." said Emily.

"Luckily Diana has x-rays scheduled in two weeks, and I promised Diana that as soon as her doctor gives her the all clear I would take her ice skating during our next monthly father/daughter date." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was sitting at the round table writing on a note pad when Gideon came into the room.

"Two fires, two families in three weeks. The first family, the Jarvis', all died." said JJ as Spencer sighed sadly when he saw the picture of the two little girls as he listened to JJ, "Last night, the Cutlers. Only one survivor, Charlotte Cutler, she's in critical condition with burns to over 60% of her body." said Emily.

"Well, it's no accident. It's the same MO. No fuses, kerosene, multiple points of origin, families targeted at home while they slept." said Emily.

"The Bay area has a serial arsonist." said Hotch.

"Statistically, 94% of all serial arsonists are male, 75% are white, and few, if any, are ever caught." said Spencer.

"Few? You don't have a percentage?" asked Emily.

"About 16%, and those 16% set 30 plus fires before they were ever apprehended. I'm trying to be more conversational." said Spencer.  
Hotch shook his head as he realized that his brother in law was gently self mocking himself.

"Oh. It's not working." said Emily before becoming serious, "Most serial arsonists don't intend to inflict harm. Injuries or death, those are accidental. It's not about violence." said Emily.

"For this one it is." said Hotch.

"It's also about power. For them, fire's just a substitute for sexual release." said Gideon.

"Oh, great, so if these guys don't get laid, they start fires?" asked Garcia.

"Or in this case, burn entire families to death." said Gideon.

Emily looked at Spencer and saw the sadness in his eyes causing her to think about how cases that deals with children getting killed must affect him.

"No statistic?" asked Emily.

Spencer shook his head.

"Nope. They don't have statistics on this guy. One of a kind." said Gideon.

"Thank God." said Garcia.

"Three weeks ago, this serial arsonist escalated into a serial killer whose weapon is fire. Why?" asked Spencer.

"Major event. Possibly the breakup of his primary sexual outlet. The separation, the loss." said Hotch.

"All right. What about the victims?" asked Gideon.

"SFPD can't connect the Jarvis' and the Cutlers, but witnesses put an unidentified late model gold sedan near both fires." said JJ.

"Run the car. Garcia, run the victims through the system, if there's any connection we need to find it." said Hotch.

"Yes, sir." said Garcia.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Reid, victimology. I'll go see Charlotte Cutler." said Hotch.

"You took the burn ward last time." said Gideon.

"It's all right. I got it." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message.

I'M GOING TO SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU, DIANA, AND OUR UNBORN CHILD. ~ SR

A minute later Spencer had Lucy on the phone.

"Your going away for a few days?" asked Lucy.

"San Francisco, California." said Spencer.

"Want to talk to Diana before you leave?" asked Lucy.

"Yes, please." said Spencer.

Spencer heard some rustling and a few seconds later Spencer smiled when he heard Diana's voice.

"Hi, daddy." said Diana.

"Daddy's going away for a few days." said Spencer.

"Where?" asked Diana.

"San Francisco, California." said Spencer.

"That's far away." said Diana.

"I know, Diana. So I want you to be good for mommy and Lucy, and when I get back we'll have a movie night." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." said Diana.

"Daddy has to get going, so I'll call at bedtime." said Spencer before he exchanged "love yous" with Diana before hanging up.

xxxxxx

Spencer carried two to go cups full of coffee, a first aid kit, and a plate that contained a burger as he headed towards the work space they were given.

"This place is great! They have their own espresso machine." said Spencer.

JJ took one of the cups of coffee from Spencer.

"Dr. Reid, this is Detective Castro, she is with the SFPD liaison." said JJ.

"Burned my hand on that espresso machine." said Spencer as the first aid kit opened up causing the contents to fall out.

"Ooh!" said JJ.

Detective Castro looked at JJ.

"A genius, you said?" asked Detective Castro.

"Yeah, uh, his coordination drops off when he's thinking." said JJ.

"Good. 'Cause we need to figure out why this psycho chooses these families." said Detective Castro.

Spencer headed to the bulletin board.

"He's most likely targeting the men. They're the only similar members of the two families. C. Jarvis, 29, worked full time. Charlotte Cutler, 39, was a stay at home mom. The Jarvis' had two girls in public grade school, Cutler's had a son in private high school. The Jarvis' went to church, the Cutlers didn't. Nothing holds. Except with the men- both in their late thirties, white, approximately 6-feet tall, brown hair, nice homes, nice families, good jobs, that's the connection." said Spencer.

"What connection? Cutler was a lawyer, Jarvis an executive. There's no evidence they ever met." said Detective Castro.

"But they're of the same type." said Spencer while Detective Castro looked at JJ, "We know that most serial arsonists are white males. A complex MO develops over time. This guy is in his mid-thirties, he sees the victims as successful versions of himself. And he resents them for it," said Spencer. 

"I'll issue an APB For a resentful 6-foot white guy." said Detective Castro before leaving the room.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"You should probably tend to that burn." said JJ.

Spencer nodded as he headed over to the table, and as he applied some cream he looked at JJ.

"Knowing Clarissa, she's going to insist on looking over this burn herself when I get home." said Spencer.

"Really?" asked JJ.

"After Phillip Dowd, Clarissa insisted on checking over me herself before she sent me upstairs so she could yell at her brother for kicking me." said Spencer.

"Clarissa really yelled at Hotch?" asked JJ.

"She sure did, and I heard her yelling despite me being on the second floor." said Spencer just as his cellphone vibrated causing Spencer to see a picture of Diana and Jack together, "Lucy just sent me a picture of Diana and Jack together." said Spencer.

JJ looked at the picture and noticed Diana reading to nearly 19-month-old Jack.

"Diana sure loves her cousin." said JJ.

"She does, and she's excited about getting a little sister." said Spencer.

xxxxxx

Spencer entered the room that his teammates were in.

"Garcia's on line one." said Spencer.

Detective Vega quickly answered the phone while Spencer stood by his brother-in-law.

"Brace yourselves. I'm gonna teach you the meaning of lust." said Garcia.

"Did she say lust?" asked Gideon.

"Mm-hmm. I cross-referenced every known fact on the victims, and I just found a website that links both Dennis Cutler and Matthew Jarvis' companies on a list of businesses guilty of L.U.S.T." said Garcia.

"I'm missing something." said Hotch.

"Leaking underground storage tanks. The website belongs to a recently founded San Francisco chapter of the earth defense front." said Garcia.

"The EDF? The eco-terrorist group?" asked Emily.

"They aren't eco-terrorists, they're environmental activists." said Spencer.

"Dennis cutler and Matthew Jarvis may disagree with you." said Morgan.

"I'm pretty sure some EDF people were sent up for torching an SUV dealership a while back in San Diego." said Lieutenant Vega.

"Nobody died in those fires." said Gideon.

"Maybe they got lucky." said Emily.

"No, it's not luck. This group's dedicated to protecting life." said Gideon.

"What, do they wait until no one's home and then light the place up?" asked Lieutenant Vega.

"That's exactly what they do." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

"Are you telling me that the FBI doesn't have files on organizations like this? Lists and members?" asked Lieutenant Vega.

"Domestic groups like the EDF aren't the Bureau's top priority right now." said Morgan.

"Besides, they're more of a movement than an organization." said Spencer.

"There's a central ideology, but chapters are independent, they don't pay dues and they don't keep membership lists." said Gideon.

"What if one of the chapters has broken ranks and has a new belief?" asked Emily.

"Hurting people's never been part of it. Doesn't track. Doesn't fit the profile." said Garcia.

"Garcia, can you identify how many members are in this particular EDF chapter?" asked Hotch.

"Uh, it looks like a hundred to 150." said Garcia.

xxxxxxxxx

While Hotch, Emily, and Gideon were at the crime scene, Spencer pulled out his phone and called Clarissa.

"I was just about to call you since Diana wanted to talk to you." said Clarissa.

"Due to the latest victims I really need to hear her voice." said Spencer softly.

"Another girl got killed?" asked Clarissa quietly.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"Well here's Diana." said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer smiled a bit when he heard Diana's voice.

"Hi daddy." said Diana.

"Hi there, bumble bee." said Spencer.

"You come home?" asked Diana.

"Not yet, bumble bee since I'm still trying to find that dragon to slay." said Spencer.

"I miss you, daddy." said Diana.

"I miss you and your mommy." said Spencer.

"Merton and Daisy too?" asked Diana.

Spencer lightly chuckled.

"I miss Merton and Daisy too." said Spencer as he listened to Diana tell her about her day before he hung up.

As soon as Spencer hung up, Detective Castro came into the room and looked at Spencer.

"Talked to your family?" asked Detective Castro.

"It doesn't help that I have a three-year-old daughter and my wife is 21-weeks pregnant with my second daughter." said Spencer.

"You look a bit young to have a three-year-old." said Detective Castro.

"I'm 25." said Spencer.

"How long have you known your wife?" asked Detective Castro.

Spencer smiled as he thought about his wife.

"I met Clarissa on November 30th during the year 2000 when I was 19 years old, and I ended up marrying my wife on the two year anniversary of  
the day we met." said Spencer.

"So you'll be celebrating your fifth wedding anniversary this year." said Detective Castro.

Spencer nodded.

"Sometimes I just can't believe that Clarissa said yes to marrying me, but with how we're polar opposites when it comes to our personalities, we mesh well together." said Spencer.

"Mind if I see a picture of your wife and little girl?" asked Detective Castro.

Spencer nodded as he showed a close up of Clarissa and Diana causing Detective Castro to see that the mother and daughter both had blue eyes while Diana had her father's curly brown hair.

"She's a perfect mixture of you and your wife, and your wife's hair color reminds me of one of your teammates." said Detective Castro.

"Agent Hotchner is my brother-in-law." said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Two mornings later Spencer was reading a book when Hotch joined him.

"Were you craving Dilaudid during this case?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"You remember hearing about the trouble I gotten into as a teenager causing your late mother-in-law to send me to boarding school when Sean was in the first grade and Clarissa was in kindergarten?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"When it came to Clarissa having me wrapped around her finger, I knew that I needed to get my act together since I didn't want Clarissa and Sean to lose me." said Hotch.

"The case we just worked did cause me to crave for Dilaudid, but I ended up looking at a picture of Diana, Jack, and the latest ultrasound picture of Bridget to remind myself that I have two little girls and a nephew who all depend on me." said Spencer.

"Good coping mechanism." said Hotch.

"Plus you already know that Dr. Merrill is having me have daily therapy sessions with her even if the session has to be over the phone when we're on a case." said Spencer.

"With how painful your past is, the FBI doesn't want to lose you after a traumatic experience." said Hotch.

Before Spencer could respond, his cellphone vibrated causing Spencer to see a text from Clarissa.

CAN YOU RUN TO THE STORE AND PICK UP MORE PICKLES AND MAPLE SYRUP WHEN YOU GET BACK TO DC? ~ CR

Spencer groaned as his face turned a bit green causing Hotch to get concerned for his brother-in-law.

"What's wrong?" asked Hotch.

"Clarissa's been craving pickles with maple syrup since Sunday, so she wants me to pick up more pickles and maple syrup." said Spencer.

Hotch chuckled.

"Now that's disgusting combination." said Hotch.

"Diana insisted on trying some before agreeing that its a disgusting combination." said Spencer.

Hotch laughed before looking at Spencer's still bandaged hand.

"How's your hand?" asked Hotch.

"It hurts a bit, and Clarissa told me earlier that she's going to look over my hand." said Spencer before thinking about the unsub's way of killing, "Luckily Clarissa, Lucy, and I have been teaching Diana about fire safety." said Spencer.

"Your a good father." said Hotch.

"I know, and your a great father too." smiled Spencer.

"Sometimes I worry that I'm not good a good husband and father." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Why?" asked Spencer.

Hotch started explaining, and when he was finished, Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Why do you think that Clarissa and I are doing a much better job at maintaining our marriage and being parents?" asked Spencer.

"It helps that you and Clarissa bonded over being orphans, having common interests, and working demanding jobs that requires the both of you to be on call 24/7." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Diana who was sitting on a stool in the kitchen watched her mommy look over her daddy's hand.

"You got an owie?" asked Diana.

"I burnt my hand." said Spencer.

Clarissa placed a bandage over the burn.

"Your hand should be better in a few days." said Clarissa.

"Are you going to kiss daddy's owie?" asked Diana.

Clarissa kissed her husband's bandaged hand.

"My turn." said Diana.

Spencer held out his hand and a few seconds later Diana sloppily kissed her daddy's hand.

"All better." said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer was carrying Diana to the living room before the growing family settled down to watch "Flushed Away".


	7. Honor Among Thieves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to have it that Spencer's already fluent in Russian since he ended up tutoring a Russian foreign exchange student in English during his time at Yale.

Clarissa answered the door only to see JJ.

"Spence is at the Washington Monument with Diana right now, but he should be back in two hours." said Clarissa.

"I came here to talk to you not Spence." said JJ.

"Come on in." said Clarissa.

A minute later JJ was looking at pictures on the wall that included Spencer, and a few minutes later both women were sitting on the couch drinking tea while eating cookies.

"Why are you here if you don't like me?" asked Clarissa.

JJ sighed as she looked at the 22-week pregnant woman.

"I wanted to apologize to you about how I treated you since your marriage to Spence was revealed. I was jealous of you since your married to the man I had a crush on for nearly three years." said JJ before smiling a bit, "It took me some time to realize that you are the right girl for Spence since I can tell that he really loves you when he talks about you while seeing how happy he is in all the pictures of you and Spence together."

"Apology accepted, but why apologize now?" asked Clarissa.

JJ smiled a bit.

"During that case in New Orleans, I ended up meeting someone who suggested that I apologize to you." said JJ.

"Detective Will LaMontagne Jr.?" asked Clarissa.

"How did you know?" asked JJ.

"Spence and I always find time to talk every night when he's away, and he told me about the detective being very sweet on you." said Clarissa just as she felt Bridget kick causing her to rub her belly, "I really don't like it that your kicking my ribs." said Clarissa.

JJ looked at Clarissa.

"Are you enjoying your second pregnancy?" asked JJ.

"Despite having to deal with morning sickness and cutting out coffee of my diet, I really love being pregnant." said Clarissa.

"You must be excited about having another little girl." said JJ.

Clarissa beamed.

"With how much fun I had shopping for Diana, I can't wait to see Bridget in Diana's old clothes and in the new clothes that Spence and I already bought for her." said Clarissa.

"Garcia has been gushing about how much fun she has been having when it comes to shopping for Diana and Bridget." said JJ.

Clarissa laughed.

"Diana's always spoiled during Christmas since she's one of Spence's and my most favorite Christmas gifts." said Clarissa.

"So how are you and Spence going to reduce Bridget's jealously when she's old enough to understand that her big sister was born around Christmas?" asked JJ.

"Diana will be getting money on her birthday and her new toys on Christmas since my family did the same system for me to reduce jealously about me getting spoiled during the month of December since I was born on December 15th." said Clarissa just as Daisy came running down the stairs with Merton.

"Spence did mention that you guys recently got a dog to help cheer Diana up and to help him with his PTSD." said JJ as she eyed Daisy with wary eyes, "And I have to say that Daisy's cute." said JJ.

Clarissa instantly remembered that Hankel's dogs attacked JJ.

"I just hope that Daisy doesn't give you flashbacks." said Clarissa.

Daisy walked over to JJ and sat down.

"I think I can handle small dogs like Daisy." said JJ as she slowly reached out to pet Daisy who licked her hand.

"She likes you." said Clarissa just as the front door opened revealing Spencer who was carrying a sleeping Diana, "I guess Diana's too tuckered out   
from this morning?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer dropped the keys to Clarissa's SUV into a glass bowl before carrying his daughter towards the couch.

"Yeah." said Spencer as he gently laid his daughter onto one of the couches before noticing JJ, "Is there a case, JJ?" asked Spencer.

"No case, but I came to apologize to Clarissa." said JJ.

Spencer gave Clarissa a peck on the lips before sitting down next to his wife.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

Clarissa stood up before plopping herself down on her husband's lap causing Spencer to wrap his arms around Clarissa just as he felt Bridget kick.

"Bridget missed you while you were away." laughed Clarissa.

"And I missed you while I was out with Diana." said Spencer.

JJ smiled at the young couple before looking at the sleeping three-year-old.

"So what did you guys do this morning?" asked JJ.

"This morning we went to an earlier service for church before we went to the zoo." said Spencer.

"And after lunch I came here to rest while Spence spent some quality time with Diana." said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "I'm craving spaghetti right now." said Clarissa.

Spencer softly chuckled.

"Then I'll make you some." said Spencer.

Clarissa got off her husband's lap.

"Make sure to make enough that can be easily eaten for dinner." said Clarissa before looking at JJ, "Would you like to stay for an early dinner?" asked Clarissa.

"Sure." said JJ.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"If we get Diana to give in to an early bedtime tonight, I have plans for you." smirked Clarissa.

Spencer instantly turned beat red as he headed to the kitchen while JJ giggled.

"You are definitely not like Hotch." said JJ.

xxxxxx

The next morning Spencer donned latex free gloves as he grabbed the note that was included.

"Where are you taking that?" asked Natalya.

"We need to process it." said Gina.

Elizabeth spoke in Russian to Zina who ended up replying in Russian.

"She wants his wedding ring." said Elizabeth.

Emily spoke in Russian as she led Zina to the couch before Natalya looked at everyone.

"Please, let us hold the cooler. It'll be here if you need it." said Natalya.

Hotch looked at Gina.

"Agent, it's fine for now. You can leave it." said Hotch.

"Yes, sir." said Gina as she passed Natalya the cooler.

As soon as Gina left the room, Spencer decided to recite the letter out loud.

""Wire $100,000 to Nadka bank account, "number 155293846729 by tomorrow noon. "If you don't- if you don't, you'll receive "another body piece then and every 6 hours after."" read Spencer before looking at Natalya who had an impressed look on her face, "That's it exactly?" asked Spencer.

"Exactly. I'll never forget it." said Natalya.

Spencer studied the letter.

"There's no personalization, no salutation? It's not addressed to anyone? Your father's name isn't mentioned specifically?" asked Spencer.

"No." said Natalya.

"That's odd." said Spencer as he sat down.

"Most ransom notes are personalized. Frightens the families to know that they've been specifically chosen, watched for a time." said Morgan.

"It doesn't even say not to call the police." said JJ.

"Russian expats don't have the greatest experience with their home government. They tend not to trust officials." said Emily.

"Well, there's another reason they aren't worried. According to the note, they aren't planning on contacting them again." said Gideon.

"It's completely self-contained. They expect their instructions to be followed." said Hotch as he watched his brother-in-law put the ransom note into an evidence bag.

"We don't have $100,000." said Natalya.

"They seem to think that you do." said Morgan.

Hotch looked at Garcia.

"Garcia, can you get any information on the account?" asked Hotch.

"I'm already checking. The account number does seem to correspond with that bank." said Garcia as she looked at her laptop.

"Can you get the account holder's name?" asked Hotch.

"I have no idea how Russian banks store their data, how their servers are structured. We'd have to call the bank directly." said Garcia.

"No way. There's no way a Russian bank is gonna give information on personal accounts." said Emily.

"Well, I could try to go through the embassy in Moscow." said Elizabeth.

"Wh-and say what? The FBI is looking for information on Russian citizens' bank accounts?" asked Emily while her mother scoffed, "I mean, if we were lucky, we'd spend the next 6 years drowning in red tape." said Emily.

"I can make some calls. I may still have some friends in the eastern countries." said Elizabeth.

"That would be a great help, Ambassador." said Hotch.

"If you'll excuse me." said Elizabeth as she got up and left the room.

"We don't have much time. We need a division of labor. Um, Morgan, somebody needs to go to the Chernus house in Baltimore in case they are contacted again." said Hotch.

"We got it." said Morgan.

"I wanna be there." said Natalya.

"That's a good idea." said Hotch before looking at Emily, "Are you fluent enough to stay with the mother until we get a translator up here?" asked Hotch.

"I'm passable." said Emily.

"Then Mrs. Chernus should stay with us." said Hotch.

"I'll meet with Agent Cramer in Baltimore..." said Gideon.

"Good." said Hotch.

"See if he has similar open cases." said Gideon.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"So you know Russian?" asked Emily.

"I learned Russian when I was at Yale since I ended up tutoring a Russian foreign exchange student in English." said Spencer.

"Ever seen "Solaris"?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded before Gideon looked at him.

"Your going to Baltimore with me." said Gideon.

A few seconds later Spencer was sending both Clarissa and Lucy text messages.

I'M GOING TO BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. ~ SR

xxxxxxx

Spencer made his way to Gideon and Morgan as the jet was beginning to land.

"We're landing already?" asked Spencer.

"25-minute flight." said Gideon as Spencer took the seat next to him.

"Never knew 25 minutes could feel so long." said Morgan.

Spencer started to buckle himself in.

"And 3 hours could feel so short." said Spencer.

Morgan looked over where Natalya was sitting.

"She doesn't look scared. She looks determined." said Morgan.

"She's a tough girl. When we get to the house, take her inside. Profile the rooms while you profile her." said Gideon.

"What am I looking for?" asked Morgan.

"Anything that helps." said Gideon.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer leaned against an SUV with Gideon when Agent Cramer pulled up and made his way over to them.

"Agent Gideon. Long time, no see." said Agent Cramer.

Gideon shook hands with Agent Cramer.

"Agent Cramer." said Gideon before gesturing to Spencer, "Remember Dr. Reid?" asked Gideon.

Spencer approached Agent Cramer and shook his hand.

"Absolutely." said Agent Cramer.

"Been briefed on the case?" asked Gideon.

"Didn't need to be. Been working these mutilation kidnappings for over a year." said Agent Cramer.

"Really?" asked Gideon.

"Yeah, and I got zipped. No one cooperates. Families don't. The witnesses don't. Hell, even the victims aren't talking. I must have a dozen guys walking around with missing ring fingers." said Agent Cramer.

"Why?" asked Gideon.

"'Cause we're dealing with criminals." said Agent Cramer.

"Obviously." said Spencer.

Agent Cramer looked at Spencer and thought about hearing that Spencer's a genius.

"Not just the kidnappers, genius. I'm talkin' about the victims, too. These are Russian criminals kidnapping other Russian criminals." said Agent Cramer.

"Are you sure?" asked Spencer.

"It's the Russian mob. These guys are bold, efficient. There's no regard for leaving evidence, and let me guess. In the note, there's no warning not to go to the police. There's a clear assumption that they won't." said Agent Cramer.

"So you think the Chernus family's involved in organized crime." asked Gideon.

"Well, these guys are ruthless, but they don't normally kidnap civilians. They target people they know have money they snuck into the country- other mobsters, other criminals. They won't go the police, because they have something to hide themselves." said Agent Cramer.

"Only, this family did come to us." said Spencer.

"And they don't have any money." said Gideon.

"Well, they all say that." said Agent Cramer.

"Get Garcia on the horn." said Gideon.

A few seconds later Spencer heard Garcia's voice.

"Your friendly neighborhood oracle of all things knowable and unknowable at your service." said Garcia.

"Garcia, I need you to do a background search on the entire Chernus family." said Spencer.

"The victims?" asked a surprised Garcia.

"Yeah, get us everything you can on them- financial records, employment, immigration status. We need that as soon as possible." said Spencer.

"I know. I know. We're on the clock. I will compile and reconnect forthwith, Junior G-man. Oracle out." said Garcia before hanging up.

A few seconds later Spencer was looking at his phone as he thought about his new nickname.

"Junior G-man?" asked Spencer to himself before looking at Gideon and Agent Cramer, "If the Chernuses are hiding anything, Garcia will get it to us." said Spencer.

"Alright." said Gideon.

Agent Cramer looked at Spencer.

"I see that you got married since the last time I worked with you." said Agent Cramer.

Spencer snorted while Gideon chuckled.

"I've been married since November 30th of 2002." said Spencer.

"Then why keep your marriage a secret when you joined the Bureau in 2003?" asked Agent Cramer.

"I'm married to my unit chief's little sister." said Spencer.

"Really?" asked Agent Cramer.

Spencer nodded.

"I've known both Clarissa and Hotch since November 30th of 2000." said Spencer.

"Then why keep your relationship status as Agent Hotchner's brother-in-law a secret?" asked Agent Cramer.

Before Spencer could answer, Gideon looked at Agent Cramer.

"We were worried about how agents who've been wanting to work for the BAU would think about a 22-year-old genius ending up on the same team as his brother-in-law especially since there were agents who despised Spencer for getting onto an elite team straight from the academy." said Gideon.

"Makes sense, and do you have any kids?" asked Agent Cramer.

Spencer grinned as he pulled out his personal phone and showed Agent Cramer a picture of him, Clarissa, and Diana together.

"I have a beautiful three-year-old daughter named Diana after my late mom." said Spencer.

Agent Cramer looked at the picture and realized that Spencer's wife did look like a blue eyed version of Agent Hotchner before laying his eyes on the little girl who was sitting on her daddy's lap with a huge grin on her face while resting her hands on her mommy's baby bump.

"She's beautiful, and I see that you and your wife are expecting." said Agent Cramer.

"Clarissa's 22-weeks pregnant with our second daughter, and I'm excited about Bridget's arrival." said Spencer.

"Congratulations." said Agent Cramer.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

"This all involves the Russian mafia. Its really beefed up over the last 10 years or so. Started off mainly New York and LA, but they send lieutenants from the old country Pakhans they call them to open branch offices in other cities," said Agent Cramer.

"Like Baltimore. St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas list goes on," said Spencer.

"They're mainly offshoots of the Odessa mafia and they're especially tough to crack from the law enforcement standpoint. I mean, besides being well organized with sophisticated technical equipment there's Vory V Zakone to contend with." said Agent Cramer.

Spencer recognized what Agent Cramer said.

"The thieves code." said Spencer.

"Yeah." said Agent Cramer.

"Eighteen principles they live by." said Spencer.

"It's like a Bible to these guys. Stepping outside of it means certain death. We're not gonna be turning any of them informer anytime soon." said Agent Cramer.

Gideon noticed someone looking out a window.

"Then we need a witness who'll talk." said Gideon.

"There's not much chance of that." said Agent Cramer while Gideon walked towards a house, "Gideon?" asked Agent Cramer.

"Wait here." said Gideon.

Agent Cramer looked at Spencer.

"He's always like that?" asked Agent Cramer.

Spencer nodded.

"I'm just glad that my brother-in-law was in charge of training me when I was a probationary agent, and luckily I have a good rapport with Hotch since he understood my coded messages when I was MIA in Georgia." said Spencer.

"I remember hearing that an agent got abducted in Georgia and that agent practically saved his own life by shooting his abductor, but the name of the agent never got revealed." said Agent Cramer.

"That was me, but I'm glad that I cooperated with the therapists that were assigned to me while my wife was a huge support when it came to dealing with PTSD while my little girl got me to smile and laugh." said Spencer.

"Is your little girl a genius like you?" asked Agent Cramer.

Spencer beamed as he thought about his blue eyed mini me.

"She has inherited my intelligence and eidetic memory while having her mother's outgoing personality, and I can't wait to see how Bridget turns out." said Spencer.

"Does your daughter having your brother-in-law's famous glare down?" asked Agent Cramer.

Spencer chuckled.

"She mastered it before she turned two years old, and I know that Diana will be a force to be reckoned with as she gets older." said Spencer just as a car pulled up before a few men walked over to them.

"Guess who." said Agent Cramer as he looked at Spencer.

"You know these guys?" asked Spencer as he slipped on his sunglasses.

"Oh, yeah. Arseny Lysowsky." said Agent Cramer.

"Agent, uh, Cramer how are you?" asked Arseny.

"What brings you out, Lysowsky?" asked Agent Cramer.

"I heard Chernuses had problems." said Arseny.

"How did you hear that?" asked Gideon.

Arseny looked at Gideon.

"And you are?" asked Arseny.

Gideon decided to ignore Arseny's question.

"Chernuses said they hadn't told anyone." said Gideon.

"This is a small community. Word gets out." said Arseny as he gestured to the house that Gideon was just at, "Are you a friend of Gorban's?" asked Arseny.

"Mr. Gorban wouldn't talk to me." said Gideon.

"Would you like me to talk to him for you? - I can't promise something will come of it- -." said Arseny just as Natalya came out of the house.

"You! Where's my father?!" demanded Natalya.

Agent Cramer held back one of the men that was heading towards Natalya.

"Take it easy, buddy. -" said Agent Cramer.

"Wait. Wait." said Morgan as he held Natalya back.

"Where's my father?!" asked Natalya.

"Wait a minute! Do you know he has your father?" asked Morgan.

"He's responsible for all this why everyone's afraid him and his animals." said Natalya.

"I'm only here to help." said Arseny.

"Help? You're a dog!" exclaimed Natalya.

"Natalya." said Arseny.

"How exactly can you help?" asked Gideon.

Arseny turned around and looked at Gideon.

"In any way they'd like me to. As I said, this is a small community. If one is in pain, we're all in pain." said Arseny before he conversed with Natalya in Russian before walking away.

"What did he say? Did he threaten you, Natalya? Talk to us, and we can do something about it. What did he say?" asked Morgan.

"He said I made the wrong decision. I hope I didn't." said Natalya before storming into her parents house.

xxxxx

"You have any information on Lysowsky at your field office?" asked Gideon.

"Got a lot about the organization less about him personally." said Agent Cramer.

"I'll get Garcia on it." said Spencer.

Gideon looked at Agent Cramer.

"You have other kidnapping mutilation case files?" asked Gideon.

"Thin ones." said Agent Cramer.

Gideon looked at his watch while Spencer pulled out his phone.

"Two hours and 14 minutes." said Gideon before looking at Spencer, "Before you call Garcia, give Morgan the keys to the suburban. We're goin' to Agent Cramer's office." said Gideon.

Two minutes later Spencer was in the back seat of Agent Cramer's car when Gideon looked at Spencer.

"After you call Garcia, why don't you check in on Diana." said Gideon.

Spencer nodded, and a few minutes later he smiled when he heard Diana's voice.

"Hi, daddy." said Diana.

"Are you being a good girl for Lucy?" asked Spencer.

"I help Lucy make cookies." said Diana.

"Are you going to save some cookies for me when I get home from Baltimore?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy." said Diana.

"What type of cookies are you two making?" asked Spencer.

"Fudge cookies." said Diana.

"You and Lucy are really going to make mommy and me both happy." said Spencer.

"That's why we're making them, Spencer." said Lucy.

"Well I'm going to be arriving at the Baltimore Field office in a few minutes, so I have to get going." said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy." said Diana.

"Love you too, Diana." said Spencer before hanging up.

"How's Diana?" asked Gideon.

"She's helping Lucy make fudge cookies." said Spencer.

"At least helping with baking will help curb Diana's boredom a bit." said Gideon.

"I know." said Spencer.

"Why would your daughter get bored?" asked Agent Cramer.

"Three weeks ago Clarissa and I both woke up to a crash and Diana screaming in pain, and we ended up finding out that Diana has a greenstick fracture on her right tibia. So Diana's upset that she has to be constantly sitting down." said Spencer.

"Father like daughter." said Gideon.

xxxxxx

Spencer looked at the drawings that were on the wall while thinking about his own drawing skills.

"These tattoos are amazingly detailed." said Spencer.

"It's a form of communication. Each tattoo has meaning. Symbols tells the other criminals who the counterfeiters are the murderers, the armed   
robbers. There's a guide in that folder right there." said Agent Cramer as he pointed at the folder.

Spencer quickly sat down and grabbed the folder.

"You said they were very organized." said Gideon.

"A boss called a pakhan, or a head thief in law controls 4 criminal cells. Now, Lysowsky is the Pakhan in this area." said Agent Cramer before he pointed at two photos, "The Pakhan employs 2 underbosses to watch over the brigadiers. You saw them today with Lysowsky." said Agent Cramer.

Spencer pointed at something on the whiteboard.

"Uh, what's that circle over there to the right?" asked Spencer.

"The Obochek. It's a pooled monetary fund the groups use for bribes and other types of support." said Agent Cramer.

"And where does that money come from?" asked Gideon.

"Nobody really knows. I'd guess it comes from any number of sources, above and below. It really is just an open pool of cash that any Pakhan can use almost without question." said Agent Cramer just as the conference room phone rang, "Excuse me. Cramer." said Agent Cramer.

"Penelope Garcia from Quantico." said a man.

"Put her through." said Agent Cramer.

"What do you have, Garcia?" asked Gideon.

"OK, finding information on this man not as easy as you think. Arseny Lysowsky, born 1940 in Dolgoprundy. Seems to be a lifelong criminal. I have no employment records of him at all. Married Katya Fulenko in 1960. She died 2 years later. He served 23 years in 4 remote prisons in perm. That's a remote region of the northern Ural mountains, for those of you playing the home game. He seems to be in America legally and I have searched every nook and cranny of the Chernuses' lives and I have found nothing even remotely untoward. They're law-abiding, taxpaying American citizens." said Garcia.

"Thank you, Garcia." said Gideon while Agent Cramer hung up, "Vory v Zakone." said Gideon.

"The thieves code. Breaking any of those tenets is punishable by death." said Spencer.

Gideon looked at the code.

""Forsake all relatives, mother, father, brother, sister. " "Not have a family of his own. " "No wife. No children."" recited Gideon.

"Family makes you vulnerable." said Spencer.

"Lysowsky owns a restaurant called Little Kiev. Well, you're not gonna find too many civilians eating there." said Agent Carter.

"But it doesn't say anything in here about helping a non-thief." said Gideon.

"No, sir." said Agent Cramer.

"Well, why would he offer to help the Chernuses?" asked Gideon.

"Well, the Chernuses are probably fellow criminals." said Agent Cramer.

"Why-why do you kidnap the father, and then you offer to help get him back? If I understand this man, it ju- just doesn't make any sense. Where would he be right now?" asked Gideon.

"Probably where he always is, in Little Kiev restaurant." said Agent Cramer.

xxxxxx

Spencer stood outside of Little Kiev with Gideon and Agent Cramer.

"Welcome to Little Kiev." said Agent Cramer.

Spencer looked at the file that he was reading.

"These tattoos are like books on their skin gives their whole life story." said Spencer.

"Well, these guys are nothing if not dedicated." said Agent Cramer.

"This all the information you have on additional kidnappings?" asked Gideon.

"Like I said, no one cooperates. Most of those pictures, the guys with the missing ring fingers we had to take 'em from surveillance vehicles even when we confronted them and asked them about the obviously fresh wounds, none of 'em would talk. - Vory v zakone." said Agent Cramer.

"So they're all criminals?" asked Gideon.

"They were kidnapped, and they aren't dead." said Agent Cramer.

"So they're paying." said Gideon just as his phone rang causing Spencer and Agent Cramer to listen to Gideon's side of the conversation.

As soon as Gideon hung up, Spencer looked at Gideon.

"They didn't wait?" asked Spencer.

"They cut off his ear. They increased the ransom to half a million." said Gideon.

Spencer thought about himself already having more than a half a million dollars left in his own trust fund.

"How much money do they think the Chernuses have?" asked Spencer.

Gideon looked at Agent Cramer.

"Agent Cramer, I'm gonna have to ask you to wait outside while we talk to Lysowsky." said Gideon.

"Why?" asked Agent Cramer.

"He knows you. He deals with you on a regular basis. You're someone he needs to save face with. I don't want him posturing." said Gideon.

A few seconds later Agent Cramer lightly pushed Spencer to follow Gideon.

xxxxxxx

Spencer followed Gideon through the restaurant when Alexander stopped them.

"There is nothing for you here." said Alexander.

Arseny looked up from his bowl and recognized Spencer and Gideon from earlier.

"No, it's all-it's all right, Alexander. Allow the gentlemen in." said Arseny.

A few seconds later Spencer and Gideon approached Arseny's table.

"Would you like something to eat? This borscht is exquisite. It's my mother's old country recipe." said Arseny.

Spencer looked at Arseny and made eye contact with him.

"Didn't you forsake all your relatives when you swore the thieves code?" asked Spencer.

"I didn't forsake her recipes. Borscht?" asked Arseny.

"No, thanks." said Spencer.

"I'd love a taste." said Gideon.

A few seconds later both Spencer and Gideon were sitting down when Arseny looked at Spencer and thought about him looking a bit too thin for his liking.

"You know, you should take some home to your wife who should do a better job feeding you. You will not regret." said Arseny.

"We need to talk, Arseny." said Gideon.

Arseny looked at Gideon.

"We are on a first-name basis? I still don't even know who you are." said Arseny.

"I think I understand something about this. You have a problem." said Gideon as a man brought him some borscht, "Thank you." said Gideon.

"I do?" asked Arseny.

"That's why you came to the Chernuses' house this morning." said Gideon as he started to eat his borscht.

"I went there to offer my help." said Arseny.

"There's no reason I can see for a man like you to help a family like the Chernuses." said Gideon.

Arseny wiped his mouth.

"Man like me?" asked Arseny.

Spencer looked at Arseny's tattoos.

"Four watch towers and a convict signifies a stay in prison. Each one of those crosses represents an individual sentence." said Spencer softly.

"23 years in prison in the Ural mountains doesn't breed a compassionate friend." said Gideon.

"You think you know Russian prison life?" asked Arseny.

"I know human behavior." said Gideon as he wiped his mouth, "You haven't where you've gotten in this organization by reaching out to civilian families in need. No, sir. You have a problem, Arseny. Someone in your organization's out of control." said Gideon.

"You may know American behavior but you don't understand us." said Arseny as he stood up and looked at Spencer, "Don't forget your borscht on the way out." said Arseny.

Gideon stood up.

"If anyone in Odessa learns you have a maverick you lose everything." said Gideon.

"Good-bye." said Arseny.

"They might even kill you." said Gideon.

Arseny leaned towards Gideon's face.

"I am in control." spat Arseny before looking at Spencer, "You know tattoos?" asked Arseny.

Spencer nodded.

"Mm-hm." said Spencer.

"Then you'll know what this means." said Arseny as he removed his shirt a bit.

Spencer studied the tattoo.

"You're a thief in law, the boss." said Spencer.

"In my world, there is no such a thing as a control problem. There is controlled and there is dead." said Arseny just as Natalya stood in the doorway.

"Mr. Lysowsky you said you could help me." said Natalya.

"Don't you already have help?" asked Arseny.

"I made a mistake. I talked to my father on the phone. - He's fine." said Natalya.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"Thank you for coming, but I don't need your help." said Natalya.

xxxxxxx

Spencer and Gideon made it outside when an angry Morgan approached them.

"What are we doin'? We're just gonna let her go with him?" asked Morgan angrily.

"What choice do we have, man?" asked Spencer.

"Oh, so what? What, we get on a plane, we go home and pretend none of this happened?" asked Morgan angrily.

"We have a victim who claims the crime never occurred." said Spencer.

"No. We have a daughter of a victim who claims the crime never occurred." corrected Gideon.

"Well, if she says that she talks to him and he's OK, then what proof do we have it even happened?" asked Spencer.

"The body parts." said Agent Cramer.

Gideon looked at Morgan.

"Where's the ear?" asked Gideon.

"Natalya's got it." said Morgan as he pulled out his phone and called JJ.

A few minutes later an angry Morgan hung up.

"The finger's gone, too." said Morgan.

xxxxx

Spencer got out of the backseat of Agent Cramer's car when Morgan approached them.

"She's not here, and the garbage was never taken out." said Morgan.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"When Hotch first talked to her, he said she noticed her father's car in the driveway when she took the garbage out." said Morgan.

"Right." said Spencer.

"Garbage can in the kitchen is completely full. She never took it out." said Morgan.

"She lied." said Gideon.

"She could halfway to Dogo- wherever by now." said Morgan.

"Dolgoprudniy?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah. It's the town she's from in Russia." said Morgan.

Spencer looked at Agent Cramer.

"Isn't that where Lysowsky's from?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah." said Agent Cramer.

xxxxxx

"So we have a daughter who lied about how she discovered the crime none of the missing body parts to prove anything actually happened and a generic ransom note that mentions no names?" asked Spencer as he crossed his arms.

"So what are we saying?" asked Agent Cramer.

"Natalya was a part of this." said Gideon.

"How did I not see this coming?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"How could any of us, man? She sought us out. We were so blinded by the fact that she trusted us that we never considered not trusting her." said Spencer.

"Why? Why would she even bring us into this?" asked Morgan just as his cellphone rang causing him to answer.

When Morgan hung up, he looked at Spencer, Gideon, and Agent Cramer.

"Garcia just got into the bank's system. Somebody wired $500,000 into the account 10 minutes ago." said Morgan.

"Who wired it?" asked Spencer.

"She didn't say where it came from, but the name on the account is Lyov Fulenko. She says that's Lysowsky's wife's maiden name, Fulenko." said Morgan.

"Why did she need to bring us in? 'Cause she needed to put pressure on the other victim." said Gideon.

"Other victim?" asked Agent Cramer.

Gideon headed over to Mr. Gorban's house.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer removed his sunglasses as he and Morgan followed Gideon into Little Kiev.

"Paid the ransom already. Paid all the ransoms." said Gideon.

"Sit." said Arseny as he sat down.

"Are they gonna kill Mr. Chernus?" asked Gideon.

"No." said Arseny.

Gideon sat down.

"Why are you paying these ransoms? What's goin' on here?" asked Gideon.

"I think I know. The account is in the name of Lyov Fulenko. Lyov's a man's name, a son's name. Vory v zakone. Never have a family of your own. No wife. No children." recited Spencer.

""Lyov. You know what it means? The lion." said Arseny.

xxxxxx

"I knew when the first man was taken. I knew who had done it. No one else would be so bold and so stupid." said Arseny.

"Tell me where Mr. Chernus is." said Gideon.

"At first, it didn't mean much. It was a way of letting him earn his own money. I could afford it. It came from the fund, and no one questions the use of the fund." said Arseny.

"Where is he?" asked Gideon.

"What else could I do? I couldn't admit that i wasn't blessing the kidnappings. I couldn't even admit that my son existed." said Arseny before sighing, "Chernus will be home in a few minutes. You should be there. He's going to need medical attention. Go. Go." said Arseny.

Gideon got up and looked at Arseny.

"What are you gonna do?" asked Gideon.

"Vory v zakone. We take care of our own troubles." said Arseny.

xxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer was reading one of his books that is in Russian with Diana curled into his side when Diana looked at her daddy's book.

"Why can't I read that?" asked Diana.

"I'm reading in Russian." said Spencer.

"Can you teach me?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at his daughter while thinking about Clarissa teaching Diana how to speak Spanish.

"I thought that you like it that mommy's teaching you Spanish?" asked Spencer.

"I like learning." said Diana.

"I promise you that I'll start teaching you Russian this weekend if I don't have a case." said Spencer.

"OK." beamed Diana.

Spencer tickled his daughter's belly causing Diana to giggle.

"Would you like me to start reading out loud to you in Russian?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, please." said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer was reading out loud in Russian to Diana who listened to her daddy with intense focus.


	8. Open Season

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts on April 28th of 2007 so Clarissa's 23-weeks pregnant in the beginning of the chapter.

Dr. Edwards smiled when she showed Spencer and Diana the x-rays that were taken.

"Your right tibia is healed, so you will get your cast removed today." grinned Dr. Edwards.

Diana grinned before looking at her daddy.

"Do you have my right shoe?" asked Diana.

"In my messenger bag, bumble bee." said Spencer.

Dr. Edwards looked at Spencer.

"Do you want Diana on your lap while I remove her cast?" asked Dr. Edwards.

"Yes, please." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer held Diana on his lap while Dr. Edwards used an electric saw to cut off Diana's cast, and a few minutes later Diana gasped at the sight of her leg before wrinkling her nose.

"My leg looks yucky and smells funny." said Diana.

"That's because your foot and leg hasn't been washed for a month, and my leg and foot smelled awful when I got my cast off too." said Spencer.

"A nurse is going to wash your leg for you, Diana before I get to see you walk on both of your feet." smiled Dr. Edwards.

A minute later a nurse was gently cleaning Diana's leg, and a half hour later later, Spencer was leaving Children's National with a grinning Diana walking by his side while holding his hand.

xxxxxx

The next day at lunchtime, Emily looked at Spencer who was eating leftovers that he brought from home.

"I hope your not upset that JJ, Penelope, and I are abducting your wife tomorrow for a girls day out." said Emily.

"Having Clarissa out of the house means that I can take Diana shopping for Clarissa's Mother's Day gift." said Spencer.

Emily smiled as she thought about Mother's Day being over two weeks away.

"So other than taking Diana shopping for Mother's Day, what are you two going to do?" asked Emily.

Spencer looked at his favorite picture of him giving Diana a piggy back ride before making eye contact with Emily.

"I'm going to continue the Russian lessons I recently started giving her." said Spencer.

"Diana's already learning Russian?" asked a surprised Emily.

"She asked me to teach her Russian when I was reading one of my books that are in Russian." said Spencer.

Morgan looked up from his desk.

"Your three-year-old daughter wants to be bilingual like you two are?" said Morgan.

Spencer snorted.

"Diana loves learning new things every day, and she grasps on to my answers to her constant questions." said Spencer before smiling a little bit, "With Diana inheriting my intelligence and Clarissa's outgoing personality, she's definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with when she's older." said Spencer.

Morgan chuckled as he thought about the glare that Diana gave him when he was teasing Spencer.

"She definitely will be one hell of a scary woman in the future since she mastered the Hotchner glare that your wife and brother-in-laws have." teased Morgan.

"Has Diana learned any languages yet?" asked Emily.

"She's learning Spanish and sign language." said Spencer.

"Who's the one giving Spanish lessons?" asked Morgan.

"Clarissa's fluent in Spanish since she took Spanish in school, and learning Spanish has helped her as a nurse." said Spencer.

"I take it that your the one teaching Diana sign language?" asked Emily.

Spencer looked at a picture of him with his aunt before smiling sadly.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"What's with the sad smile?" asked Emily.

"Aunt Ethel was born deaf, and despite having a hearing aid, it was important for me to master sign language at a young age so I could communicate with my aunt when she didn't have her hearing aid on." said Spencer.

"You miss your parents, aunt, and uncle?" asked Emily.

Spencer smiled sadly.

"Every single day." said Spencer softly before he decided to finish eating his lunch while working on his consults.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer and Diana each gave Clarissa a kiss.

"You behave for daddy." said Clarissa sternly.

"I will, mommy." said Diana.

"I already have a bunch of fun adventures planned for us." smiled Spencer.

"Just make sure to send me a bunch of pictures of Diana." said Clarissa.

"I will." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Clarissa was getting into Garcia's convertible with JJ, Emily, and Garcia. And as soon as Garcia pulled out of the driveway, Spencer looked at his daughter.

"We're going on a secret mission today." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Diana.

"Mother's Day is on May 13th, so we need to get mommy some presents." said Spencer.

"So I can't tell mommy?" asked Diana.

"Not even Lucy or auntie Haley." said Spencer as he tickled his daughter's belly.

"OK." giggled Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer was buckling Diana into her car seat in the backseat of Clarissa's SUV before heading to Hobby Lobby to get art supplies for the handcrafted gifts they were going to make.

xxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer was laying newspaper onto the floor before laying down a blank piece of construction paper.

"I'm going to put paint onto your feet so we can make butterflies with your feet." said Spencer.

Diana looked at the pink paint that she picked out.

"Really?" asked Diana.

Spencer nodded, and a few minutes later Diana's eyes went wide when she saw the butterflies on the piece of paper.

"That's pretty." said Diana.

"It sure is, and as soon as this is dry I'll help you write your message to mommy." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." said Diana.

A minute later Spencer was washing off his daughter's feet, and as soon as the paint dried on the picture they made, Spencer was writing a   
message for his wife.

xxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening, Clarissa slowly sat down onto a stool when Garcia looked at her.

"You OK?" asked Garcia.

"Fine as I can be for being nearly 24-weeks pregnant." said Clarissa as she rubbed her 23-week pregnant belly.

"What non alcoholic beverage do you want?" asked Emily.

"Sprite please." said Clarissa.

"Sprite it is." said Emily before walking away.

Clarissa reached into the bucket that contained peanuts.

"I better eat a few peanuts so Bridget has a much smaller chance of developing an allergy to peanuts." said Clarissa.

After Clarissa ate a few peanuts, Garcia looked over where Emily was talking to a man.

"I think we've been here 5 minutes." said Garcia.

"Yeah, but look at her, broke away from the group. Guy saw her alone, felt confident, and made his move." said JJ.

Garcia noticed Emily coming over with the man.

"It must be serious." said Garcia quietly.

Clarissa smirked just as Emily brought over the man and passed Clarissa her soda.

"Here's your Sprite." said Emily.

"Thanks." said Clarissa as she took a sip of her Sprite.

Emily looked at Clarissa, JJ, and Garcia.

"Ladies, this is Brad, a real FBI agent." smiled Emily.

"Really?" asked JJ as she exchanged glances with Clarissa.

"Really." said Emily.

"No way." smiled JJ.

"That's exciting. What's it like at Quantico?" asked Garcia.

"It's, uh, quite impressive." said Brad.

"What department are you in?" asked JJ.

"That's classified." smiled Brad.

JJ smiled.

"Ooh, must be really tough keeping all those secrets." smiled JJ.

"You know, it's a skill like anything else. Carpenters are good at building stuff, measuring. FBI is good at keeping secrets and kicking criminal ass." said Brad.

While JJ, Emily, and Garcia giggled, Clarissa laughed as tears fell down her face.

"Well, somebody has got to do it. Oh, do you have to carry your gun and badge with you everywhere you go?" asked Emily.

"Affirmative." said Brad.

"Can we see it?" asked a smiling Emily.

"See what?" asked a confused Brad.

Emily smiled.

"Your badge." said Emily.

Brad smiled.

"Please." pleaded Garcia and Clarissa in unison.

"I'm sorry, that's..." said Brad.

"Classified." chorused Clarissa, JJ, Emily, and Garcia.

"Figures. Of course. Tell me, Brad, does it look anything like this?" asked Emily as she held up her badge.

JJ quickly held up her badge.

"Or, uh, this?" asked JJ.

Garcia pulled out her badge.

"Or maybe this?" asked Garcia.

Brad looked at Clarissa and instantly noticed her baby bump.

"I'm not an FBI agent, but I don't think that my husband who is a real FBI agent like these ladies would appreciate you flirting with me." smirked Clarissa as she flashed her fused engagement ring and wedding band

Brad stared at the four ladies before walking away causing all four ladies to laugh while Clarissa had tears streaming down her face.

"Damn hormones." muttered Clarissa.

JJ's phone started to ring.

"Poor little ass, it's a tough job." said JJ as she got up and grabbed her phone before walking away, "Agent Jareau." said JJ.

Clarissa laughed.

"A few nurses and I once had to deal with a man who was claiming to be a nurse causing us to do the exact same thing you ladies did." grinned   
Clarissa.

Garcia looked at Emily.

"Lady, you are officially in my top 8, and I am so blogging about this later. Clink me." said Garcia.

Clarissa, Emily, and Garcia clinked their glasses together before JJ approached them.

"Sorry, ladies." said JJ.

Emily and Garcia groaned while JJ looked at Clarissa.

"Before Spence got me pregnant again, I was use to being called in when there was a nurse who couldn't come in." said Clarissa.

"We'll take you home and Spence will ride with us to Quantico." said JJ.

"I better call Spence." said Clarissa as she whipped out her cellphone.

xxxxxxxx

Meanwhile in the Reid family home, Spencer covered up his sleeping daughter, and a minute later he was answering his phone.

"Need me to pick you up?" asked Spencer.

"No, but you have a case so JJ, Emily, and Penelope are bringing me home before you ride to Quantico with them." said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

"A year ago victims and their vehicles disappeared from Washington state." said JJ while Morgan and Gideon entered the room, "They were found over 200 miles away in the remote woods of Idaho. Courtney Jacobs, 24, and Shane Everett, 25. Autopsy revealed similar entry and exit wounds through the chest." said JJ as she showed pictures.

"Ballistics?" asked Morgan.

"No bullets were found." said JJ.

"Looks like they were out there for a long time before they were killed." said Emily as she sat down.

"At least six or seven days." said JJ.

"Then, what happened in that week?" asked Morgan.

"I don't want to know." said Garcia.

Spencer looked at the crime scene photos.

"Look at the way they're dressed, they didn't voluntarily go into the woods like that." said Spencer as he headed towards the monitor.

"Yeah, neither did this man." said JJ as she pulled up another picture, "Found yesterday with similar wounds, there's still no ID." said JJ.

"OK, so, I'm gonna look for missing persons in Washington." said Garcia.

"Look everywhere, we don't know where this victim came from we only know where he ended up." said Gideon.

Spencer looked at his team while Garcia left the room.

"Kills both males and females." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at the file and crime scene photos that were in front of him.

"Victims were found with their clothes on, no degradation, no experimentation, doesn't look like he's interested in either." said Hotch.

"A serial killer with no sexual preference?" asked Emily.

"That'd be a first." said Spencer.

Spencer looked at a crime scene photo.

"Broken nose and bark is embedded in his face, looks like he ran into a tree." said Hotch.

"Now, how do you miss a huge tree?" asked Morgan.

Hotch looked at Morgan.

"Too busy looking behind you." answered Hotch.

Spencer looked at a picture.

"None of these are defensive wounds." said Spencer.

Emily looked at a picture of Courtney.

"Courtney Jacobs's hands are torn up." said Emily.

Morgan looked at a picture of Shane.

"Shane Everett has only got one shoe on, it's like he ran out of the other one." said Morgan.

Hotch looked at a picture.

"He sustained numerous injuries and just kept going." said Hotch.

"Only one thing you run that hard for- your life." said Gideon before leaving the room.

Hotch looked at his teammates.

"We'll be leaving tomorrow morning, so please get a good night sleep." said Hotch before looking at his brother in law, "I'll drive you home because I don't want to face the wrath of my pregnant sister if she finds out that I didn't give you a ride home." said Hotch.

Spencer chuckled.

xxxxxx

Spencer entered the master bedroom just as Clarissa walked out of the bathroom.

"Nature called?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"I thought you had a case." said Clarissa.

"I do have a case, but your brother decided that we'll be leaving for Washington State tomorrow. So Aaron will be picking me up in the morning." said Spencer before looking at the digital alarm clock, "I'm going to take a quick shower before I get some sleep for my long day tomorrow." said Spencer.

"Can I join you for a quickie?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head before taking ahold of his wife's hand, and two minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were in the shower together.

xxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer looked at Diana as he cut up his daughter's pancakes.

"Uncle Aaron and I are going away for a few days." said Spencer.

"For a case?" asked Diana.

"Washington State." said Spencer.

"Please stay safe, daddy." said Diana.

"I promise, Diana." said Spencer.

Diana looked down at her right leg that didn't contain her purple cast.

"Can we go ice skating when you come home?" asked Diana.

"Only if you are a good girl for mommy and Lucy while I'm away." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." sighed Diana.

Spencer hugged and kissed Diana before his cellphone vibrated causing Spencer to see a text from his brother-in-law.

I'LL BE AT YOUR HOUSE IN A FEW MINUTES. ~ AH

After Spencer gave Clarissa a quick kiss before kissing Clarissa's baby bump, he looked at his two girls.

"I love you, girls." said Spencer before exiting the house.

A minute later Spencer and Hotch were waving at Clarissa and Diana who were waving at them from the window before Hotch pulled out of the driveway.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on the ledge going through a file when Hotch decided to start briefing.

"Transporting young, fit victims from Washington to Idaho poses huge risks." said Hotch.

"Must have a good reason to chance getting pulled over, or have the victims escape." said JJ.

"It says here that every year 100 or so people go missing in Idaho's wilderness." said Spencer as he turned the page on the report he was reading, "With millions of acres to cover, 1/3 of them are never found." said Spencer.

"Sounds like the reason as to why this place." said Emily.

Gideon who was looking at a map of the forest glanced at his team before focusing on the map.

"Well, it offers privacy and the possibility the body will never be recovered." said Gideon.

"An area this remote and rugged suggests that the offender is more comfortable in the woods. Something like a second home." said Morgan.

"My grandfather retired to the French Alps. He lived there until he died. There was a good 10 year stretch where he didn't come down off the mountain. He had no running water, no electricity and his food supplies, everything, all of it came from the land." said Emily.

An interested JJ looked at Emily.

"You spent a lot of time up there?" asked JJ.

"Yeah, whenever we were in France, which was a lot." said Emily.

Garcia's face popped up onto the laptop.

"Guess who's getting a gold star?" asked Garcia.

Spencer made his way closer to the laptop.

"Oh, that'd be you, baby girl, if you got some good news for us." said a smiling Morgan.

"Well, I started my missing persons search in Spokane county. And wouldn't you know, there's been 10 in the last four years, all in their early   
twenties." said Garcia as she saw Hotch join his brother in law, "And isn't this interesting? It's always in the spring and their cars are never recovered. And fret not, I'm looking for the cars, too." said Garcia.

"Anything else?" asked Morgan.

"Mmm, oh, local PD identified the latest victim through dental records. His name's Alex Harrison, he's from Washington." said Garcia.

"Where was he last seen?" asked Hotch.

"Family statements say he was traveling to work in Spokane and both victims last year were traveling outside of Spokane, too." said Garcia.

"All victims headed to the city." said Morgan.

"And none of them reached their destination." said Emily.

"Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"Already on it. There are four major roadways into Spokane, highways 395, 195, and Highway 2. There's also interstate 90." said Garcia.

"Were there any police reports or roadside assistance calls from those highways?" asked Emily.

"You're going to know that as soon as I do." said Garcia before signing off.

Hotch looked at his team knowing that he and JJ would most likely go to Spokane.

"OK, we've got two locations." said Hotch.

"I'm happy to go to Idaho." said Gideon before looking at Emily, "Woods is like your second home, right, Prentiss?" asked Gideon.

"Yes, sir." said Emily.

Morgan looked at Spencer and thought about Spencer telling him about his flashbacks from the Hankel case while wanting to keep Spencer safe so Bridget could meet her daddy.

"Hey, Reid, why don't you go to Spokane? I could use the fresh air." said Morgan.

Spencer and JJ smiled a bit at each other as they thought about getting to work with their unit chief.

"We'll touch base every couple of hours." said Hotch.

"I'll call you when we get on the mountain." said Gideon.

xxxxx

Spencer was working on his geographical profile when Hotch looked at his two youngest agents.

"We've got two male and one female victim, all about the same age, but from different socio-economic backgrounds. The only thing they seem to have in common is they were traveling to the same city." said Hotch.

Spencer made eye contact with his brother in law while thinking about how he always enjoyed getting to work closely with his brother in law.

"And broken bones. There's a hairline fracture in the wrist, a sprained ankle, and a broken nose. Also, early autopsy reports show soft, clean tissue damage and deep puncture wounds through the major organs." said Spencer.

"Bullets flare out when they hit the body, it's gotta be something else." said Hotch.

"Whatever weapon was used cut completely through the front of the chest and went right out of the back. It's interesting, given the point of entry, that each victim has two wounds." said Spencer as he made his way to a chair just as the sheriff entered the room.

"And it's always two." said Hotch.

Sheriff Schaeffer looked at the three agents in the room.

"Uh, Raymond Schaeffer." said Sheriff Schaeffer before JJ approached him and shook his hand, "You must be Agent Jareau." said Sheriff Schaeffer.

"Nice to meet you." said JJ before gesturing to Hotch, "This is Special Agent Aaron Hotchner." said JJ.

Hotch shook hands with the sheriff while JJ gestured to Spencer.

"Dr. Spencer Reid." said JJ while Spencer gave his signature wave, "This is Sheriff Raymond Schaeffer." said JJ.

Sheriff Schaeffer looked at the board before seeing the files on the table.

"Well, I see you're getting settled." said Sheriff Schaeffer.

"Thank you for the space." said Hotch.

"Well, thank you for flying out." said Sheriff Schaeffer.

JJ made eye contact with the sheriff.

"Um, has Alex Harrison's family been notified yet?" asked JJ.

"Not yet. Uh, parents were divorced, he lived with his father. I was waiting for your unit to arrive." said Sheriff Schaeffer while JJ nodded in sympathy, "I could use the company." said Sheriff Schaeffer.

"I'm happy to come along." said JJ before looking at her unit chief, "Hotch, I'll let you know what I find." said JJ.

"Thanks." said Hotch as he took a chair near his brother in law.

A few minutes later the two brother-in-laws started to bounce off ideas at each other as they went through files.

xxxxxxx

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law who was pulling his sweater tighter against himself causing him to think about how spending over two days in a shack with no heat affected Spencer.

"Still feeling cold?" asked Hotch gently.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

"Clarissa did mention that the cardigan your wearing is always her favorite." said Hotch.

Spencer chuckled.

"That's because your sister likes to wear this cardigan when I'm not wearing it." said Spencer.

A minute later Hotch's cellphone rang causing Hotch to quickly answer his phone.

"Hotchner." answered Hotch before looking towards his brother in law, "Hold on a minute, I'll put you on speaker." said Hotch as he put his phone on speaker before taking a seat close to his brother-in-law.

"Hunting season officially opens in 3 days. Does it look like the victim's wounds could be from an arrow?" asked Gideon.

"Whatever punctured the organs had to be long enough to penetrate the chest and mimic a 22 caliber bullet, so, yeah, it's possible." said Spencer.

"I think these victims are being caught, taken to the woods and hunted like wild animals." said Gideon.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Uncle Gordon did teach me archery a few times." said Spencer.

"Really?" asked Hotch.

"He taught me how to use a bow and arrow before he decided that I was ready to learn how to use a gun." said Spencer.

xxxxx

After helping Hotch give the profile, Spencer and Hotch were listening to Lynn Baird talk about her sister.

"The newspaper said the FBI was here investigating those homicides. I didn't know where else to go when Bobbi didn't show up or call." said Lynn.

Hotch instantly thought about his own sister.

"When was the last time you talked to her?" asked Hotch.

"Yesterday. She was going to stay with me before this big job interview in Spokane. She was really excited about it. So, when she didn't show up, I knew in my gut that something was wrong. I was the one that convinced her to stay with me, and, now…" cried Lynn.

JJ leaned forward.

"This isn't your fault." soothed JJ.

"OK." sighed Lynn.

"Should we get some fresh air?" asked JJ.

Lynn nodded, and as soon as Lynn was out of the room, Sheriff Schaeffer looked at Hotch and Spencer.

"She's only been missing since last night. You sure it's related?" asked Sheriff Schaeffer.

"I'm not going to wait to find out," said Hotch before looking at his brother in law, "I'm going to fax this to Gideon." said Hotch before leaving the room.

A few seconds later Spencer's personal phone vibrated causing Spencer to pull out his phone and see that Lucy sent a picture of Diana causing him to smile.

"What's with the smile on your face?" asked Sheriff Schaeffer.

"I just received a picture of my daughter from her nanny." said Spencer as he showed the sheriff a picture of Diana.

Sheriff Schaeffer looked at the picture of the blue eyed and curly brown haired little girl.

"She's adorable and how old is she?" asked Sheriff Schaeffer.

"Diana's three and my wife's 23-weeks pregnant with my second child." said Spencer.

"Know the gender?" asked Sheriff Schaeffer.

"Its a girl and I'm hoping that Bridget has more of her mother's looks since Diana's practically my blue eyed mini-me." said Spencer just as Hotch came into the room, "I just got a new picture of your niece." said Spencer.

Hotch quickly made his way to his brother in law and looked at the picture of Diana who was on her tricycle.

"Diana definitely looks happy to be out of her cast and ride the tricycle that Haley and I gave her for Christmas last year." said Hotch.

"She sure is." said Spencer.

Sheriff Schaeffer looked at the two agents.

"I take it that since Dr. Reid mentioned niece, you two are brother-in-laws?" asked Sheriff Schaeffer.

Spencer nodded as his growing curls bounced.

"Yes." said Hotch.

xxxxx

As soon as JJ returned; Spencer, Hotch, and JJ had Garcia on the phone.

"Bobby Baird's last two cell phone connections were both to 911. Looks like each call only lasted a couple of seconds before they dropped out. She was on Highway 2." said Garcia.

"It's a dead zone for cell phones." stated Sheriff Schaeffer.

"Any idea what the trouble was?" asked Hotch.

"None. Cruiser was dispatched to check it out but by the time he got there, there was no sign of her or her car. And speaking of vanishing vehicles, I'm still looking for Alex Harrison's." said Garcia.

xxxxxx

Hotch was putting an arrow that he examined back into a bucket before looking at Kathy Gardner.

"Do you keep records to document who buys hunting arrows?" asked Hotch.

"After a week we only keep receipts if they pay by credit card." said Kathy.

"You get a lot of repeat business up here, don't you?" asked Sheriff Schaeffer.

"Every year people get their ammo and supplies here before heading' up to the mountains." said Kathy.

"Uh, groups of men? Like, uh... Fathers and sons?" asked Spencer.

"Sure. Can I ask you gentlemen, why is this a police matter?" asked Kathy.

"We're looking for two men, possibly related. You might remember them because one always does all the talking, and the other one would become very uncomfortable if you spoke to him." said Hotch.

"It'd be even worse if that person were a female." said Spencer.

Kathy sighed as she remembered who Spencer, Hotch, and Sheriff Schaeffer were describing.

"Well, there are these two brothers that have been coming here for years. They got some supplies here a few days ago." said Kathy as she rummaged through a metal box before chuckling, "The younger one's so painfully shy, it's almost sweet. And after all these years, he still hasn't warmed up to me. Their uncle was a quiet man, he passed away some time ago." said Kathy as she looked at a piece of paper.

"You find a receipt?" asked Sheriff Schaeffer.

"No, they paid in cash. I'm pretty sure their name was Mulford. I think their uncle's name was Joe." said Kathy.

"Thank you very much." said Hotch.

Spencer pulled out his cellphone.

"I'll call Garcia." said Spencer as he dialed Garcia's number before walking away, "Garcia, I need everything you have on a man named Joseph Mulford." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer heard some typing.

"OK, it says here Joseph Mulford was convicted of multiple assault and batteries. He owned a service station, but it changed hands when he passed away. He gave it to his nephews, Paul and John Mulford." said Garcia.

"I don't have to ask where it's located, do I?" asked Spencer.

"No, you don't. But since you did, gorgeous grey matter, I'll have you know, I'm pulling it up right now. And the computer says... Woah." said Garcia.

"What is it?" asked Spencer.

"That service station... It's located on Highway 2." said Garcia.

Spencer thought about the highway Bobbi went missing on.

"Let me guess, close to where our victims have gone missing?" asked Spencer.

"Bulls-eye." said Garcia.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer got out of the front passenger seat of the SUV that Hotch was driving.

"It's still not open." said Spencer.

Sheriff Schaeffer got out of the back seat.

"How convenient." said Sheriff Schaeffer.

Spencer, Hotch, and Sheriff Schaeffer pulled out their guns before the sheriff looked at Spencer.

"Let's take a look around." said Sheriff Schaeffer.

A few seconds later Sheriff Schaeffer opened up the garage.

"It's clear." said Sheriff Schaeffer.

10 seconds later Spencer was uncovering a car.

"It's a mustang." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at the car.

"Same make and model as Bobbi Baird. These are definitely our guys." said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer opened up a storage unit and found a car when JJ looked over towards Hotch.

"Hey, Hotch! You should see this." said JJ.

Spencer looked towards his brother in law and Sheriff Schaeffer.

"Hey, what color was Alex Harrison's car?" asked Spencer.

"It's blue, why?" asked Sheriff Schaeffer.

"I think we found it, along with some others." said Spencer.

JJ opened up another unit.

"If all these have cars..." stated JJ.

"We're looking at a lot more victims." finished Hotch as he, Spencer, JJ, Sheriff Schaeffer and a few other officers noticed more storage units.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer entered the Mulford home with his brother in law, and a minute later he opened up a cabinet where there were a lot of drivers licenses causing him to realize he founded one of the unsubs trophies.

"Guys, look at this." said Spencer as he searched for the oldest license while Hotch, JJ, and Sheriff Schaeffer approached him, "First one expired in 1980." said Spencer.

"Boys weren't even born yet." said Sheriff Schaeffer.

"The uncle must have started the killing, the boys have continued the tradition." said Hotch.

Spencer continued to stare at the licenses in shock.

xxxxxxxx

A few minutes later they had Garcia on the phone.

"Paul and John Mulford, 26 and 22, were orphaned as toddlers." said Garcia.

"Abandonment issues." said Hotch.

"State kept them together by finding their only living relative, their uncle. He raised his nephews completely off the grid. They never went to school." said Garcia.

Spencer sighed in relief as he thought about Diana already making friends through Sunday school.

"No socialization other than the patrons of the station." said Spencer.

JJ looked at a letter.

"He was drafted in 1968. He was only 18 years old." said JJ as she held up the letter.

"He was relieved from duty two years later, reports of hallucinations and delusions." said Garcia.

"The boys were raised with no social compass by the only relative they ever knew." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at a picture.

"Psychotic possessed with bizarre beliefs, who taught them how to hunt and who to kill. Look at this. They've been hunting in those woods their whole lives." said Hotch as he showed a picture.

xxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer pulled out a National Geographic magazine when JJ looked at him.

"Please read slower so I could also read." said JJ.

"OK." said Spencer just as his cellphone vibrated causing Spencer to see a text message from Clarissa.

I HAVE A FEELING THAT BRIDGET'S GOING TO BE BORN WITH A FULL HEAD OF HAIR SINCE I'M DEALING WITH HEARTBURN RIGHT NOW. ~ CR

"Everything OK?" asked JJ.

"Clarissa has a feeling that Bridget's going to be born with a full head of hair since she's dealing with heartburn right now." said Spencer.

"What color hair are you hoping for Bridget to have?" asked JJ.

"There's a chance that Bridget could end up with blonde hair like my mom, uncle Gordon, and Sean." said Spencer.

"Don't forget brown hair like yours and Diana's." said JJ.

Spencer nodded.

"Also Bridget could inherit Clarissa's and Hotch's hair color, and Clarissa is hoping that whatever hair color Bridget inherits, that she'll inherit my curls." said Spencer.

"What about eyes?" asked JJ.

"I already love it that Diana has her mother's blue eyes, but Clarissa's hoping that Bridget has my eyes." said Spencer.

"Either way Bridget will be beautiful like her big sister." said JJ.

Spencer nodded.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer entered the master bedroom to see his wife sitting up in bed reading a book.

"Hey." said Spencer as he closed the bedroom door.

"Hey yourself." said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer was sitting up in bed next to his wife.

"How are you feeling?" asked Spencer as he rested his hand on Clarissa's 24-week pregnant baby bump and smiled when he felt a kick.

"Pretty good for finally reaching the sixth month of this pregnancy." said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"I'm sorry that I missed your doctor appointment yesterday." said Spencer.

"We both knew that there would be a possibility that you would have to miss one of my ultrasounds because of a case, and Bridget's developing perfectly while my vitals were perfect." said Clarissa.

"Good." smiled Spencer before rubbing Clarissa's 24-week pregnant belly, "Just keep on growing big and strong, Bridget, and mommy, Diana, and I will be meeting you in about 14 weeks." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Bridget kicked causing Clarissa to laugh.

"Why do I get the feeling that Bridget is going to be a daddy's girl like Diana since she loves kicking when she hears your voice." muttered Clarissa.

Spencer chuckled before looking at his wife.

"Well I'm going to take a shower, but I could go for a bubble bath if you join me." said Spencer as he winked at his wife.

Clarissa grinned, and a few seconds later Spencer was helping his wife get out of bed before leading his wife to the bathroom.


	9. Legacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarissa's now 25 weeks pregnant in this chapter.
> 
> I know that Diana's at the age when she can start attending preschool, but Spencer and Clarissa decided that she could wait until she's closer to turning four to start preschool.

Diana looked at her father as they sat across from one another playing chess in the library.

"Will you still play with me after my baby sister is born?" asked Diana.

Spencer's heart dropped at Diana's question causing him to get up and scoop up his daughter before sitting down with Diana on his lap.

"I'll always have time to play with you. Its been planned that I take a month off after Bridget is born so I can spend more time with you while I adjust to losing sleep since Bridget is going to be waking us up during the night since she'll need to be fed, get a clean diaper, or even be rocked," said Spencer.

"Did I wake you and mommy up during the night when I was a baby?" asked Diana.

Spencer chuckled.

"You sure did, and when I was home you would wake mommy and me up since you wanted attention from me," said Spencer.

Diana giggled before focusing on the chess board and moved a piece.

"Checkmate," said Diana with a huge grin on her face.

Spencer's eyes went wide as he realized that his nearly three and a half year old beat him at chess without him letting her win.

xxxxxxxx

Later on that night Spencer looked at Clarissa as they headed up the stairs.

"I know that we should have Diana take an IQ test when she turns five years old so Washington International School can make sure that she doesn't get bored, but part of me doesn't want to get her tested for your aware of the pressure I was under when it came to being a child prodigy from my teachers," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"We don't have to decide yet if we want to get Diana tested, but how about we ask Diana about what she wants to do when she turns five." said   
Clarissa before winking at her husband, "Besides Diana's happy that she's a genius like you," said Clarissa.

"OK." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "I know that we're doing everything to make Diana a well-adjusted kid since she's already making friends in Sunday School and in her figure skating classes, but I just don't want her to get bullied about her intelligence when she starts going to preschool at the end of August," said Spencer as they entered their bedroom.

Clarissa closed their bedroom and door and locked it before she looked at her husband as she started to undo the buttons of Spencer's dress shirt.

"We have over three months before Diana starts going to morning preschool, and luckily I'll be able to help with her transition since I'll be on maternity leave for the first couple of months." said Clarissa before kissing her husband, "Let's have some mommy and daddy time since its probably going to be a few days before we have mommy and daddy time again," said Clarissa as she removed her husband's dress shirt.

A few seconds later Spencer was leading his 25-week pregnant wife to bed.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was fixing himself some coffee when Gideon approached him.

"How was your weekend?" asked Gideon.

"You know that I've been teaching Diana how to play chess and I've been letting her win on purpose?" asked Spencer.

"One of the best ways to make your daughter not get upset about losing a game," said Gideon.

"Yesterday was the first time I made sure that I wouldn't be letting her win, and she beat me," said Spencer proudly.

Gideon smiled a bit.

"Shouldn't you try to find out if she can have her first IQ test much sooner?" asked Gideon.

"She can't have her first IQ test until she's five-years-old, but I just don't want her to skip as many grades like I did," said Spencer before walking away with his coffee.

xxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer stood in the doorway of Gideon's office to seeing his brother-in-law and Gideon watching Charlie Chaplin.

"Why are you two watching Charlie Chaplin?" asked Spencer.

Hotch and Gideon turned to see Spencer standing in the doorway with a few files in his hands.

"I'm planning on showing the cadets this as a way of dealing with the stress our job brings," said Gideon as he motioned Spencer to sit down.

Spencer smiled as he quickly turned the free chair around and sat down next to his brother in law.

"Luckily Clarissa and Diana both help me deal with stress this job brings me." said Spencer before grinning, "Bridget's upcoming birth in 15 weeks gives me something to be excited about," said Spencer.

Hotch reached out and squeezed his brother-in-law's shoulder.

"I'm excited about getting to hold my second niece, Spencer," said Hotch.

Gideon looked at the two brothers-in-laws.

"Having wives and kids are a good way to cope with this job," said Gideon before looking at Spencer, "Luckily you didn't let the Hankel case destroy your marriage, but the trauma you went through caused your marriage with Clarissa to get stronger," said Gideon.

"Clarissa had survived dealing with PTSD from that car accident, so it helps that she helped me get through my PTSD," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"When you entered Clarissa's life, I noticed that the sparkle that was lacking in her eyes from the accident ended up returning," said Hotch.

"My academic adviser said the same thing about me when I ended up becoming more than friends with Clarissa. I guess that Clarissa and I practically saved each other since grief is what brought us together," said Spencer thoughtfully before he ended up laughing at a scene.

Hotch and Gideon looked at each other and smiled as they both thought about Spencer being one of the strongest people they ever met since he had overcome every obstacle that he has been given during his short 25 and a half years of life.

xxxxxxx

Hotch walked around the conference room table as he looked at Detective McGee.

"You aren't sure whether anyone is in fact missing?" asked Hotch.

"No, I-I am sure. I just can't seem to convince anyone else of it." stuttered Detective McGee.

"There's been no official investigation?" asked Hotch as he took a chair next to his brother-in-law.

"No," said Detective McGee.

JJ approached Detective McGee with a glass of water and passed it to him.

"63 people can't be coincidence, right?" asked JJ.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Reid, any stats on the percentages of, um well, I don't really know how to phrase the question," said Morgan as he took a chair next to Spencer.

"Homeless who go missing?" asked Spencer.

Morgan nodded at him.

"The very nature of homelessness suggests a lifestyle of fluidity, yet honestly, they're not as transient as you would think. They generally stay in small, well-defined areas based on familiarity and what services are nearby," said Spencer as he watched the young detective fiddle with his notebooks.

Detective McGee looked at Spencer.

"So-so you're saying they don't just disappear?" asked Detective McGee.

"Not normally, but I mean, that doesn't preclude the possibility," said Spencer.

Morgan reached for one of the little notebooks while Detective McGee worked on straightening out his little notebooks.

"Names, addresses, descriptions. Do-do you have any information that might help us find them again?" asked Garcia.

"I- I didn't have a need for it at the time," said Detective McGee.

Emily who was looking through a book looked at Garcia.

"Garcia, do you have enough here to see if they've been reported missing by someone?" asked Emily.

"I don't- I don't know," said Garcia.

"I- I ran them all through our computers and came up blank," said Detective McGee.

Gideon looked up from the newspaper he was reading and looked at Detective McGee.

"None of them turned up deceased? Checked the morgues and the hospitals?" asked Gideon.

Detective McGee looked at Gideon.

"I- I have checked everywhere, sir," said Detective McGee.

Hotch looked up from the little notebook that he was reading from.

"Simply being gone isn't a federal issue," said Hotch.

"We're gonna need an official invitation into your jurisdiction," said Gideon.

"An official?" asked Detective McGee.

"Police chief, chief of detectives. It has to come down through the chain of command. We have no authority to look into this," said Hotch.

"Um, I don't know that I- I can do that," stuttered Detective McGee as he continued to straighten out his little notebooks.

"Unless we're officially asked, we can't help you," said Hotch.

"Jurisdictional issues aren't open for debate. Sorry. It's out of our hands," said Gideon.

"Oh," said Detective McGee softly.

JJ looked at Hotch.

"Uh, Hotch... There could be 63 victims here," said JJ as she gave their unit chief a smile.

Hotch looked at Detective McGee.

"Well, I suppose you and I could go back with the detective and talk to his commanders and try to impress upon them the serious implications," said Hotch.

"Thank you," said Detective McGee.

Hotch looked at the rest of his team.

"If we get an invitation, we could send for the rest of you. I just don't want to give the appearance that we're running over them," said Hotch.

Gideon looked at his teammates.

"I'll wrap my class up. If anything changes, let me know. I should be available by 4:00," said Gideon before leaving the room.

"JJ, be ready in 30," said Hotch as he left the room.

Detective McGee looked at Hotch.

"Agent. Um, sir. He-he took 2 of my book," said Detective McGee.

Emily quickly got up and looked at Detective McGee.

"Uh, if you could leave your notebooks with us, we can unofficially go over them and maybe develop some more information," said Emily.

Detective McGee looked at them.

"How about I show you, uh, which people aren't around anymore and you can copy down all the information," said Detective McGee as he took a book from Garcia.

"OK. Well, you heard Agent Hotchner. You got 30 minutes to brief us on 63 people." said Morgan.

"OK. Um," said Detective McGee as he started to brief everyone on what he had.

xxxxxxxxx

Morgan posted a note card onto the board.

"Damn," whistled Emily.

"That is a lot of people," said Morgan.

"Homeless men, homeless women, runaways, prostitutes, and drug users," said Spencer.

"Can all of their disappearances be a coincidence?" asked Emily.

"Yeah, technically it wouldn't really be a coincidence since a number of these people share high-risk traits, which throws the curve off. You see, the word "coincidence" implies more," rambled Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer while thinking about Spencer being pretty much back to his normal self over three months after Hankel.

"Hey, kid, we do not need a vocabulary lesson right now," said Morgan.

"Right. Sorry," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"What was it the Yorkshire Ripper said about his victims?" asked Morgan.

"The women I killed were filthy, bastard prostitutes that were littering the streets. I was just cleaning up the place a bit"," quoted Spencer.

"He's a house-cleaner," stated Morgan.

"Mission-based killer who believes his murders are helping society," said Spencer.

"These guys devolve rapidly until they're just killing machines," said Morgan.

"And our hands are tied by jurisdictional concerns?" asked Emily.

"Well, what are we supposed to do? If we don't follow the city's jurisdiction, no one's gonna ever ask us for help. We do it by the book. Then we pray that no one else gets hurt in the meantime," said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxx

Gideon came into the conference room and looked at Spencer, Morgan, and Emily.

"Any news?" asked Gideon.

Gideon started to look at the note cards that were on the clear board.

"Haven't heard from Hotch or JJ. Garcia went through all the names but couldn't find a single report to hang an investigation on," said Morgan.

"We've been compiling preliminary profile thoughts based on the limited victimology that we have," said Spencer.

"Profile?" asked Gideon as he turned around to look at Spencer, Emily, and Morgan, "We don't even have this case yet."

"We just want to be prepared in case we are called in," defended Emily.

Gideon thought about the piles of consults that were on Spencer's, Emily's, and Morgan's desks.

"We don't have enough other work to do?" asked Gideon.

"Gideon, he's a house-cleaner," said Morgan.

"With 63 potential victims," said Spencer.

Gideon sighed as he realized that his team is right.

"What have you come up with so far?" asked Gideon as he quickly headed to a table to sit down.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer pulled out his phone and called Clarissa.

"Am I going to be keeping your dinner warm for you or are you heading to Kansas City?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm heading to the jet in 30 minutes to fly to Kansas City, Kansas," said Spencer.

"Have some time to talk to Diana?" asked Clarissa.

"I sure do, so please put her on," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer heard Diana's voice.

"You go away, daddy?" asked Diana.

"I'm heading to Kansas City, Kansas," said Spencer.

"Please stay safe, daddy," said Diana.

"I promise, bumble bee. I expect you to be good for mommy and Lucy," said Spencer.

"I will," said Diana.

xxxxxx

Spencer, Morgan, Emily, and Gideon approached Captain Wright.

"BAU?" asked Captain Wright.

Gideon shook Captain Wright's hand.

"I'm Jason Gideon," said Gideon before pointing out the rest of the team, "Agents Morgan, Prentiss, and Dr. Reid," said Gideon.

"Captain Al Wright," said Captain Wright.

Hotch approached them.

"If you, uh, want to get your squad together, captain, we could start giving the profile," said Hotch.

"Already?" asked Captain Wright.

"We've been working on it all day," stated Spencer.

"Oh, have you, now?" asked Captain Wright.

"Just out of an abundance of preparedness, yeah," said Spencer.

"Give me a few minutes, guys, huh?" asked Captain Wright before walking away.

Hotch turned around to look at his teammates.

"I'm not sure if he's really OK with this, or he's sure we're wrong and wants to see us embarrass ourselves," warned Hotch.

Spencer nodded along with his teammates.

xxxxxx

"We're going to provide a psychological profile of the man we're looking for. It contains some unusual, specific personality traits that someone out there is bound to recognize," started Hotch.

"Which will make him relatively easy to locate. Long-lasting, negative impression he leaves on anyone he might meet," said Gideon.

"We have a term for the killing behavior this unsub displays: cleaning house- fixing what's wrong with the world," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at the officers that were in the room.

"He's deeply rationalized this behavior, and while he certainly knows the killing is wrong, he truly believes that he's doing the world a great service," said Spencer.

"Ultimately, this type of unsub becomes a loner. There will not be too many people that can still tolerate him. Now, if he does have a relationship at all, the person will not be his equal. It'll be someone subservient to him," said Morgan.

"He'll be fastidious, tending toward obsessive-compulsive disorder, and he'll have an overwhelming sense of indignation towards the things that he's judged to be wrong. He wouldn't even consider the reasons why someone might disagree with him," said Spencer.

"He sounds like a real jagoff," said a detective.

"Exactly. Class-A scumbag," said Morgan.

"Detective McGee started noticing the disappearances a year ago. The unsub probably had a stressor at this time- the death of a family member or someone who had some semblance of control over him. Right now, no one has control over him," said Emily.

"It's probable that he isn't currently working with this many victims and the devolution that it brings a job just wouldn't leave him time to practice his true calling," said Spencer.

"Which is?" asked Captain Wright.

"A predator, a killing machine. By now, it's become all he thinks about," finished Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer, Hotch, JJ, Gideon, Morgan, Emily, Detective McGee, and Captain Wright stood outside when Hotch looked at everyone.

"To cover more ground, we'll split up into groups of two," said Hotch before looking at his brother in law, "Knowing my sister, she'll release her pregnancy hormones on me if she finds out that I don't pair myself with you during this hour," said Hotch.

Spencer rolled his eyes causing Detective McGee and Captain Wright to look at them.

"Sister?" asked Captain Wright.

"When we're on the clock we're coworkers, but when we're off duty we're brother-in-laws since Dr. Reid is married to my baby sister," said Hotch.

Spencer rolled his eyes at his brother-in-law while everyone else started to pair up.

"How many kids?" asked Captain Wright.

"I have a three-year-old daughter, and my wife is 25-weeks pregnant with my second child," said Spencer.

"Know the gender?" asked Captain Wright.

"Its a girl," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law as they walked away from the two young women who propositioned him.

"I'm already aware that my wedding band doesn't ward off all women," said Spencer.

"I know," said Hotch.

"All women tend to approach me when its just Diana and me, and Clarissa has told me that women like to fall in love with men who are good with children," said Spencer.

Hotch gave his brother-in-law an amused look.

"You do know that Clarissa's never going to let you live it down when I tell her about every prostitute propositioning you," said Hotch.

Spencer rolled his eyes before giving his brother in law a smirk.

"If you tell her, I'll make sure that your the last one to hold your niece after Bridget is born," said Spencer.

Hotch shook his head when he heard Emily talk to Morgan.

"You make the people around you feel good," smiled Emily.

Spencer and Hotch approached Morgan and Emily.

"Well, he's no Charlie Chaplin," joked Hotch.

"Again with the Chaplins'," deadpanned Morgan.

"How'd you guys do?" asked Emily.

Hotch gave his flustered brother-in-law an amused look.

"Well, Reid got propositioned by every prostitute we talked to," said Hotch while Spencer nodded, "But we didn't find anybody who thinks they'd seen the unsub."

"Same story with us," said Morgan.

"We saw Gideon and McGee a block back. They hadn't had any luck, either," said Hotch.

"It's odd. If the unsub were out here, he'd stand out. You know, people would recognize the description," said Spencer.

"So where does that leave us?" asked Emily.

Captain Wright and JJ approached them.

"Right where I thought we were," said Captain Wright.

"Captain?" asked Hotch.

"You said this guy would definitely be memorable. You were adamant. So if no one out here remembers him, according to you, he doesn't exist," said Captain Wright.

"That's not exactly what we said, but," said JJ before Captain Wright interrupted her.

"It's what you implied," said Captain Wright.

"What do you think happened to them, Captain?" asked Hotch.

"I told you, I don't think anything happened to them," said Captain Wright.

"Oh, that's right. You think they all got houses and jobs," said Hotch.

"OK, all this means is we have another piece of the puzzle here. Someone got over 60 street-smart people out of here and no one noticed," said Emily.

"It's almost like he blended in," said Spencer.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"It's more than that. It's like he must somehow belong," said JJ.

"Like he's here all the time," said Hotch.

Morgan quickly noticed a man talking to the woman he just talked to.

"Like social services," said Morgan.

"What?" asked Emily.

Morgan looked at Captain Wright.

"Captain Wright?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah?" asked Captain Wright.

Morgan kept an eye on Mona.

"Does your social services department patrol around?" asked Morgan.

"Excuse me?" asked Captain Wright.

"Do they drive around in the middle of the night looking for people to help?" asked Morgan as he saw a social service employee take Mona's cart.

"No. They have to be called, and then," said Captain Wright before Morgan took off.

"Morgan!" shouted Hotch.

A few seconds later Spencer was sprinting after his brother-in-law and Morgan before Morgan approached the social worker.

"Hey, how's it goin', my man?" asked Morgan.

"I should go," said the social service employee.

"Slow down. What's your hurry?" asked Morgan.

"I got a lot of work. I should go," said the employee.

Captain Wright looked at the social worker.

"Sir, do you have a city employee ID?" asked Captain Wright.

"Look, I really don't have time for this," said the social worker.

"Yes, you do. ID, please," demanded Captain Wright.

The social worker started his truck and started to drive away with Morgan hanging onto the steering wheel before the van crashed.

"Out of the truck! Out of the truck! Get out here!" demanded Morgan.

"All right, all right! Don't hurt me! Just... Don't hurt me," pleaded the social worker as Morgan handcuffed him.

xxxxxx

Spencer's cell phone vibrated causing Spencer to see a text from Clarissa.

I KNOW THAT YOUR ON YOUR WAY HOME SINCE AARON TEXTED ME TO TELL ME ABOUT HOW PROSTITUTES WERE PROPOSITIONING YOU. SO TOMORROW NIGHT, I HAVE PLANS FOR YOU. ~ CR

Spencer blushed a bit causing Morgan to laugh.

"Clarissa sent you something to make you blush?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"You just earned the rights to be the last person to hold Bridget after she's born," said Spencer.

Hotch shook his head.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Have any women hit on you when it's just you and Diana?" asked Morgan.

"Over 100 times, and Clarissa explained to me that a lot of single women loves seeing men who are good with children," said Spencer.

"She told me that she has a few colleagues who actually developed crushes on you when you do magic shows at Children's National," said Emily.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"So when are you going to tell Clarissa that you got her a week-long vacation that is starting next week Friday?" asked Hotch.

"Sunday," said Spencer.

"What are you doing, kid?" asked Morgan.

"With Clarissa now being 25-weeks pregnant, its the perfect time for a baby-moon before Clarissa starts having bi-weekly doctor appointments. So my Mother's Day gift for Clarissa is a baby-moon," said Spencer.

"Where are you taking her?" asked Morgan.

"I'm not telling you guys since I don't want Clarissa to find out from you guys," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer entered the bullpen with his teammates and his eyes went wide when he saw Garcia standing with Diana on her hip.

"Daddy!" cried Diana.

Garcia placed Diana onto the floor, and a few seconds later, Spencer was scooping up Diana.

"What are you doing here, young lady?" asked Spencer as he gave Diana a kiss on the cheek.

"I couldn't help myself since I needed some cuddles with your daughter," said Garcia before looking at Hotch, "I called Haley and asked her if Jack could come here, but Jack's with his grandparents right now."

Hotch and Gideon looked at each other.

"Since there's a couple of hours before Diana's bedtime, she can stay while we watch some Charlie Chaplin," said Gideon.

Diana looked at Gideon with wide blue eyes.

"Really?" asked Diana.

"Charlie Chaplin is appropriate for a little girl your age." smiled Gideon.

Hotch looked at his niece.

"Are you going to take turns sitting on your daddy's and my laps?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, uncle Aaron," said Diana.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"I have to go potty," said Diana.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"I'll take her, Spence," said JJ.

Spencer handed his daughter over to JJ before looking at Garcia.

"So where's Diana's car seat?" asked Spencer.

"In my bat cave," said Garcia.

Spencer nodded before looking at his brother-in-law.

"I guess you're my ride home since I carpooled with you the day before," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer was sitting on a chair with Diana on his lap when he felt some popcorn hit his head causing him to look back at JJ and Emily before hugging his daughter closer to him.

"You OK, daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer leaned towards Diana's ear.

"When I say so, please help me throw popcorn at JJ and Emily," whispered Spencer.

Diana giggled.

"OK, daddy," whispered Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer grabbed a hand full of popcorn causing Diana to follow suit, and a few seconds later Spencer and Diana who had matching grins on their faces both threw popcorn at JJ and Emily.

"Please stop throwing popcorn at my daddy," ordered Diana as she gave her Hotchner glare at JJ and Emily causing everyone to burst out laughing.

"She's definitely your niece, Hotch," laughed Morgan.

At that moment Diana yawned.

"Daddy?" asked Diana.

"I take it that its bedtime?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as she fell asleep causing Spencer to look at his brother-in-law.

"Diana just fell asleep," said Spencer.

A few seconds later JJ, Emily, and Garcia were each giving Diana a kiss before the two brother-in-laws left with a sleeping Diana who was comfortable in her daddy's arms.


	10. No Way Out Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to say that I decided that No Way Out Part 2 will happen, and I know that May 14th didn't happen on a Friday in 2007, so the case in this chapter takes place on May 11th, 2007. I'm planning that Doubt, In Name and Blood, and Scared to Death all happen in September of 2007. So this is the last chapter that deals with episodes for awhile.

Morgan looked at Spencer who was packing up his messenger bag for the weekend.

"Heading home to your girls for the weekend?" asked Morgan.

"Yes, and I'm excited about Sunday," said Spencer.

"That reminds me that I should call my mom on Sunday," said Morgan.

"Is your mom still getting on to you about having grandchildren?" asked Spencer.

"Every time I talk to her," said Morgan.

"Mother's Day next year will be even better since Bridget will be able to celebrate Mother's Day with Clarissa, Diana, and me," said Spencer as he slung his messenger bag over his shoulder, "I hope you guys have a good weekend," said Spencer.

"You too," said Emily.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the elevator.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer locked his Glock into its safe when Diana ran into the foyer.

"Daddy!" exclaimed Diana.

Spencer instantly scooped up Diana and hugged her causing Diana to wrap her legs around her daddy's waist and her arms around his neck.

"I missed you while I was at work," smiled Spencer.

"I missed you too, daddy," said Diana.

"Shall we go say hi to mommy?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Diana.

A minute later Spencer entered the kitchen with Diana.

"Hi," said Clarissa.

Spencer gave his wife a gentle kiss.

"Hi," said Spencer before seeing what was being made, "Chicken pot pie?" asked Spencer.

"My recipe," said Lucy.

Clarissa poked her husband's stomach while thinking about how the severe PTSD that her husband dealt with caused him to lose weight.

"At least your gaining the weight you lost back," said Clarissa.

"I know," said Spencer before looking at Diana, "What do you say about me reading to you until we wash up for dinner?" asked Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

"Dinner will be done in about 15 minutes," said Clarissa.

"OK," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was sitting in the living room with Diana reading to her.

xxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer and Clarissa smiled as they watched Diana play with her toys in the tub, and a few seconds later Diana looked at her parents.

"When will our swimming pool be filled up with water again?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other as they thought about their in-ground swimming pool that was already there when they bought the house.

"Our goal is to have our pool ready by June 1st," said Spencer.

Clarissa rubbed her 25-week pregnant belly.

"At least our swimming pool will help me stay active and cool as it gets closer to Bridget's birth," said Clarissa.

At that moment Spencer's work cell phone vibrated, causing Spencer's eyes to go wide at the text message he got.

"What?" asked Clarissa.

"Something happened at Gideon's apartment," said Spencer as he quickly got up, "I'll call you as soon as I know what's going on," said Spencer as he gave Clarissa a kiss.

"OK," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his daughter.

"From now until mommy puts you to bed, please behave for mommy and Lucy since you know that stress isn't good for mommy and Bridget," said Spencer in a soft and yet stern voice.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer was quickly getting into his car and drove to Gideon's apartment.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer approached his brother-in-law and Morgan.

"PD thinks he did this?" asked a shocked Morgan.

"They have six witnesses who saw him running down the street, covered in blood, wielding a gun," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at the body that was on Gideon's bed.

"OK, he was probably chasing the son of a bitch who did do this," said Morgan.

"Either way, we're under strict orders not to get in the way of the investigation. Gideon's a suspect, we're his colleagues," said Hotch.

"Conflict of interest. There's no way they'll ask for our help," said JJ.

Hotch sighed.

"Which he needs badly right now," said Hotch.

"Well, who spoke to him last?" asked Morgan.

"I did, about two hours ago," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"What did he say?" asked Spencer softly.

"He said he was late for a date," said Hotch.

"Do we even know who she is?" asked Morgan.

Spencer started to head to the body.

"An old school friend. We're conflicted out of the investigation. We're just here to answer questions the MPD might have, so we need to assess what we can while we can," said Hotch.

"Evisceration of the torso, removal of various organs. The guy's clearly a sexually sadistic psychopath," said Spencer.

"He's well-versed with a scalpel. He's done this before. We need to at least get photos," said Emily.

"JJ, your cell phone. Get as many as you can as quickly as you can. Get them to Garcia," ordered Hotch.

xxxxxxx

Spencer stood in the doorway of Gideon's bedroom.

"If this is who we think it is, he took the rib bones as gifts to give to Jane," said Spencer.

"And yet this one he gave back to Sarah. Why?" asked Emily.

"It's not for Sarah, it's for us. It's a message," said Hotch before he walked away.

A few minutes later Spencer, Emily, and Morgan approached Hotch.

"We need to tell the police what we found," said Emily.

"Wait," said Hotch.

"For what?" asked Emily.

Morgan looked at Emily.

"If we know anything about Frank, he wouldn't have left a trace of his DNA in here," said Morgan.

"There are a number of ways this scene could be interpreted, and all of them could indicate Gideon," said Hotch.

Emily opened her mouth.

"As long as Frank's out there, we can't afford to stop and explain any of it," said Morgan.

"Last time he did all of this for Jane," said Spencer.

"Well, things seem to have changed dramatically," said Hotch.

Emily closed her eyes as she thought about Frank's oldest surviving victim.

"Maybe she's dead. They had a lovers' quarrel and he killed her?" asked Emily.

"If he came here looking for Gideon, maybe he found him," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Emily.

"Let's go find out where Gideon went," said Morgan.

Spencer quickly followed Emily and Morgan out of Gideon's apartment.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer ran across the street and approached Morgan and Emily.

"Well, we know Frank will do whatever it takes to blend in and not stand out," said Emily.

Morgan looked around the area.

"Well, to avoid attracting attention, he would have simply walked calmly out of that crime scene," said Morgan.

"The evisceration of Sarah, though, means he would have been soaked in her blood," said Spencer.

"No, he had access to Gideon's closet. He cleans up, gets a change of clothes, he's out," said Emily.

"Yet he left no trace of evidence at the crime scene," said Morgan.

Hotch approached them with a bag.

"Gideon said he dumped it en route," said Hotch.

A wide-eyed Emily looked at Hotch.

"You spoke with Gideon?" asked Emily.

"Where is he, Hotch?" asked Morgan.

"He's safe," said Hotch.

"Well, that's all the proof we need, right? We can turn him over to the MPD now," said Emily.

"By the time this comes back from the lab, Frank's long gone," said Hotch.

Morgan looked at Hotch.

"If the cops find out we're hiding evidence and a material witness from them-," said Morgan.

Hotch looked at Morgan.

"We're not hiding evidence. We'll give this to forensics, let them search for DNA. We'll look for Frank," said Hotch.

A kid on a skateboard approached them.

"Agent Morgan?" asked the kid.

"What the hell?" asked Emily.

"They say beauty can cover a multitude of sins," said the boy.

"What?" asked Morgan.

"But underneath it all... We all look exactly the same," said the boy.

Morgan looked around.

"That's Frank. He said that to me in the diner," said Morgan.

"Give me Jane or I'll kill them all," said the boy.

"Frank thinks we have Jane?" asked Morgan.

"We need to find her fast," said Hotch.

"Can I have my 10 bucks now?" asked the boy.

xxxxxxxx

"Gideon saw Jane just before Frank called him. If we find Jane, we'll find Frank," said Hotch.

"Last time we found Frank, he outsmarted us," said Emily.

"He took a busload of children hostage. He gave us no options," said Morgan.

"He's not going to give us any now," said Hotch.

"Frank's message- he said, I'll kill them all. Who's he referring to?" asked Spencer.

Emily's cell phone rang causing her to put her phone on speaker.

"JJ?" asked Emily.

"Hey, uh, Gideon had a book, a black leather-bound book. Garcia discovered something. It looks like the first page has been ripped out. You can only really see what's left on the side of the page, but it's definitely Gideon's handwriting. Looks like some kind of a list," said JJ.

"It's his murder book," said Hotch.

"Murder book?" asked Emily.

"When he opens it to the first page, it reminds him why he does what he does," said Hotch.

"It's a list of all the people he's ever saved. Names, dates, personal details," said Spencer.

Hotch sighed.

"And now Frank has the list," said Hotch.

"Frank said, "I'll kill them all." That's who he's going after," said Spencer.

"Yeah, at least the ones he can get to, the ones that are nearby," said Morgan.

"JJ, start locating all the possible targets. We need to call them and warn them," said Hotch.

"Got it," said JJ.

"Do we tell Gideon?" asked Morgan.

"Absolutely not. We need to find out who Frank is first," said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was in his car, and before he started his car, he called Clarissa.

"Is Gideon OK?" asked Clarissa.

"Its hard to say," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Clarissa.

"Gideon's girlfriend was murdered in his apartment before he could get home," said Spencer.

"Oh my gosh," said Clarissa.

"Luckily we know who killed Gideon's girlfriend," said Spencer.

"Who?" asked Clarissa.

"Frank," said Spencer.

"The one that abducted all those school children in your home state?" asked Clarissa.

"The very one," said Spencer.

"As soon as Frank is caught, please let Gideon know that he's welcome to stay in our guest bedroom for as long as he needs to," said Clarissa.

"I'll let him know," said Spencer.

"I'll let you get back to work, please stay safe," said Clarissa.

"I promise," said Spencer.

"Love you," said Clarissa.

"Love you too," said Spencer before hanging up.

xxxxxx

Spencer quickly entered the conference room with Emily trailing behind him.

"So far we've narrowed it down to nine possible targets," said Spencer.

Emily quickly pulled up nine pictures onto the monitor.

"Their contact details are in the files. Everybody grab a phone. Let's start calling," said Emily.

A few seconds later Spencer was calling the hospital that Nathan Harris was still committed to,

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer looked at Rebecca's dead body sadly while thinking about how his aunt was a huge part of finding Rebecca.

"Hotch...nothing could have stopped this," said Morgan.

Emily snapped on some gloves.

"Guys..." said Emily as she removed a paper from Rebecca's hand, "We've got a note from Frank. 7 AM Union Station," said Emily.

"All eight other targets on that list are safe and accounted for," said Spencer.

"Then we've missed someone or something. Now that he's set a meeting," said Hotch.

"He's going to raise the stakes. Just like he did last time. He's going to make it impossible for us to not trade Jane for whoever he's got," said Morgan.

Hotch's cell phone rang causing Hotch to put his phone on speaker.

"Yeah, JJ?" asked Hotch.

"I think I found Jane. The beat cops picked up a woman who was ranting and raving about needing to talk to the BAU. She, uh, assaulted one of the police officers. She's being processed as we speak," said JJ.

"So what have we missed?" asked Morgan.

"Frank's incapable of experiencing normal feelings," said Spencer.

"Yeah, but he takes what normal people hold sacred," said Morgan.

A wide-eyed Emily instantly thought about little Diana, Jack, and the baby girl that Spencer and Clarissa are currently expecting.

"Children," said Emily.

"JJ, I'm going to have Prentiss call you to find out where to pick up Jane. We'll all meet back at the BAU. I'm going to wait for the crime scene unit," said Hotch.

"I heard you. He's going after children now," said JJ.

"I also need you to look at re-locations, anything involving children. Families that have moved into the DC area since the case," said Hotch.

"I'm on it," said JJ before hanging up.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"You should go with Prentiss," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded at his brother-in-law.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the front passenger seat of an SUV when Spencer pulled out his phone and looked at a picture of Diana.

"Looking at a picture of Diana?" asked Emily.

"Yeah," said Spencer before smiling softly at a picture that revealed a grinning Diana resting her hand on her mother's 26-week pregnant belly, "Diana's smiles and laughter helps gives me positive memories since my eidetic memory can never make me forget anything," said Spencer.

Emily quickly thought about the times she got to watch Spencer interact with his nephew.

"Don't forget Jack," said Emily.

"I can never forget my favorite nephew," said Spencer.

"So the next time you and Clarissa have a baby, are you hoping for a boy?" asked Emily.

"Clarissa and I are both wanting our own little boy, but it's going to be a few years before we try for another child," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Emily quickly approached the holding cell that Jane was currently in.

"Jane," said Emily.

"Come in here and get this mouthy bitch out of here," ordered a woman.

Emily glared at the woman.

"Back off," ordered Emily before looking at the woman, "Agent Prentiss, FBI," said Emily.

"FBI?" asked the woman.

Emily looked at Jane.

"Do you remember me? From Nevada?" asked Emily.

Jane nodded.

"I asked for agent Gideon," said Jane.

"We know. We'll bring you to him," said Emily.

Jane glared at one of her cellmates.

"I told you!" shouted Jane before looking at Spencer and Emily, "Agent Gideon's right, you know. Frank, he can't feel love. He wants to, but he can't. He's coming for me, you know?" asked Jane.

"He's already here," said Spencer softly.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer stood by the elevators when Hotch and Morgan got off.

"Tell us something good, Reid," said Morgan.

"We have Jane," said Spencer.

"That's good news," said Hotch.

"Not entirely," said Spencer before he started to head towards the interrogation room with Hotch and Morgan following him.

xxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer and JJ were in New York City with some police officers and an apartment super as they headed to Mary Breitkopf.

"It's right this way," said the apartment super.

JJ quickly stopped Spencer while thinking about the last time they spit up.

"Whoa, hey. No matter what happens this time, we don't split up, clear?" asked JJ.

"Crystal clear," said Spencer.

A few minutes later the landlord unlocked the apartment before JJ looked at the super.

"Wait here," ordered JJ.

"Yes, ma'am," said the landlord.

After clearing the apartment, JJ opened up a door, and as soon as Spencer opened the curtains, Spencer, JJ, and a few officers saw a mummified body on the bed causing them to realize that they found Mary. A few seconds later they heard some tapping, and a few seconds later they found Tracey Belle alive.

"Your safe, Tracey," said Spencer gently as he gently bent down and quickly put on latex-free gloves to prevent himself from developing an allergic reaction, "I'm going to remove the tape as gently as possible," said Spencer.

Tracey nodded, and a few seconds later she felt the tape get removed.

"I'm going to lift you up, but I need you to close your eyes until I tell you to open them, OK?" asked Spencer.

"OK," said Tracey as she closed her eyes.

A few seconds later Spencer bent down and scooped up Tracey, and less than a minute later he had Tracey sitting down in a chair.

"You can open your eyes now," said Spencer.

Tracey opened her eyes and looked at Spencer.

"I remember you giving me a piggyback ride out of the woods," said Tracey.

"My own little girl loves it when I give her piggyback rides," smiled Spencer.

"How old is your daughter?" asked Tracey.

"She's three," said Spencer.

"Can I talk to, Gideon?" asked Tracey.

"You sure can," smiled JJ as she pulled out her phone to call Hotch.

As soon as Tracey finished up her phone call, JJ led Tracey away while Spencer headed to the bedroom to look at Mary's body one last time before leaving the apartment with JJ and Tracey.

xxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer and JJ were flying back to Quantico with Tracey who insisted on being next to Spencer.

"Can I please see a picture of your little girl?" asked Tracey.

Spencer smiled as he pulled out his phone and showed Tracey a picture of Diana.

"She looks just like you, but she has blue eyes," said Tracey.

"My wife has those same blue eyes," said Spencer.

"Can I see a picture of your wife?" asked Tracey.

Spencer quickly showed Tracey a picture of Clarissa.

"She's very pretty," said Tracey.

"She sure is, and I can't wait to see how beautiful my second child will be," said Spencer.

Tracey looked at Spencer with wide eyes.

"You're becoming a daddy again?" asked Tracey.

"This August I'll be holding Bridget Mackenzie Reid for the first time," said Spencer.

"That's a pretty name," said Tracey.

xxxxxxxxx

Over a half hour later Spencer and JJ smiled when they saw Tracey reunite with her parents.

xxxxxxxx

Later on that night Spencer entered his house and he smiled when he saw Clarissa sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Hey," said Spencer as he quickly locked up his gun.

"No Gideon?" asked Clarissa.

"He didn't want to impose us, but I told him that he's always welcome to join us for dinner," said Spencer.

"Good," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his wife with haunted eyes.

"After what happened, I'm just glad that I have you, Diana, and Bridget," said Spencer as he rested his hand on Clarissa's baby bump and smiled softly when he felt a kick.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer stood outside of his and Clarissa's bedroom with a tray filled with breakfast in his hands before he looked at his little girl.

"Let's go wake mommy up," said Spencer quietly.

"OK, daddy," grinned Diana.

A few seconds later Clarissa woke up to being given kisses by Diana.

"What's with the pleasant wake-up call?" asked Clarissa as she reached for her glasses and slipped them on.

"Happy Mother's Day, mommy," grinned Diana as she gave her mommy another kiss before she kissed her mommy's 26-week baby bump, "I love you, Bridget," said Diana.

Clarissa instantly teared up.

"Happy tears?" asked Diana.

"Yes, and I can't wait to watch you be a big sister to Bridget," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer entered the bedroom.

"Happy Mother's Day, love," said Spencer as he gave his wife a kiss on the lips.

"Thanks," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later the growing family started to eat their breakfast in bed before they got ready for church.

xxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Diana looked at her mommy and daddy.

"Can we please watch "Mary Poppins"?" asked Diana as she held up a DVD case.

"We sure can, sweet pea," said Clarissa.

"I'll go make us some popcorn," said Spencer.

"I want pickle juice poured onto my popcorn," said Clarissa as she rubbed her 26-week pregnant belly.

Spencer grimaced as he headed to the kitchen.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana were on the couch watching "Mary Poppins".


	11. Weeks 27 and 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts the day after Memorial Day of 2007, so Clarissa's 27-weeks pregnant in the beginning of this chapter. So we're getting closer to Bridget's upcoming arrival!
> 
> The type of fenced in backyard that the Reid family has is a 12 foot high privacy fence so no one can see what the Reids are doing in their backyard. Diana's usually a well behaved girl, but she does have her moments!

Clarissa looked at her husband and soon to be oldest daughter as they ate breakfast.

"What are you two going to do today?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm planning on finishing up the flower garden while weeding the vegetable garden," said Spencer.

"That would be wonderful," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at Lucy.

"What are you going to do today?" asked Spencer.

"Other than cleaning all of the bathrooms and sweeping and mopping floors, I'm going to catch up on some reading," said Lucy.

Diana who was wearing a yellow sundress while her mid-back length curly hair was pulled into pigtails looked at her daddy.

"I help you in the garden, daddy," said Diana before she took another sip of her orange juice and took another bite of her omelet.

"Your always my little helper," smiled Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that day at 1 PM, Spencer planted the last flower and watered the flowers before looking around the large backyard for Diana only to find a muddy Diana going down the slide before landing on her butt into a big mud puddle causing wet mud to splash over Diana's head.

"Do not laugh because I'll only be encouraging her behavior," muttered Spencer to himself as he stood up and removed his gardening gloves before he made his way over to his daughter who was going down the slide again.

"Diana Ethel Reid, there wasn't a mud puddle here this morning," said Spencer sternly.

Diana got out of the mud puddle and stood by the mud puddle as mud dripped off her dress and pigtails.

"I dig a big hole and pour buckets full of water in it before mixing the dirt and water, and when the mud got thick I go down the slide 10 times and not land on my feet," said Diana.

"Why would you decide to create a mud puddle like this?" asked Spencer.

"Mommy lets me to have a mud bath with her when I go to the spa with her," said Diana.

Spencer shook his head as he pulled out his phone and looked at his daughter.

"Before I hose you off so you could be allowed to go inside the house for a bath, smile so I can take a picture for mommy to look at when she's taking a break so she can know how your spending your day today," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer was taking a picture of a grinning Diana before sending the picture to Clarissa and Hotch.

DIANA DECIDED TO HELP ME OUT WITH TENDING THE GARDEN BEFORE SHE SNUCK AWAY TO GIVE HERSELF A MUD BATH BY DIGGING A HOLE AT THE BOTTOM OF HER SLIDE AND FILL IT WITH WATER, SO I HAVE AN EXTREMELY WET AND DIRTY LITTLE GIRL TO CLEAN UP BEFORE I TAKE HER INTO THE HOUSE FOR A BATH AND NAP TIME. ~ SR

A few seconds later Spencer sent Lucy a text message while enclosing the picture of Diana that he sent to Clarissa and Hotch.

CAN YOU PLEASE BRING TWO TOWELS OUTSIDE SINCE I HAVE TO HOSE OFF DIANA BEFORE I BRING HER INSIDE FOR A BATH? ~ SR

"Lucy should be outside with towels soon, so I should start hosing you off," said Spencer.

30 seconds later Spencer was turning the garden hose's nozzle onto a shower setting and started hosing off Diana who started giggling as soon as the water touched her skin.

xxxxxxx

10 minutes later Spencer turned off the hose and looked at his soaking wet daughter.

"Let's head over to the towels that Lucy brought outside and I can get you out of your dress," said Spencer.

"OK," shivered Diana.

15 seconds later Spencer was drying off his daughter before he quickly removed his daughter's dress and underwear and quickly wrapped his daughter with a dry towel and carried Diana into the house where Lucy had a warm bath waiting.

"Can I play in the tub for a few minutes before you wash me, daddy?" asked Diana.

"Yes," said Spencer as he swooped his daughter into the tub, "But please don't give yourself mud baths like that again or you'll be inside with Lucy while I tend to the garden," said Spencer sternly.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

xxxxxx

Meanwhile at Children's National, Clarissa was eating a sandwich when she decided to see if she had any messages, and a few seconds later she was laughing with tears streaming down her face at the picture of a grinning Diana who was covered head to toe in mud causing the head nurse to look at her.

"What's so funny, Clarissa?" asked Nurse Carter.

"Spence sent me a picture of Diana covered head to toe in mud since Diana decided to give herself a mud bath like the ones she has with me at the spa," said Clarissa as she showed the head nurse the picture.

Carter burst out laughing before looking at Clarissa.

"Even though you told me that the terrible twos were terrible, she's definitely dealing with the terrible three's," laughed Nurse Carter.

"After what happened to Spence nearly four months ago, we need Diana's funny antics to get us smiling and laughing. Luckily Spence is almost back to being the man I fell in love with over six years ago since he's been going to therapy for PTSD," said Clarissa softly as she wiped a tear.

Nurse Carter gave Clarissa a sad smile as she thought back to the phone call she had with a crying Clarissa over four months ago and the one they had when Spencer got rescued.

"My husband suffered from severe PTSD when he came home from Iraq, and he ended up becoming an alcoholic before I gave him the choices to accept help or I would leave him and he wouldn't have visitation with the kids" said Nurse Carter.

"What did he do after you yelled at him?" asked Clarissa.

"He quietly went of to rehab for recovering veterans, and he's been sober for over three years now," said Nurse Carter.

Clarissa looked around before whispering.

"Spence was injected with a highly addictive drug during his captivity, but luckily he told my brother that he was drugged against his will causing him to go through detox in the hospital with me by his side. Luckily Spence knows that he has way too much to lose if he did got addicted drugs or alcohol so he accepted the help that was offered to him from the beginning," said Clarissa.

"I promise you that I won't tell anyone about what you just told me," said Nurse Carter.

Clarissa nodded her thanks before gesturing to Nurse Carter's chips causing the older nurse to laugh as she passed them over to Clarissa.

"So how is the FBI helping Spencer with his PTSD?" asked Nurse Carter.

"He had a lot of counseling while my brother kept a closer eye on him in the field, and he's in charge of managing our garden this year as one of his exposure therapy projects to help him get use to being around dirt and using a shovel again," said Clarissa.

"Kill or cure?" asked Nurse Carter.

"It was a bit rough at first since Spence had flashbacks, but now he can handle using a shovel," said Clarissa before groaning when she felt Bridget kick.

"Bridget kicked?" asked Nurse Carter.

"Yeah, and I just can't believe that I'm going to be start the 7th month of this pregnancy and the third trimester next week," said Clarissa as she rubbed her growing belly.

"At least you start working in the maternity ward at Georgetown next week so the staff can monitor you better while you work," said Nurse Carter.

"I know, and pretty soon I'll be too big to drive so Lucy's going to drive me to and from work," said Clarissa.

"Your beautiful, Clarissa," soothed Nurse Carter.

"Spence tells me that every day," said Clarissa before looking at her watch, "We should get back to work so I can distract myself at the idea of going home right now to jump my husband during Diana's nap," said Clarissa.

Nurse Carter laughed as she helped Clarissa stand up.

"Craving your husband?" asked Nurse Carter.

Clarissa blushed a bit.

"Yes, and I already have plans for him tonight," said Clarissa seriously.

xxxxx

After drying off Diana, Spencer put a tired Diana into pajamas so she could be comfortable for her nap.

"Its nap time," said Spencer.

"When will I stop having naps?" asked Diana.

"Hopefully by the time you start all day kindergarten by the time your five-years-old," said Spencer as he carried Diana to her bedroom.

Five minutes later Spencer and Lucy both collapsed in the living room before they started laughing over Diana's antics from earlier.

xxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Diana grinned when she looked out the window.

"Mommy's home!" exclaimed Diana.

Spencer came into the living room as he dried his hands with a hand towel.

"Remember not to tackle down mommy since you'll hurt mommy and your baby sister," said Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," sighed Diana.

A minute later Clarissa came into the house and smiled when she saw Diana.

"I missed you today," said Clarissa as she knelt down and hugged Diana.

"I missed you too, mommy," said Diana.

Clarissa stood up to her full height and thought about how her brother and Spencer both told her that they've been put on leave for two weeks over the events of Frank's return.

"Did you have fun with daddy?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, and I play in the mud today," grinned Diana.

"I know since daddy sent me a picture," said Clarissa before walking over to her husband and kissed him, "Hey," said Clarissa.

"Hey," said Spencer.

"I smell steak," said Clarissa.

"I decided to make steak on the grill," said Spencer.

"Since its beautiful outside, why don't we eat on the patio," said Clarissa.

"Good idea," said Spencer.

Five minutes later the growing Reid family and Lucy were sitting at the patio table enjoying the steak and vegetables that Spencer cooked on the grill.

xxxxx

As soon as Diana was done eating her cut up steak and grilled vegetables, she looked at her mommy.

"How did me and daddy do on the garden?" asked Diana.

"Its daddy and I," corrected Spencer.

"How did daddy and I do on the garden?" asked Diana.

Clarissa smiled at her husband and daughter.

"You two did a wonderful job," smiled Clarissa.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"When do you go back to work?" asked Diana.

"I go back next week Monday," said Spencer before looking at his wife, "It seems like that since Gideon's on bereavement leave until September, so I decided that I'll take a maximum of two weeks of paternity leave so I don't leave my team down two agents," said Spencer.

Clarissa rubbed her 27-week pregnant belly.

"Two weeks should be enough for you," said Clarissa.

"I'm already planning that I stay in the guest bedroom for awhile when you go back to work after my latest charge is born," said Lucy.

Spencer nodded his thanks to Lucy.

xxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was running through the park while pushing Diana in her jogging stroller before he stopped running when he saw Morgan walking towards them with Clooney.

"Clooney!" grinned Diana.

Clooney quickly ran to Diana and gave her a kiss causing the three-year-old to giggle before Morgan looked at Diana.

"Well look at you, pretty little lady," grinned Morgan.

"Hi, uncle Derek," grinned Diana.

Morgan looked up at Spencer who was wearing a t-shirt that said WORLD'S BEST DAD and sweat pants.

"How many miles have you ran so far?" asked Morgan.

Spencer took a drink of water.

"Two miles since leaving home 15 minutes ago," said Spencer.

"Pretty good," said Morgan.

"Clarissa told me that I have a runner's build when she started dragging me along on runs when I started dating her," said Spencer.

"Don't forget swimmer's build too since I've seen how quick you are at swimming laps at the various hotels we've stayed in and at the pool at the academy," said Morgan.

"And I can't wait to swim laps as soon as the swimming pool in the backyard gets filled," said Spencer.

"Daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer walked around his daughter's stroller and looked at his little girl.

"Yes, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

Diana looked at the nearby playground equipment.

"Can I play on the slide before we go home for lunch?" asked Diana.

"You sure can, bumble bee," said Spencer as he quickly unbuckled his daughter from her stroller.

A minute later Spencer and Morgan were sitting at a picnic table as they watched Diana play on the playground equipment.

"Seems like your enjoying our suspension by being a full-time dad," said Morgan.

Spencer shook his head.

"It would be even better if Clarissa had time off too so we could leave town for a few days, but with her taking three weeks off after I got hurt and her upcoming maternity leave coming up, she couldn't get time off," said Spencer.

"But I imagine that you two are getting plenty of lovin' every night since your pregnant wife enjoys having you home," teased Morgan.

Spencer blushed as he thought about Clarissa jumping him the night before.

"A gentleman never kiss and tells," said a smirking Spencer.

Morgan laughed.

"So what did you do with Diana yesterday?" asked Morgan.

"We spent the day working on the garden, and when I was finished I had to use the hose on Diana before I could take her into the house," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Morgan.

Spencer quickly showed Morgan the picture that he took causing Morgan to laugh.

"Playing in the mud?" asked Morgan.

"While I was focusing on the garden, Diana decided to give herself a mud bath," said Spencer as he started to explain what Diana did to get into that state.

When Spencer was done explaining, Morgan was laughing at Diana's cleverness.

"Does she get that from Clarissa or you?" asked Morgan.

"When a laughing Hotch called me about this picture, he told me that Clarissa would play in the mud with Sean when they were kids," said Spencer.

"Hotch actually laughed over this picture?" asked Morgan.

"Diana always gets Hotch to laugh since Diana is a lot like Clarissa when it comes to her personality," said Spencer before becoming serious, "When I saw Diana going down the slide and landed in that mud puddle she created, I didn't laugh," said Spencer.

"What she did is funny to me," said Morgan.

"I thought what she was doing was funny, except laughing can only encourage children that behavior like that is acceptable, but Lucy and I were both laughing after I put Diana down for her nap," said Spencer.

"What antics did you do when you were Diana's age?" asked Morgan.

"When I was four, my biological parents took me to the circus for the first time. I was so enthralled by tightrope walkers that I tried to balance myself on top of the backyard fence only to fall and break my wrist causing me to have surgery," said Spencer as he pointed out his scar.

Morgan laughed.

"I always wondered how you got that scar on your wrist," said Morgan.

At that moment Diana came running over and looked at her daddy.

"Can I have juice and a snack?" asked Diana as she climbed up onto the bench.

Spencer quickly reached into Diana's old diaper bag and pulled out a juice box and two Ziploc bags that contained baby carrots and grapes and quickly got the straw into the juice box and passed it to Diana before he started eating his grapes and carrots while drinking some water.

"Your having a snack too?" asked Morgan.

Spencer stopped chewing as he glanced at his little girl to make sure that she was eating slowly before making eye contact with Morgan.

"Lucy insisted on packing a snack for me," said Spencer.

"What's Lucy's doing right now?" asked Morgan.

"Since I told her that she doesn't have to take care of Diana for two weeks, she's been focusing on laundry and cleaning the house," said Spencer.

"Do you like having a live in nanny who helps with cooking and cleaning?" asked Morgan.

"Lucy has been a godsend since there are times that Clarissa and I both come home from our respective jobs at the same time exhausted, and Lucy would have a warm meal waiting for us," said Spencer.

"I remembered hearing about Lucy's reputation in the FBI, and it was sad that she was forced to retire in 2003," said Morgan.

"What happened to her husband and son was awful, but I know that hiring her has helped open her heart since grief is what brought Clarissa and I together," said Spencer before looking at his daughter, "What do you say about your uncle Derek coming home with us for lunch?" asked Spencer.

Diana grinned before looking at Morgan.

"Can you, uncle Derek?" asked Diana.

"I know that Clooney misses Daisy, so I'll come home with you guys for lunch," said Morgan.

Clooney started whimpering at the mention of Daisy causing everyone to laugh.

xxxxxxxxx

A week later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in Dr. Larson's office smiling when they saw Bridget on the computer screen.

"You know the drill about you having bi-weekly appointments here while working in this ward full-time now until your on maternity leave," said Dr. Larson.

"I know, Tanner," said Clarissa.

Dr. Larson looked at Spencer as he cleaned the gel off of Clarissa's 28-week pregnant belly.

"I'll make sure that your wife takes good care of herself while she works during the third trimester," said Dr. Larson.

"Thank you, doctor," said Spencer.

Clarissa gave her Hotchner glare to Dr. Larson.

"I'm not invalid, Tanner," grumbled Clarissa.

Dr. Larson chuckled as he situated the stirrups so Clarissa could get up.

"I know Clarissa, but summer is just starting so you'll need to stay hydrated more," said Dr. Larson.

"Am I done? I have to pee before I get started on my shift," said Clarissa.

"We're done," said Dr. Larson.

Spencer quickly helped Clarissa get up so his wife could go to the bathroom, and a minute later he was accepting ultrasound photos from Dr. Larson.

"So is everything all set for Bridget's nursery?" asked Dr. Larson.

"The nursery is all done, and Diana's old baby clothes have been washed and put away," said Spencer.

"Have any pictures of the nursery?" asked Dr. Larson.

Spencer pulled out his phone and showed Dr. Larson a picture.

"Clarissa and Diana decided on an owl theme," said Spencer.

"Such a beautiful nursery for a beautiful baby girl, and are those wall décor or did someone painted the owls on the wall?" asked Dr. Larson.

"I ended up painting the owls onto the wall myself since there are times that I like to draw," said Spencer.

"What about the curtains and the quilt?" asked Dr. Larson.

"Diana's nanny made the curtains and quilt herself since Lucy loves sewing for Diana," said Spencer just as his cell phone vibrated causing him to look at his phone.

THERE'S A MISSING CHILD IN BOSTON, SO PLEASE GET TO QUANTICO ASAP. ~ JJ

"Everything OK?" asked Dr. Larson just as Clarissa came back into the room.

"A missing child in Boston, so I have to get to work," said Spencer.

Clarissa gave her husband a quick kiss.

"Please stay safe, and I'll ask Lucy to send you a lot of pictures of Diana," said Clarissa.

"Love you," said Spencer.

"Love you too," said Clarissa before pushing her husband out of the room.

xxxxxxxxx

Nearly an hour later Spencer sighed as he saw a picture of a three-year-old girl.

"This is three-year-old Daniella Peterson and she was abducted from her home in Boston, Massachusetts two hours ago," said JJ.

A few minutes later Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Do you want to sit back from this case?" asked Hotch.

"Even though Daniella is the same age as Diana, I can do this," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

An hour and a half later Spencer, Hotch, and JJ were sitting in front of Daneilla's parents Wesley and Sandra Peterson who just finished telling them about their daughter.

"Do any of you guys have kids?" asked Sandra.

"I have an 18-month-old son," said Hotch.

"I have a three-year-old daughter and my wife's 28 weeks pregnant with our second child," said Spencer.

"Do you know the gender?" asked Sandra.

"Its a girl, and Diana's excited about Bridget's upcoming arrival," said Spencer.

"Diana and Bridget are pretty names," said Sandra.

"I know," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

A half hour later in Washington DC, Diana looked at her mommy and Lucy as they ate lunch at a diner near Georgetown University Hospital.

"Why don't we sit at the table and eat dinner when daddy's home?" asked Diana.

Clarissa and Lucy looked at each other.

"Because the chairs we own gives daddy bad memories from the case that caused him to break his foot," said Clarissa.

"Why not get a table that has benches and not chairs?" asked Diana.

Clarissa and Lucy looked at each other and grinned at each other before looking at Lucy and Diana as she pulled her credit card out of her wallet.

"With what you just mentioned, I want you two to go pick out a dining room table that contains two long benches and have it delivered to our house," said Clarissa.

"Are you sure?" asked Lucy.

"I've been thinking about getting a new dining room table, but my pregnancy had caused me to forget," said Clarissa before she looked at her watch, "I need to get back to work, so I want you to behave for Lucy," said Clarissa.

"Yes mommy, and is daddy coming home today?" asked Diana.

"Right now he's in Boston, but he'll be calling Lucy to talk to you later when he has a chance," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxx

An hour later in Boston, Spencer was clearing the house with Emily while Hotch and Morgan arrested a local sex offender Julius Reynolds when Spencer felt a hollow floor causing him to move a rug to reveal a trap door.

"Here's a trap door, so Daniella must be in there," said Spencer quietly.

A few seconds later Spencer was climbing down the ladder, and a 20 seconds later he was shining his flashlight on a teary eyed Daniella who was cuddling with a doll before he reached for the microphone on his vest.

"I found Daniella alive," said Spencer just as Daniella hugged his legs causing him to scoop up the little girl and cradle her close to him, "My name is Spencer, and your safe," soothed Spencer.

"Can I go to mommy and daddy?" asked a crying Daniella.

"You sure can, but I need to pass you to my friend Emily," said Spencer.

"OK, and that man hurt my arm," sniffed Daniella as she pointed out her swollen arm.

A minute later Spencer was closing the trap door and Daniella looked at Spencer.

"Can you please carry me out, Spencer?" asked Daniella.

"I sure can, and on the way to the hospital I can do some magic tricks for you," said Spencer.

"OK," sniffed Daniella.

A few minutes later Spencer was doing slight of hand tricks for a giggling Daniella as he rode to the hospital with Daniella while thinking about the reunion Daniella was going to have with her parents.

xxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer was on the way back to Quantico when his cell phone vibrated causing him to set down his book to look at a text from Clarissa.

DIANA, LUCY, AND I GOT YOU A SURPRISE SO PLEASE DON'T DAWDLE FROM GETTING HOME FROM THE BAU. ~ CR

"I wonder what they are up to," muttered Spencer.

"What's wrong?" asked Emily.

"Clarissa, Lucy, and Diana got a surprise for me, so I'm anxious to find out what they did," said Spencer.

Hotch smirked at Spencer.

"I already know what the surprise is, and Clarissa sworn me to secrecy," said Hotch.

"No hints allowed?" asked Spencer.

"No hints, but all of us are suppose to go over to the Reids for dinner," said Hotch.

xxxxxxx

Spencer's eyes went wide when he saw a bigger dining room table that contained benches on the long sides while wicker like chairs on the short ends of the table when Clarissa and Diana entered the room.

"Do you like our new table, daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at his soon to be oldest daughter.

"I love it," said Spencer.

"Do you think you can handle eating dinner in the dining room again?" asked Diana.

Spencer nodded as he kissed his wife.

"Well having everyone over for dinner will be our way to Christen our new table," said Clarissa.

A half hour later the growing Reid family, the Hotchners, Lucy, Morgan, JJ, Emily, and Garcia were all sitting around the brand new table holding hands so Spencer could say grace before everyone settled down for lasagna that Clarissa and Lucy had made together.


	12. Family Drama & A Baby Makes Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes starts about three weeks after the last chapter. Also, I apologize in advance about what I'm doing to Hotch in this chapter because I'm still planning that Hotch and Haley divorce (In Name and Blood made me think that Haley was cheating on Hotch when it came to the phone call that Hotch answered before Haley's cell phone rang) so please be prepared for swearing from Spencer and Clarissa in this chapter.
> 
> Also to give this chapter a much happier vibe, I hope you readers are prepared for a lot of cuteness and Spencer showing the side that Clarissa brought out of him.

Spencer woke up to being showered with kisses, and as soon as he had his glasses on, he looked at Diana.

"What's with the wake-up call, bumble bee," asked Spencer.

"Happy Father's Day," said Diana as she gave her daddy a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Diana," said Spencer.

Diana hugged her daddy causing Spencer to return the hug.

"I love you, daddy," said Diana.

"I love you too, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"Mommy says I need to take you downstairs for breakfast," said Diana.

Spencer looked at Diana who was all dressed for church.

"OK, but can I get dressed for church first?" asked Spencer.

"I will wait for you, daddy," said Diana.

10 minutes later Spencer was carrying Diana down the stairs where Lucy and Clarissa were already making breakfast together.

"Happy Father's Day, Spencer," said Lucy.

"Thanks," said Spencer.

Clarissa waddled to her husband.

"Happy Father's Day, Spence," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband on the lips.

"Thanks," said Spencer before he rested his hand on his wife's 31-week pregnant belly and smiled when he felt Bridget kick, "I guess Bridget is wishing me a Happy Father's Day," said Spencer.

"I think so too, daddy," said Diana.

A few minutes later everyone was sitting down in the dining room for breakfast before they headed off to church with cookies that they were going to share during the barbecue that Reverend Alden insisted on having for Father's Day.

xxxxxxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer and Clarissa were both sitting down in the shade drinking some water as they watched Diana run around with other children when Reverend Alden approached them.

"I wanted to personally wish you a happy father's day, Dr. Reid," said Reverend Alden.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

Reverend Alden looked at Clarissa and smiled at her growing baby bump.

"How much longer until the newest member of this church is born?" asked Reverend Alden.

Clarissa rested her hands on her 31-week pregnant belly.

"Nine more weeks until Bridget makes her debut," said Clarissa before groaning when she felt Bridget kick.

"Bridget kicked?" asked Reverend Alden.

"Yes," said Clarissa.

"May I?" asked Reverend Alden.

"Go ahead since other members have been coming to feel Bridget kick," said Clarissa.

10 seconds later Reverend Alden smiled when he felt Bridget kick.

"You are definitely dealing with a strong kicker," said Reverend Alden before he walked away to talk to other fathers.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, Spencer sat down at his desk with a ceramic to go cup that said WORLD'S BEST DAD with Diana's hand-print on it causing Emily and Morgan to smile at him.

"Had a good Father's Day yesterday?" asked Emily.

"Clarissa and Diana really spoiled me yesterday. I even got a coffee mug from Jack that said WORLD'S BEST UNCLE," said Spencer.

"Even though I'm still adjusting to the shock about you and Hotch being brother-in-laws, I'm still shocked that your Jack's uncle by marriage," said Morgan.

"I get what you say because there are times that I'm still shocked that Clarissa actually said yes to marrying me," said Spencer as he glanced at his gold wedding band.

"Whatever you two are doing is helping your relationship last since I've never been with the same girl for over six years," said Morgan.

"I've known Clarissa for six years, six months, and 18 days today, but I've been married to her for four years, six months, and 18 days today," said Spencer before he decided to get started on his paperwork.

xxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer and Clarissa were enjoying dessert in a new restaurant that they were trying out when Spencer's eyes went wide when he saw Haley walking towards another table and kissed an unfamiliar man on the lips for five seconds.

"Son of a bitch," whispered Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband who rarely swears.

"What did you see that caused you to swear?" asked Clarissa.

"Slowly turn your head around, and when you see what I'm seeing, please don't cause a scene," said Spencer softly.

"OK," said Clarissa as she turned her head around and her blue eyes went wide and flashed with anger when she saw Haley kissing a man that wasn't her oldest brother on the lips, "That bitch," seethed an angry Clarissa as she discretely took a few pictures of Haley kissing the man.

"Should we quickly finish up here and tell your brother what's going on?" asked Spencer quietly.

"Yes because this is something that I can't hold back from my brother," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were leaving the restaurant while being thankful that Haley didn't notice them at all.

xxxxxxxx

A half-hour later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in front of Hotch in a diner not far from their houses.

"Why did you two want to meet with me here and not at either of our houses?" asked Hotch.

A nervous Spencer shifted in his seat a bit causing Hotch to think about Spencer was acting the way he did when they met before he got comfortable around him.

"We thought that you should know about the picture we ended up taking of Haley in public before you find out about what Haley's doing behind your back from someone else. With how hormonal Clarissa is right now, I didn't want her swearing within Diana's earshot," said Spencer as an angry Clarissa passed her phone to her oldest brother.

A few seconds later Hotch was looking at a picture of his wife kissing another man on the lips before looking at Spencer and Clarissa.

"You two really saw this?" asked Hotch.

"Seeing Haley kiss another man has got burned into my eidetic memory for good, and you know that I can never forget a face," said Spencer.

Hotch nodded his acceptance at his brother-in-law's answer since he always trusted Spencer's eidetic memory on cases.

"I can't believe that bitch would even cheat on you, Aaron," seethed a hormonal Clarissa.

Spencer quickly worked on calming down Clarissa.

"Being angry like this isn't good for yours or Bridget's health, Clarissa," soothed Spencer.

Hotch looked at his sister.

"Spencer's right that you need to stay calm, and I appreciate you two bringing this forward to me," said Hotch as he sent the photos that Clarissa took of Haley to his own phone.

"What are you going to do, Aaron?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm definitely going to need to confront Haley about this, and if she has been cheating on me for awhile, I'll file for legal separation," said Hotch.  
Clarissa instantly thought about her nearly 20-month nephew.

"And with your job its a given that Haley would be given sole custody of Jack," said Clarissa.

"She would be," said Hotch.

"Where is Jack?" asked Spencer.

"With Haley's parents, and Haley told me that she was getting together with a group of friends," said Hotch.

Clarissa looked at her brother.

"Since its most likely a given that Haley had that man sleep in your bed with her, do you want to stay the night at our house?" asked Clarissa.

"I'll take your offer because I can't face Haley right now," said Hotch.

"I really want to cuddle with my nephew," said Clarissa.

"We can stop by at my in-laws house, but we'll have to pick up some clothes for me," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxx

Six hours later, Spencer entered the kitchen to find his brother-in-law sitting at the kitchen island drinking a glass of water.

"You OK?" asked Spencer as he raided the cookie jar and grinned when he saw that there were triple chocolate chip cookies in the jar before he got himself a glass of almond milk.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law who was wearing his pajamas and glasses.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" asked Hotch.

"I woke up to a sudden sweet tooth," said Spencer.

"I just hope that Bridget doesn't inherit your sweet tooth like Diana did," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled a bit before he took a sip of his almond milk.

"Are you planning on taking Clarissa's and my offer about staying here for as long as you need to?" asked Spencer.

"I am because I'll get to spend more time with Clarissa and Diana, but I'm planning that I'm out of here before Bridget's birth," said Hotch.

"I just can't believe that in about nine weeks I'll be a father to two beautiful little girls under the age of four," said Spencer before looking at his brother-in-law, "Are you going to be OK?" asked Spencer.

"Eventually I will, and I'm glad that my in-laws told me that they'll support me if I end up divorcing Haley since they didn't know that Haley has been cheating on me," said Hotch.

"If you and Haley do divorce, it's going to be difficult for Diana since she'll be wondering if Haley is still her aunt," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Can you please not tell the team about what I'm going through right now?" asked Hotch.

"When Clarissa and I were getting ready for bed, we agreed that we won't tell anyone until you talk to Haley first," said Spencer.

"Thank you, Spencer," said Hotch.

"Your welcome, Aaron," said Spencer.

"We should both go back to bed since we have work in the morning," said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was bidding his brother-in-law goodnight before he entered the master bedroom when Clarissa exited the bathroom.

"Where were you?" asked Clarissa.

"I had a sweet tooth, and I ended up finding your brother in the kitchen drinking a glass of water, so we ended up talking while I ate a late night snack," said Spencer.

"Bridget has been messing with my bladder, so I had to pee," said Clarissa before crawling back into bed.

Spencer joined his wife in bed.

"I told Aaron that he's welcome to stay here as long as he needs to," said Spencer.

"Thank you," said Clarissa before yawning, "We should get some sleep," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were fast asleep in their bed.

xxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was working on his paperwork when he felt someone ruffle his hair causing him to look up and see Haley.

"Where's Aaron, Spencer?" asked Haley.

Spencer inwardly counted to 10 as he held back at his anger that he wanted to let out at Haley before making eye contact with her.

"Hotch's in his office," said Spencer.

A minute later Haley was in her husband's office.

"Why weren't you home last night when I got home from my girls night out with a few friends?" asked Haley.

"Not here Haley, but we'll be talking after we leave Jack is with his aunt Clarissa and uncle Spencer," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Hotch watched Spencer and Diana walk away from the house with Jack before looking at Haley.

"I know you've been cheating on me behind everyone's backs," said Hotch as he showed Haley the picture that Clarissa took.

Haley's eyes went wide when she saw the picture,

"Did you hire a private investigator to find out what I'm doing when you aren't home?" asked Haley.

"No, but Clarissa and Spencer were in the same restaurant as you when they caught you kissing another man. So they discretely took a few pictures before calling me to tell me what they saw since they knew that they couldn't keep this information from me," said Hotch.

Haley sighed.

"I didn't even know that they were in the same restaurant as me," said Haley.

"Lucy kicked them out of the house so they could have a much needed date night before Clarissa gets too pregnant to go out and about," said   
Hotch.

"So I take it that you stayed at your sister's house last night?" asked Haley.

"I did, and Spencer and Clarissa opened their home to me while we decide on what to do since I'm not happy about you cheating on me," said Hotch before looking at Haley with emotion showing in his eyes, "I thought that we agreed to try and work everything out so we could set a good example for Spencer and Clarissa?" asked Hotch.

Haley wiped a tear that was falling.

"We did, but with how neglected I've been feeling, I needed a companion to hang out with that didn't involve your sister," said Haley.

Hotch sighed as he knew that they were both at fault for their marriage failing.

"Should we file for legal separation before we start the process of getting a divorce?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, but its a given that I'll be getting sole custody of Jack," said Haley.

"I know, but you do know that you can't keep Jack away from my sister, Spencer, Diana, and Bridget after her birth," said Hotch.

"I would never keep Jack away from his aunt Clarissa, uncle Spencer, and his cousins," said Haley before thinking about how the upcoming divorce would affect Diana, "Speaking of Diana, I'll make sure to sit down with Diana and tell her that she can still call me auntie Haley," said Haley.

"Thank you, and we should remain civil for everyone's sake," said Hotch.

"I agree because Clarissa has become another sister to me and I've always had a soft spot for Spencer," said Haley.

"Speaking of Clarissa, you should probably stay away from Clarissa for awhile because she's furious at you right now," said Hotch.

"I could imagine that her pregnancy hormones went haywire last night," said Haley.

"They sure did, and Spencer and I both had to calm her down since its too soon for Bridget to be born unless she ends up having to spend a few weeks in the NICU," said Hotch before looking at the clock, "I should probably take a few boxes of my belongings that I can't go without until I'm able to get an apartment," said Hotch.

"You don't want this house?" asked Haley.

"I want Jack to grow up in this house, and an apartment will be easier for me to manage," said Hotch.

Haley looked at Hotch.

"I'm so sorry, Aaron," said Haley.

"Me too, but hopefully someday I'll forgive you for cheating on me so we can be friends for Jack's sake," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxx

A week later Haley looked at Diana.

"Do you know why your uncle Aaron has been staying with your mommy, daddy, and you when your daddy and uncle Aaron aren't traveling for work?" asked Haley.

"You don't love uncle Aaron the same way like my mommy and daddy love each other," said Diana.

"Your uncle Aaron and I are planning on getting a divorce, and even though I won't be married to your uncle Aaron anymore, but I will always love you since I fell in love with you the first time I held you," said Haley.

Diana looked at her aunt with wide eyes.

"Can I still call you auntie Haley?" asked Diana.

"You sure can, Diana," said Haley.

"Will I still see Jack a lot?" asked Diana.

"When your uncle Aaron doesn't have Jack, I'll make sure that you and Jack have weekly play dates since Jack loves you," said Haley as she hugged the three-and-a-half-year-old girl, "What do you say about going to get ice cream?" asked Haley.

Diana grinned at the idea of having ice cream.

xxxxxxxxx

Six weeks later Clarissa woke up at 4 AM to a burst of pain while feeling wet causing her to wake up her sleeping husband.

"Spence," cried Clarissa.

Spencer quickly woke up, and a few seconds later he had his glasses on before looking at his 38-week pregnant wife.

"What's wrong?" asked Spencer.

"My water just broke, so you should go wake up Lucy," said Clarissa.

Spencer quickly got out of bed and quickly started pulling on the clothing that he laid out before he helped Clarissa changed into a new nightgown before looking at his wife.

"I'm going to go let Lucy know that we're leaving," said Spencer.

"Even though Aaron moved out three weeks ago, it's a good thing that Lucy moved into the guest bedroom as soon as I reached 36-weeks pregnant," said Clarissa before groaning in pain, "Please hurry, Spence." cried Clarissa.

Spencer quickly sprinted out of the bedroom and knocked on the guest bedroom door.

"Lucy!" called out Spencer.

A few seconds later Lucy opened up the door to see a fully dressed Spencer.

"You have a case?" asked Lucy.

"No case, but I have to take Clarissa to the hospital since her water just broke," said Spencer.

Lucy's eyes went wide as she hugged Spencer.

"Get Clarissa to the hospital, and call me as soon as Bridget's born so Diana can meet her baby sister," said Lucy.

"I promise," said Spencer.

"Drive safely, and I'll call Georgetown University Hospital and let them know that you two are on your way," said Lucy.

"I will, and thank you," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was driving his wife to Georgetown University Hospital.

xxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was standing outside of Clarissa's hospital room when Dr. Larson exited the room and looked at Spencer.

"It's a good thing you got Clarissa here when you did," said Dr. Larson.

"How far along is she?" asked Spencer.

"She's currently seven centimeters dilated," said Dr. Larson.

Spencer's eyes went wide as he realized that his wife has been in labor for awhile.

"Can I go in there?" asked Spencer.

"She's waiting for you, and I'll be checking in on you two in an hour," said Dr. Larson.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

"There are some scrubs that you can change into so you can be prepared to join your wife in the delivery room," said Dr. Larson.

A few seconds later Spencer was by his wife's side.

"How are you feeling?" asked Spencer.

"LIKE I AM ABOUT TO DELIVER A WATERMELON," snapped Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"I'm going to go change into the scrubs that have been provided for me, and then we'll practice your breathing exercises," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was coaching his wife on her breathing techniques while doing the massages he learned in the Lamaze classes he attended with Clarissa.

xxxxxxx

Two hours later Dr. Larson looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Its time to head to the delivery room so Bridget can make her debut," smiled Dr. Larson.

A few minutes later Spencer was being ushered into a room to wash up before he got himself into the same position they were in when Clarissa was in labor with Diana.

xxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer wiped the sweat off of Clarissa's forehead when Clarissa rested against him after her latest contraction.

"You're doing great, and I love you," said Spencer as he pushed the hair that didn't fit into Clarissa's ponytail back behind her ear.

"I love you too," said Clarissa.

"Another contraction is coming up, so push when I tell you to push again," instructed Dr. Larson.

"OK," said Clarissa.

Five seconds later Dr. Larson looked at Clarissa.

"Push, Clarissa," said Dr. Larson.

Clarissa braced herself against Spencer's shoulder before she pushed while screaming, and a few seconds later Dr. Larson looked at the two 25-year-old adults.

"I see a full head of dark curly hair, so on the next contraction, I need you to push harder," said Dr. Larson.

"OK," said Clarissa.

Three minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were both tearing up when they heard Bridget's cries filling the room.

"Congratulations mommy and daddy, its a healthy baby girl," smiled Dr. Larson before looking at Spencer, "Would you like to cut the cord, Spencer?" asked Dr. Larson.

"Yes please," said Spencer as he gently removed himself from his position behind Clarissa before he cut the cord that connected Clarissa and Bridget together before Dr. Larson wiped Bridget up and showed her to her parents.

"Go be with Bridget while I deliver the placenta and get cleaned up," said a teary-eyed Clarissa.

"OK, and I love you," said Spencer.

"Love you too," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was holding Bridget as he took in his youngest daughter's looks.

"You have your mommy's and uncle Aaron's hair color," said Spencer softly.

Clarissa's eyes went wide.

"Speaking of my brother, we haven't called him to tell him that his niece arrived and that you're now on paternity leave until Diana starts school," said Clarissa.

Spencer gently placed Bridget into her hospital provided bassinet and took a quick picture of Bridget and he sent the picture to Hotch before calling his brother-in-law's office land-line.

"Hotchner," answered Hotch.

"Its Spencer," said Spencer sheepishly.

"Where are you, Reid?" asked Hotch with worry lacing through his voice.

"At Georgetown University Hospital with Clarissa, and I highly suggest that you look at what I just sent to your cell phone because I sent you a picture to explain why I haven't shown up to work," said Spencer.

Spencer quickly heard some rustling before hearing Hotch's voice.

"My second niece being born is a good reason why you forgot to call me to let me know that you're now on paternity leave," said Hotch.

"Sorry about that," said Spencer.

"Its OK," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, at Quantico, Emily looked at Morgan.

"Reid's late," said Emily.

"I know, and I wonder if Hotch knows anything," said Morgan.

Emily instantly thought about Clarissa who's currently in her 38th week of her second pregnancy.

"Hopefully Clarissa went into labor causing Reid to forget to call us," said Emily.

"Now that would be a good reason not to show up at all," said Morgan.

30 seconds later Morgan and Emily were standing in Hotch's open doorway where they found a nearly teary-eyed Hotch on his office land-line and smiling at something on his cell phone.

"Bridget's beautiful, and she's definitely a perfect mixture of you and Clarissa since she has Clarissa's and my hair color while having your eyes and curls," said Hotch.

Hotch listened to Spencer's reply before seeing Morgan and Emily who were both smiling.

"I'll let the others know that we can all stop by after work to meet Bridget, but I do expect a picture of my two beautiful nieces together and a picture of you with Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget together," said Hotch before hanging up.

"Bridget arrived?" asked Morgan.

Hotch beamed at the mention of his newest niece.

"An hour ago, and with all the excitement of Bridget's arrival, Reid forget to call me," said Hotch.

"Can we see the picture that Reid sent you?" asked Emily.

"Sure," said Hotch.

A minute later Morgan and Emily were looking at a picture of a wide-awake Bridget who inherited Clarissa's and Hotch's hair color while having her father's eyes and curls and a message from Spencer.

BRIDGET MACKENZIE REID  
BORN ON AUGUST 7TH, 2007 AT 8:10 AM  
7 LBS AND 19 INCHES LONG.

Emily gasped at the sight of Bridget's nearly black curly hair.

"Look at that hair," cooed Emily.

"Who knew that pretty boy could make pretty babies with Clarissa," said Morgan.

"We should let everyone else in the BAU know, so can you guys go get JJ and Garcia into the bullpen but not tell them why?" asked Hotch.

"Sure," said Emily before she dragged Morgan out of the room.

A few minutes later Hotch was standing at the railing as he looked at everyone in the bullpen.

"I just got a call from Reid who told me that my newest niece Bridget Mackenzie Reid was born at 8:10 AM. Bridget is 7 LBS AND 19 inches long. Both my sister and my newest niece are doing great," said Hotch with a proud smile on his face.

Everyone started cheering and clapping before congratulating Hotch on becoming an uncle again while begging to see a picture of Bridget before Strauss came into the bullpen.

"Shouldn't you guys should be working?" asked Strauss.

A lot of agents and civilian staff quickly got back to work before Hotch looked at his nemesis.

"I just became an uncle again, so I just announced the birth of Bridget Mackenzie Reid to everyone so everyone wanted to see the picture that Reid sent me," said Hotch.

Strauss instantly softened up before looking at Hotch.

"Mind if I see a picture of your newest niece?" asked Strauss.

Hotch showed Strauss the picture that he was sent causing Strauss smile a little bit when she saw a picture of a wide-awake Bridget.

"Bridget's beautiful and definitely a perfect mixture of her parents, and I'll make sure to congratulate Dr. Reid myself," said Strauss before walking away.

xxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later at Georgetown University Hospital, Spencer and Clarissa grinned when Diana entered the room with Lucy.

"My sister's here?" asked Diana.

"She sure is," said Clarissa.

Diana looked around for a crib.

"Where's Bridget?" asked Diana.

"A nurse is on her way with Bridget, so do you want to join me in bed so I can help you hold her?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, mommy," said Diana.

A few seconds later Diana was in her mother's hospital bed when Nurse Polly entered the room while pushing the bassinet that a wide-awake Bridget was in before gasping when she saw Diana.

"You're really grown up, Diana," said Polly.

"Who are you?" asked Diana.

"I was your nurse on the day when you were born," said Polly.

"OK," said Diana.

Spencer gently removed Bridget from the bassinet before he gently positioned Bridget so Clarissa and Diana could hold her together.

"Diana, we would like you to meet your baby sister Bridget Mackenzie Reid," said Spencer.

"Be careful with Bridget's head since her head is very fragile right now," said Clarissa.

Diana gazed at her baby sister with love showing in her eyes while Spencer quickly took a picture.

"She's pretty," said Diana.

"We know," smiled Clarissa.

"Hi Bridget. I'm your big sister, Diana. We will have a lot of fun," said Diana causing her parents to tear up.

Polly looked at Spencer, Clarissa, and little Diana.

"What do you guys say about having your first family photo with Bridget?" asked Polly.

"That would be great," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was sitting next to Clarissa in bed with Diana on his lap while Clarissa held Bridget, and a few seconds later Polly looked at Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana.

"Smile," said Polly as she held up Spencer's cell phone.

A few seconds later Polly was taking a picture of Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana who were all grinning while Bridget gazed at her before she took a few other pictures of the photogenic family before Lucy looked at Diana.

"Let's go get some ice cream so mommy and daddy can rest," said Lucy.

Diana looked at her daddy while thinking about her mommy telling her that she'll be in the hospital for a few days.

"Will you be coming home at bedtime?" asked Diana.

"I'll come home to tuck you in, but I'll be coming back here to keep mommy company," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"But tomorrow night you'll go home for the night," said Clarissa firmly.

"Yes, ma'am," said Spencer as he kissed his wife before looking at Diana, "Want me to give you a piggyback ride out of the hospital?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

A few seconds later Diana was giving her mommy and baby sister a kiss goodbye before Spencer left his wife's hospital room with Diana on his back and Lucy walking by his side.

xxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was holding Bridget while Clarissa slept when there was a knock on the doorway causing Spencer to look up to see Haley with his 21-month-old nephew.

"Hi there, Jack Attack," grinned Spencer.

Jack grinned at his uncle before his eyes went wide when he saw a baby girl in his uncle Spencer's arms.

"Baby," said Jack as he pointed at Bridget.

Clarissa woke up and she smiled when she saw her nephew before glaring slightly at Haley.

"This is your new cousin Bridget Mackenzie Reid," said Clarissa.

Jack grinned when he saw his aunt, and a few seconds later Jack was cuddling with his aunt in bed while Haley looked at the baby girl who was happy to be in her daddy's arms.

"She's beautiful," said Haley.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

Haley looked at Clarissa.

"I know that you are angry at me, but can I please hold Bridget?" asked Haley.

"Go ahead," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Haley was holding Bridget.

"She's definitely a perfect mixture of you two," said Haley.

"We know," said Clarissa as she motioned Haley to pass her Bridget.

"Baby," said Jack as he pointed at his new cousin.

"Can you give Bridget a kiss, Jack?" asked Spencer.

Jack leaned forward a bit and gave his new cousin a kiss while Spencer took a quick photo.

xxxxxxxx

Five hours later Spencer smiled down at a wide-awake Bridget who was fitting perfectly in his arms when there was a knock on the open door causing Spencer to smile up at Hotch.

"Is there room for five more?" asked Hotch.

Spencer grinned causing Hotch to smile when he noticed that the sparkle was lacking in Spencer's eyes since Hankel ended up returning.

"Come on in guys," said Spencer as he showed his baby girl's face, "I would like to introduce you guys to Bridget Mackenzie Reid," said Spencer.

"Aww," cooed JJ, Emily, and Garcia.

Hotch kissed his baby sister's cheek.

"Congratulations, Clarissa," said Hotch.

"Thank you," said Clarissa before she looked at her brother, "You get to hold Bridget first," said Clarissa.

Spencer slowly stood up with Bridget in his arms, and a few seconds later Hotch was holding his second niece before looking at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Like I said earlier, she's a perfect mixture of you two," said Hotch.

"We know," smiled Clarissa.

"Have you two contacted Sean to let him know that he's an uncle again?" asked Hotch as he gently rocked his niece.

"We called him and he'll be in town tomorrow," said Clarissa.

"I want to hold the newest baby genius," said Garcia.

Hotch gently passed his niece to Garcia who started cooing at Bridget before he pulled his brother-in-law into a hug.

"Congratulations, Spencer," said Hotch.

"Thanks, Aaron," said Spencer before he broke out of his brother-in-law's hug.

"Look at her full head of curly hair," cooed Garcia.

"Having to deal with all that heartburn during my second pregnancy was worth it," said Clarissa.

Hotch smirked at his brother-in-law.

"If Bridget was born bald, I would have thrown your own words back at you about baldness and wrinkles," said Hotch.

Everyone softly chuckled before Garcia looked down at Bridget.

"I really want a baby of my own," said Garcia before passing the baby to Emily.

Emily looked at Bridget.

"She's breathtaking," said Emily.

"We know," said Spencer.

Emily gently passed Bridget to JJ who looked at the newborn baby girl.

"She's beautiful," said JJ.

"Thank you," smiled Clarissa before looking at Spencer, "You should ask her an important question," whispered Clarissa.

Spencer looked at JJ.

"Clarissa and I would like you to be Bridget's godmother," said Spencer.

"Really?" asked JJ.

"You've been becoming a big sister to me," said Clarissa before looking at Morgan, "Spence and I want you to be Bridget's godfather," said Clarissa.

"Really?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"You've become a big brother to me," said Spencer.

"I'm honored," said Morgan before looking at JJ, "My turn," said Morgan.

A few seconds later Morgan was holding Bridget who started whimpering before Spencer gently extracted his youngest daughter from Morgan causing Bridget to stop whimpering.

"Definitely a daddy's girl," smiled Clarissa.

Spencer joined his wife in her hospital bed so they could be holding Bridget together.

"You're definitely going to be in trouble when your daughters are teenagers, man" teased Morgan.

JJ looked at Clarissa.

"What is it like to give birth?" asked JJ.

"I'm not telling you because I don't want to scare you from having kids of your own someday, but as soon as I heard Bridget cry for the first time, all that pain I went through from giving birth was worth it," said Clarissa before smirking at her husband, "You guys should have seen how much Spence had blushed when I was giving him threats while I was in labor," said Clarissa.

"What did you say?" asked Morgan.

A blushing Spencer looked at his teammates.

"You guys don't even want to know, and I have to say that my wife is one scary woman," shuddered Spencer causing Hotch to burst out laughing.

Clarissa playfully glared at her husband.

"If you didn't have Bridget in your arms, I would have slapped you on the arm," said Clarissa.

Spencer leaned forward to whisper into Clarissa's ear.

"I take it that you didn't want to playfully threaten me about a spanking in front of your brother and my teammates?" asked Spencer before he waggled his eyebrows at his wife.

Clarissa instantly blushed at her husband's sexual innuendo.

"You're so going to get it when Bridget and I are released from here," said Clarissa.

"Can't wait," smirked Spencer.

JJ, Emily, and Garcia instantly gasped.

"What did you do to the sweet and innocent Reid that we know?" asked Garcia.

"Let's just say that marrying my polar opposite has helped break me out of my shell," smirked Spencer before looking at Hotch, "Where's Gideon?" asked Spencer.

"Right here," said Gideon as he entered the room to find Spencer holding Bridget, "She's beautiful, Spencer," said Gideon.

"I'm definitely going to be building a moat around my yard when Diana and Bridget become teenagers," said Spencer.

"Your right about that," said Hotch before looking at Spencer and Clarissa, "So are you two going to wait over three years to make me an uncle again?" asked Hotch.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at each other before Clarissa looked at her brother.

"We do want to wait a couple of years again, but we decided that if we do end up expecting baby number three as soon as I get the all clear, we'll be happy since I want a little boy who looks like his daddy," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband.


	13. Settling in & Diana Starts Preschool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts the day after the last chapter, and Diana starts preschool in this chapter, so she'll be going to morning preschool.

Spencer looked at Diana as they ate the grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup that he made for lunch.

"Mommy and Bridget will be coming home tomorrow, so I need to tell you that there will be times that mommy, Lucy, and I will be asking you to stay quiet," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Diana.

"Bridget will be sleeping a lot during the first couple of months. So when you're asked to stay quiet, please listen," said Spencer.

"You got it, dude," said Diana as she gave her daddy a thumbs up.

Spencer chuckled as he thought about watching every episode of "Full House" with his aunt and uncle when it first aired until its finale and how he, Clarissa, and Diana will watch reruns of "Full House" when its on.

"Did you just quote one of Michelle Tanner's catchphrases from "Full House"?" asked an amused Spencer.

Diana nodded as her curly pigtails bounced.

"I did, daddy," giggled Diana before she became serious, "Will Bridget be coming on our dates when she's older?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter and wondered if there will be some jealousy he would have to deal with when it comes to both Diana and Bridget wanting his attention when he's home.

"Do you want her to join us?" asked Spencer.

Diana thought back to meeting her baby sister the day before.

"I love Bridget. I hope Bridget comes on our dates," said Diana.

Spencer smiled at his oldest daughter while being glad that Diana is accepting her little sister before looking at the clock.

"As soon as I put you down for your afternoon nap, I'll be joining mommy and Bridget at the hospital for a few hours before I come home tonight,"   
said Spencer.

"Can I please sleep with you tonight?" asked Diana.

"I was already planning on having you sleep with me," said Spencer before looking at his oldest daughter, "As soon as we're done eating, you can ride your bicycle around before nap time," said Spencer

Diana grinned as she thought about her bicycle that contains training wheels.

"Will you ride your bike too?" asked Diana.

"Yes," said Spencer.

20 minutes later Spencer was helping Diana put on her helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads before he put on his own helmet, and a few minutes later the father and daughter duo were riding their bikes in the neighborhood.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer smiled as he looked at Bridget who was with other babies in the nursery when Morgan approached him.

"I was about to check in on you and Clarissa and see if you two lovebirds need anything when I saw you standing here, " said Morgan.

Spencer turned his head and smiled when he saw Morgan before laying his eyes on his youngest daughter.

"Clarissa's sleeping and I just got back from spending time with Diana while bringing Bridget's car seat since Clarissa and Bridget are going home with me tomorrow," grinned Spencer as he showed Bridget's car seat to Morgan.

Morgan smiled as he thought about the sparkle that was lacking in Spencer's eyes since Hankel ended up returning since Bridget's birth over a day   
ago.

"That's great, man," said Morgan.

"I'm excited about having all three of my girls home with me," said Spencer as he ended up looking at the bassinet that Bridget was in causing him to smile, "With what happened to me earlier this year, Bridget's birth reminds me that the good times always outweighs the bad," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at the bassinet that contained his goddaughter before looking at Spencer.

"Even though I'm 34-years-old and your 25-years-old I'm glad that you have a wife and kids while I prefer to be our team's ladies man," said Morgan.

Spencer smiled.

"Having a wife and kids helps me cope with our day jobs better, and I know that if my parents, aunt, and uncle were still alive, they would be doting on Diana and Bridget," said Spencer.

"They would be," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan with a smirk on his face.

"Is your mom still getting on to you about giving her grandchildren?" asked Spencer.

"Every time I talk to her, and I ended up sending the picture that a nurse took of you, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget to my mom and sisters. They told me to tell you congratulations and that Bridget's beautiful," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Did you tell them that I named you Bridget's godfather?" asked Spencer.

"I did, pretty daddy," said Morgan.

Spencer raised his eyebrows at Morgan.

"Pretty daddy?" asked Spencer.

"Even though I call you pretty boy, I believe that you deserve to be called pretty daddy since you created two beautiful daughters with Clarissa," said Morgan.

Spencer's cell phone vibrated and he shook his head when he saw a text from Clarissa.

IF YOU HAVEN'T ARRIVED AT THE HOSPITAL YET, CAN YOU PLEASE PICK UP SOME NON-HOSPITAL FOOD FROM PADDY'S? ~ CR

"What is it?" asked Morgan.

"Clarissa wants some non-hospital food from Paddy's," said Spencer.

"I'll go pick up some food for you and Clarissa, so what do you two want?" asked Morgan.

Spencer quickly grabbed a pen and some paper from his messenger bag and wrote down what he and Clarissa would like.

"I'll be by with your food soon, so go get to your wife and youngest daughter," said Morgan.

"Thanks, Morgan," said Spencer as he pulled out his wallet.

"If you're going to give me money to pay for the food, please don't since this is my treat," said Morgan before he walked away.

A few minutes later Spencer entered his wife's hospital room and he smiled when he saw Clarissa drinking some water.

"I ended up running into Morgan who offered to pick up our food so I can get to you faster," said Spencer as he gave his wife a quick kiss.

"I will pay him back," said Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head.

"I already tried to give him money and he refused," said Spencer.

Clarissa chuckled before thinking about Diana.

"How was your time with Diana?" asked Clarissa.

"We had so much fun that she didn't fight when I put her down for her nap," said Spencer as he ended up explaining what he and Diana did and the serious talk they had.

"Thank you for taking care of telling Diana about what to expect when Bridget and I get released," said Clarissa.

"Are you excited about getting released tomorrow morning?" asked Spencer.

"Very," said Clarissa as she pressed the call button for a nurse to bring in Bridget, "We might as well bond with Bridget for a bit before Derek gets   
here with our food," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer was holding Bridget.

"Hello, Bridget," said Spencer.

Bridget cooed at her daddy.

"You're going to grow up in a house that's full of love. I might not be home every day to watch you grow up into a beautiful young lady, but you'll know that I'll always be there for you," said Spencer as he gently ran a finger along Bridget's cheek.

A teary-eyed Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Spence?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"Yes, honey?" asked Spencer.

"Even though I have told you this countless of times, you look sexy while holding a baby," said Clarissa.

Spencer blushed a bit before he started to softly sing a lullaby to his youngest daughter.

xxxxxxx

Later on that evening Diana looked at her daddy as she helped him load the dishwasher.

"Can we please make a welcome home sign for mommy and Bridget?" asked Diana.

"We can, and tomorrow morning I'll put up the sign before I head to the hospital to be with mommy and Bridget until they're discharged," said Spencer.

10 minutes later Spencer was unrolling a roll of wrapping paper while making sure that the white side was facing up before he helped Diana make a welcome home sign while Lucy continued to work on cleaning the house for Clarissa's and Bridget's homecoming.

xxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer and Diana were cuddling in Spencer's and Clarissa's bed when Diana looked up at her daddy.

"What is your nickname for Bridget?" asked Diana.

"Why?" asked Spencer.

"Mommy calls me sweet pea. You call me bumble bee. So you need a nickname for Bridget," said Diana.

"What do you have in mind?" asked Spencer.

"Baby girl?" asked Diana.

Spencer shook his head before he looked at his blue-eyed mini-me.

"You want me to use the nickname that you grew out of?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

10 minutes later Spencer and Diana were fast asleep.

xxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer got out of the driver's seat of Clarissa's SUV and he smiled when he saw the sign hanging that he and Diana made together as he made his way to the front passenger seat so he could help his wife get out.

"Diana insisted on making a welcome home sign for you and Bridget last night," said Spencer as he helped his wife get out of the SUV.

"I love it," said Clarissa as she watched her husband open up the door to the backseat and expertly removed Bridget's car seat from the backseat before grabbing Clarissa's bag.

"Ready to go inside?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, Spence," said Clarissa as she closed the door.

A minute later Spencer and Clarissa entered the house with Bridget before realizing that the house was empty except for Merton sleeping in his favorite armchair.

"No one's here except for Merton," said Spencer as he set Bridget's car seat onto the coffee table before he gently removed his youngest daughter from her car seat.

Clarissa gently sat down on the couch.

"Maybe Lucy decided to take Diana and Daisy out of the house for awhile so we can have a few hours to settle in," said Clarissa.

Spencer gently passed Bridget to his wife before looking into his wife's sparkling blue eyes.

"Do you need anything?" asked Spencer.

"I would love some coffee, but with being a nursing mother for the next year I'll have some tea," said Clarissa.

"As you wish," said Spencer before slightly smirking at his wife, "While I'm on paternity leave you can have as many coffee flavored kisses from me as you want," said Spencer before he headed off to the kitchen where he saw a note from Lucy.

DIANA, DAISY, AND I WENT TO THE DOG PARK SO YOU AND CLARISSA CAN HAVE A FEW HOURS TO SETTLE IN WITH BRIDGET. I MADE YOU GUYS SOME SANDWICHES TO EAT FOR LUNCH SO YOU TWO DON'T HAVE TO COOK UNTIL TONIGHT.

LUCY

A few minutes later Spencer was joining Clarissa on the couch as he watched Clarissa nurse their youngest daughter just as Merton jumped onto his lap.

"Hey there, Merton," said Spencer as he petted his four-old-cat, "This is Bridget Mackenzie Reid who will be one of your best friends," said Spencer.

Merton looked at the new human and meowed at Bridget as his way to say he loves his new playmate.

xxxxxxx

Three hours later Lucy entered the house with Diana and Daisy, and a few seconds later she looked at Diana who was watching her parents sleep on the couch together while Bridget peacefully slept in her bassinet.

"Remember to be quiet, Diana," whispered Lucy as she checked on Bridget while being satisfied that the two-day-old baby girl was breathing.

"Yes, Lucy," said Diana quietly.

"Let's head to the kitchen to get a snack before we work on laundry and sweeping," said Lucy.

A minute later Diana was snacking on milk and cookies before she helped Lucy work on laundry and sweeping.

xxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Diana looked at her mommy and daddy who were eating while Bridget slept in her bassinet.

"Why were you two sleeping when I came home?" asked Diana.

"When a mommy and daddy have a newborn baby, they're told that they should sleep when the baby sleeps so they're not too tired," said Spencer.

"OK," said Diana.

Clarissa looked at Diana.

"Are you going to watch daddy and me give Bridget a sponge bath?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," grinned Diana.

xxxxxxxxx

A week later Spencer looked at Clarissa and Lucy.

"You two are going to the spa for a few hours while I stay here with the girls," said Spencer.

"Are you sure?" asked Clarissa.

"You need some much-needed pampering since you were pregnant with Bridget for 38-weeks while having to deal with all the stress I caused you   
to deal with since February," said Spencer before looking at Lucy, "And you deserve some pampering as a way to thank you for the past three years and four months of taking care of Clarissa, Diana, and me," said Spencer.

"Thank you, Spencer," said Lucy.

xxxxxxx

Three hours later Diana was reading one of her picture books out loud to her baby sister who was laying wide awake in her daddy's arms when Spencer looked at Diana.

"It seems like Bridget loves hearing you read out loud to her," smiled Spencer.

Diana looked at her baby sister who was wide awake in their daddy's arms.

"Really, daddy?" asked Diana.

"She's paying attention to you," said Spencer.

Diana closed her book and looked at her daddy.

"Can I please play the piano?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at Bridget who was falling asleep.

"Not right now since Bridget's falling asleep, and its time for you to take your afternoon nap," said Spencer.

"What are you going to do?" asked Diana.

"I'm also taking a nap because I had to wake up a few times last night to take care of your little sister," said Spencer.

"Can I sleep with you?" asked Diana.

"You sure can," said Spencer before Bridget started whimpering causing him to feel a wet diaper, "As soon as I change Bridget's diaper we'll go to mommy's and my room to take a nap," said Spencer.

"Can I help put a new diaper on Bridget?" asked Diana.

"You sure can," said Spencer.

A minute later Diana was standing on a stool in Bridget's nursery helping her daddy change Bridget's diaper before Spencer took his two little girls into the master bedroom with Merton and Daisy following them.

Five minutes later Spencer was fast asleep with a sleeping Bridget laying on his chest with one of his hands on her back, a sleeping Diana curled up into his side, while Merton and Daisy slept by his feet.

xxxxxxx

A half-hour later Clarissa and Lucy entered the house with surprised looks to see the house spotless.

"I thought that we were going to come home to a mess," said Clarissa quietly.

"I thought so too, but we should go look for Spencer and the girls," said Lucy.

A minute later Clarissa and Lucy were both holding back tears when they found a sleeping Spencer in bed with a sleeping Bridget on his chest with one of his hands on her back, a sleeping Diana curled into her father's side while Merton and Daisy were both sleeping by Spencer's feet.

"Aww," cooed Lucy.

"We need a picture," whispered Clarissa as she took a picture with her cell phone before she gently extracted Bridget from Spencer and placed the sleeping baby into her bassinet before quietly joining Spencer and Diana in bed where she quietly sent her oldest brother the picture she took before falling asleep.

xxxxxxx

Meanwhile, on the BAU jet, Hotch's cell phone vibrated causing him to see a picture message from Clarissa causing him to smile at the picture of Spencer fast asleep with his nieces and their pets.

SPENCER SENT LUCY AND ME TO THE SPA FOR SOME MUCH NEEDED PAMPERING, AND EVEN THOUGH I CAME HOME EXPECTING THE HOUSE BEING A DISASTER, I CAME HOME TO ONE OF THE CUTEST SCENES EVER. SO I THOUGHT THAT I SHOULD SHOW YOU THE CUTE SCENE I CAME HOME TO BEFORE I JOIN SPENCER AND DIANA IN BED FOR A MUCH NEEDED NAP. ~ CR

"Since your smiling right now, I take it that you received a picture of your nieces or Jack?" asked Emily.

"A picture of Spencer and my nieces together, and I'm not sure if Spencer will be happy when he finds out that Clarissa took this picture," said Hotch as he showed JJ, Emily, and Morgan the picture that Clarissa sent him.

JJ and Emily took in the picture of Spencer fast asleep with his sleeping daughters and the family pets sleeping by his feet.

"Aww," cooed JJ and Emily.

Morgan laughed.

"Perfect blackmail material," said Morgan.

Hotch glared at Morgan.

"If you were a father to two beautiful little girls like Spencer is, you wouldn't want Spencer to use a photo of you sleeping with your daughters as blackmail material," said Hotch.

JJ looked at Morgan.

"I'm siding with Hotch," said JJ.

"Me too," said Emily.

"Do you think that Spence will be ready to be back next week?" asked JJ.

Hotch looked at JJ, Emily, and Morgan.

"Spencer won't be back for another two weeks because he doesn't want to miss out on taking Diana to preschool for the first time," said Hotch.

"What about Gideon?" asked Morgan.

"Gideon will be back to field duty a week after Spencer," said Hotch before he decided to focus on his paperwork.

xxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer smiled as he allowed his oldest brother-in-law into the house.

"Welcome back," said Spencer.

Diana grinned when she saw her uncle Aaron.

"Uncle Aaron," squealed Diana.

Hotch quickly picked up his niece and blew a raspberry on Diana's belly causing the three-year-old to giggle.

"Are you having fun with your mommy, daddy, your baby sister, and Lucy?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, uncle Aaron," said Diana.

Hotch looked around for his baby sister and youngest niece as he set his oldest niece onto the floor.

"Where's Clarissa and Bridget?" asked Hotch.

"Clarissa's currently upstairs feeding Bridget," said Spencer.

"Lucy's cooking spaghetti in the kitchen," said Diana as she rubbed her tummy at the thought about eating her favorite food, "Are you eating dinner with us, uncle Aaron?" asked Diana.

"Your mommy and daddy already invited me," said Hotch.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

A minute later Hotch smiled when he saw his sister come down the stairs with his one-week-old niece.

"How are you feeling, Clarissa?" asked Hotch.

"Even though I'm tired, I'm slowly regaining my strength," said Clarissa before smiling down at her oldest daughter, "Diana's been a really good helper around the house," said Clarissa.

Diana wrinkled her nose.

"I help put a new diaper on Bridget, but I don't like the smell of her poopy diapers," said Diana.

Spencer, Clarissa, and Hotch all softly chuckled before Hotch took his youngest niece from his baby sister.

"Hello, Bridget," said Hotch.

Bridget cooed at her uncle Aaron, and five minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Lucy, Hotch, and little Diana all settled down for dinner while Bridget slept in her bassinet.

xxxxxxxx

Two weeks later Spencer and Clarissa entered Diana's classroom with Diana where they saw a young brunette woman in her late 20's.

"Mrs. Lee?" asked Spencer.

Mrs. Lee turned around and smiled.

"The first day of school isn't until tomorrow," said Mrs. Lee.

"We know," said Spencer as he introduced himself, Clarissa, and Diana, "The principal agreed to have us meet with you since our daughter Diana will need to be monitored closely since we want to keep her with her peers as long as possible," said Spencer.

Mrs. Lee looked at Spencer.

"What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Lee.

"I'm classified as a true genius myself and Diana here inherited my intelligence and eidetic memory, so we don't want Diana to skip a total of six grades and graduate high school at 12-years-old like I ended up doing," said Spencer as he ended up explaining what Diana has already learned.

An impressed Mrs. Lee looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"I'll work with other teachers to help challenge Diana," said Mrs. Lee.

"Thank you," said Spencer before yawning causing Clarissa to follow suit.

"Are you two OK?" asked Mrs. Lee.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled a bit before Clarissa looked at Diana's preschool teacher.

"I just gave birth to our second child three weeks ago, so we're adjusting to being woken up a couple of times a night again," said Clarissa.

"I understand since I just gave birth to my first child three months ago, and luckily I'm cleared to start teaching during the first day of school tomorrow," smiled Mrs. Lee before smiling at Diana who was standing in-between her parents patiently, "Do you have a little brother or sister?" asked Mrs. Lee.

"A little sister," beamed Diana.

At that moment Spencer's cell phone vibrated causing him to see a text from Hotch.

EVEN THOUGH YOUR RETURNING FROM PATERNITY LEAVE TOMORROW, CAN YOU PLEASE JOIN THE REST OF THE TEAM AND ME IN AUSTIN, TEXAS TOMORROW MORNING AFTER TAKING DIANA TO PRESCHOOL TOMORROW? GARCIA ALREADY BOOKED A COMMERCIAL FLIGHT FOR YOU AT 9 AM AT DULLES.~ AH

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Everything OK?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm going to be heading to Texas tomorrow morning after we drop Diana off here," said Spencer.

Clarissa nodded as she thought about her brother calling her two days ago to let her know that he's heading to Texas.

"Its OK, Spence," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"You start going bye-bye again tomorrow?" asked Diana.

Spencer knelt down to Diana's eye level.

"I will be joining your uncle Aaron in Texas tomorrow, but I won't be heading to Texas until after bringing you here," said Spencer.

"OK, daddy," sighed Diana.

"If I find out that you've been a good girl while I'm away, I'll do anything you want with you when I get back," said Spencer.

Diana grinned while her daddy stood up to his full height before making eye contact with Mrs. Lee.

"Sorry about that. Today's my last day of paternity leave before I return to duty," said Spencer.

"Are you in the military?" asked Mrs. Lee.

Spencer shook his head.

"I'm a profiler for the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit down in Quantico, Virginia," said Spencer.

"My brother works for the BAU in Quantico, but he's a desk-bound agent," said Mrs. Lee.

"What's his name?" asked Spencer.

"Grant Anderson," said Mrs. Lee.

Spencer smiled.

"I've known him for a couple of years, and I formed a good friendship with him since we both like the same TV shows," said Spencer.

Mrs. Lee looked at Clarissa.

"What do you do for work, Mrs. Reid?" asked Mrs. Lee.

"I'm a nurse at Children's National, but with giving birth three-weeks ago, I'm on paternity leave for nine more weeks," said Clarissa.

"Good to know," said Mrs. Lee.

Diana looked up at her mommy and daddy.

"Can we please go get ice cream?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa chuckled before looking at their oldest daughter who had been a big help over the past three weeks.

"We can," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer looked at Diana who was wearing a purple dress while her long curly hair was pulled into French braids.

"Smile so I can take a picture of you to show to uncle Aaron," said Spencer.

Diana smiled, and a few seconds later Spencer was taking a picture of Diana before Lucy looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Now you guys and Bridget should join Diana for a picture," said Lucy.

A minute later Lucy was taking a picture of Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget together before Spencer and Clarissa left the house with Diana.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer and Clarissa entered Diana's classroom with Diana, and as soon as they helped Diana hang up her backpack, Spencer looked at Diana.

"Mommy has to take me to the airport, so have a fun morning at preschool and I'll call you later so I can hear about how much fun you had," said Spencer.

"OK, daddy," said Diana as she hugged her daddy.

"I love you, Diana," said Spencer.

"I love you too, daddy," said Diana.

After Clarissa hugged Diana, Spencer and a teary-eyed Clarissa were leaving Washington International School.

"You OK?" asked Spencer.

"I'm just sad that Diana's already going to preschool," said Clarissa.

"I'm sad too, but at least Diana didn't cry when we said goodbye," said Spencer before looking at his watch, "As much as I would like to miss my   
flight to Austin, I need to go catch that commercial flight," said Spencer.

Clarissa kissed her husband.

"Then let's get you to the airport," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer entered the police department where Hotch, JJ, Emily, and Morgan were currently in, and as soon as he flashed his badge an officer escorted him to the conference room where his teammates were working in.

"Reid," said Emily.

"Hi, guys," said Spencer.

After JJ and Emily both hugged Spencer, Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Welcome back," said Hotch.

Spencer took a sip of his to go cup of coffee before smiling at his brother-in-law.

"Its good to be back," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Detective Phillip Thompson.

"Detective Thompson, I would like to introduce you to Dr. Reid," said Hotch.

"Nice to meet you," said Spencer as he waved at the detective.

"If you don't mind me asking you this, why are you just joining your team on this case now?" asked Detective Thompson.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"Today is my first day back from paternity leave, and I didn't want to miss out on the experience of taking my oldest child to preschool for the first time," said Spencer.

"How old are your kids?" asked Detective Thompson.

"Diana will be four in December while Bridget just turned three weeks old today," said Spencer.

"I have two little girls myself, so congratulations on the new baby," smiled Detective Thompson.

"Thank you," said Spencer before looking at his brother-in-law, "So are you guys going to update me on the case since I spent the entire flight   
here catching up on some sleep?" asked Spencer.

During the next few minutes Hotch, JJ, Emily, and Morgan started briefing Spencer on the case before Spencer gave his thoughts to his teammates while thinking about being glad that he's back at work.


	14. In Name and Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to skip Doubt (Everything that happened in Doubt still happened) and go straight to In Name and Blood, and here's a warning that Strauss does have a soft side for Spencer since she met him when he was 19 (during chapter six of the prequel) and with knowing everything about his background, she will occasionally become motherly to him.
> 
> This chapter starts on September 18th of 2007, so Bridget's six-weeks old in this chapter. And let's just say that Bridget has transitioned to sleeping in her crib, but she's still small enough to sleep in her bassinet.

Spencer entered the master bedroom and groaned when he found Clarissa wearing lingerie.

"Diana fast asleep?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, and Bridget's fast asleep in her crib," said Spencer.

Clarissa smiled as she thought about spending the past two weeks getting Bridget to transition from her bassinet to her crib.

"Good," said Clarissa as she made her way to her husband and locked the bedroom door before she started to undress him, "We have a couple of hours for some much-needed mommy and daddy time before Bridget wakes us up," said Clarissa.

"Are you sure that you're ready?" asked Spencer.

"I had my follow up on Friday, and my doctor said that I could start having sex again tonight," said Clarissa as she led her husband to their bed.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were making love for the first time in 10 weeks, and little did they know, that that night of passion would cause their family of four end up growing to five that night.

xxxxxxxxx

The next morning a yawning Spencer sat down at his desk when Emily looked at him.

"Rough night with Bridget?" asked Emily.

"Very," said Spencer as he blushed a bit.

Emily smirked.

"I guess that blush means something else," teased Emily.

Spencer's face turned beet red causing Emily to laugh.

xxxxxxxxxx

Later on that afternoon, Gideon walked over to Spencer's desk.

"Do you think that Clarissa wouldn't mind if you stayed later to play chess with me in my office?" asked Gideon.

Spencer quickly grabbed his personal phone and sent Clarissa a text message.

DO YOU MIND IF I STAY LATER AT THE OFFICE AND PLAY A GAME OF CHESS WITH GIDEON? ~ SR

A minute later Clarissa replied with a new picture of Diana giving Bridget her bottle.

NOT AT ALL SPENCE SINCE YOU ALWAYS DON'T HAVE TO COME STRAIGHT HOME FROM WORK TO HELP TAKE CARE OF HOUSEHOLD DUTIES AND THE GIRLS SINCE YOUR ALLOWED TO HANG OUT WITH FRIENDS. ~ CR

Spencer looked at Gideon.

"Clarissa doesn't mind me staying late to play chess," said Spencer.

"OK," said Gideon.

xxxxxx

Later on that night a sighing Spencer left Gideon another voice mail before he looked at the time before making his decision.

"Instead of falling asleep on the way home, I might as well fall asleep here," muttered Spencer to himself before he got comfortable and fell asleep.

xxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer woke up to JJ's voice.

"Reid? What are you doing here?" asked a concerned JJ.

Spencer shifted in the chair that he was sitting in causing him to groan as his tired muscles moved before looking at his watch before realizing that he should call Clarissa as soon as possible to let her know that he's OK.

"Gideon didn't answer his phone. I called him twice," said Spencer.

"Have you been here all night instead of going home to your girls?" asked JJ.

"We were supposed to play chess," said Spencer as he glanced at the chessboard that he set up.

JJ glanced at the chess board.

"Here?" asked JJ.

"Uh, he hasn't been back to his apartment since, um..," said Spencer.

JJ understood what Spencer was trying to say while Spencer slipped his messenger bag around his shoulders before smoothing back his hair.

"Right. I need to brief the team, so…," said JJ.

Spencer thought about his brother-in-law.

"Is Hotch here?" asked Spencer as he got out of the chair.

JJ looked at her watch.

"Uh, he's not due for a half hour," said JJ before she left the room.

At that moment Spencer's cell phone vibrated causing him to see that it was Clarissa causing him to quickly answer it.

"I'm so sorry that I didn't come home last night," said Spencer.

"Other than playing chess with Gideon, did a last-minute case happened and you forgot to call me?" asked Clarissa.

"No last-minute case, but JJ just told me that there will be a case," said Spencer.

"Then what happened that caused you not to come home last night?" asked Clarissa.

"Gideon never showed up for that promised chess game, and because of how I'm still adjusting to losing sleep again, I ended up falling asleep in Gideon's office instead of leaving headquarters," said Spencer.

"Its OK Spence because I believe that it's better that you fell asleep in Gideon's office than paying a hefty price to a cab driver to drive you to DC or getting into an accident due to lack of sleep," said Clarissa.

"OK, and has Diana left for school yet?" asked Spencer.

"She will be leaving in five minutes, so I'll put her on," said Clarissa.

Spencer heard some rustling.

"Hi daddy," said Diana.

"Hi Diana," said Spencer.

"Where are you, daddy?" asked Diana.

"I ended up falling asleep at the BAU while waiting for your godfather to show up for a game of chess," said Spencer.

"Uncle Jason didn't show?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled slightly as he thought about Diana's language development that was advanced for a girl her age.

"He didn't, but I ended up falling asleep since I'm still adjusting to Bridget waking me up a couple of times a night," said Spencer.

"Bridget wakes me up too with her crying," said Diana.

"I know, bumble bee," said Spencer before hearing Lucy's voice.

"Lucy is taking me to preschool now. I love you, daddy," said Diana.

"I love you too, and please be a good girl for mommy and Lucy since I'm leaving for a case this morning," said Spencer before hanging up.

xxxxxxxx

25 minutes later Spencer was sitting at the conference room table when Morgan entered the room.

"What, no Hotch, now no Gideon?" asked Morgan.

"No, not yet," said JJ.

"These guys have been out two weeks. You'd think the least they could do is be on time," said Morgan as he sat down.

"Yeah, 'cause you're never late," quipped Spencer.

Morgan looked around for Emily.

"So where's Prentiss?" asked Morgan.

"Her phone keeps going straight to voicemail," said JJ.

"Well, this room just keeps getting smaller and smaller, doesn't it?" asked Morgan.

Spencer thought about his brother-in-law, Gideon, and Emily.

"Should we wait 15 minutes?" asked Spencer.

JJ looked at her watch.

"We can just brief them on the plane," said JJ before she became serious, "Right now the police task-force in Milwaukee needs our help. They've had four murders over the past three weeks, and in addition, another woman has been missing the last two days. They've all the women are in their 30s, married with children," said JJ.

"Any connection between these victims?" asked Morgan.

"Just that they've all been abducted from the area of Wauwatosa, all from very public places, but there are no witnesses," said JJ.

Spencer looked at the file that he was reading.

"How are we even certain it's the same killer?" asked Spencer.

JJ showed more pictures on the monitor.

"Well, for starters... All of the bodies have been dumped in the city's third ward," said JJ before she showed one last picture, "And there's this," said JJ.

Spencer looked at the picture as he realized what he was seeing while Morgan closed his eyes.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Spencer.

"All the hearts have been cut from their bodies," said JJ.

A few minutes later Spencer was calling Clarissa.

"Do you know where you're going?" asked Clarissa without preamble.

"Milwaukee, Wisconsin. So luckily I'll only be one hour behind DC when it comes to time-zones," said Spencer before he heard Bridget crying.

"I have to tend to Bridget, so please call me when you can," said Clarissa.

"I promise to stay safe, and I love you," said Spencer.

"Love you too," said Clarissa before hanging up.

xxxxxxxx

JJ who was sitting between Morgan and the window looked over where Strauss was sitting and going through files.

"You know, from this angle, she almost looks human," said JJ.

Spencer shifted in his seat so he could look at Strauss before looking at JJ and Morgan.

"Has anyone talked to Emily yet?" asked Spencer.

JJ snorted.

"She was gone before I heard the news," said JJ.

Morgan thought about the conversation he had with Spencer in the bathroom earlier.

"I told you, Reid, now we're down two agents and Gideon's MIA," said Morgan.

Spencer lowered his voice as he looked at JJ and Morgan.

"Doesn't Strauss ever do any," whispered Spencer before seeing Morgan give him a signal to stop talking when Strauss joined them.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's protocol to brief everyone before we arrive at the crime scene?" asked Strauss.

JJ smiled at the Ice Queen.

"Yes, ma'am," said JJ before she motioned Strauss to sit down.

Strauss took a seat next to Spencer while giving him a gentle smile as Spencer scooted over a bit.

"This unsub is abducting women from very public places, with no witnesses. He holds them 48 hours, with no sexual assault, and then he dumps their bodies with their hearts carved out of their chests," said JJ.

Morgan dropped a photo onto the table.

"There's an obvious dichotomy in the skill the unsub exhibits in abducting these women and the fact that he cuts their hearts out so crudely," said Spencer.

Morgan noticed Strauss paling a bit as she looked at the crime scene photo that he placed on the table.

"We're probably looking at someone in a psychotic break. Could be a butcher. Might be a hunter. Somebody who's very comfortable being around blood, but as you can see, he obviously doesn't have the skills of a surgeon," said Morgan.

Strauss crossed her arms.

"So do we have a working theory?" asked Strauss.

Morgan chuckled a bit.

"Sure we do. Somebody really doesn't like women," said Morgan as he got up before walking away.

Spencer held back his laughter as his personal phone vibrated causing him to quickly fish his personal phone out of his pocket before smiling slightly when he saw a new picture of Bridget.

"A picture of Bridget?" asked JJ.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Strauss turned her head looked at Spencer with a soft look in her eyes as she glanced at the picture of Bridget on Spencer's personal phone.

"How's Bridget doing?" asked Strauss.

JJ looked at Spencer in shock as she saw the softness in Strauss's eyes as she looked at Spencer.

"Bridget's reaching her milestones right on schedule," said Spencer before sighing sadly, "I just can't believe that she's already six-weeks old and that Diana's going to be four in December," said Spencer.

"As a mother of three kids myself I know that time can go fast, and I know that you remember my advice about cherishing your daughters being as young as they are before they become teenagers like my own," said Strauss.

Spencer nodded.

"I do," said Spencer.

"Now how is Diana adjusting to preschool and being a big sister?" asked Strauss.

"She definitely loves attending Washington International School, and even though she occasionally complains about Bridget waking her up during the night, she loves helping Clarissa, Lucy, and I take care of Bridget," said Spencer as he showed Strauss one of his latest pictures of Diana.

Strauss smiled a bit at the picture of Diana while thinking about the conversation she had with Spencer about Diana inheriting his intelligence and eidetic memory.

"What has the school said about Diana's intelligence?" asked Strauss.

"Since it has been decided that Diana will stay in preschool, her preschool teacher is working with other teachers on challenging Diana," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "Even though Diana has made friends during her figure skating lessons and Sunday school, she has already made a few friends in preschool," said Spencer.

"I'm glad that Diana's adjusting well to everything, and I recently found some clothing that belonged to my daughters that should fit Diana," said Strauss.

"I'll let Clarissa know in a couple of hours when I call her to check on Diana and Bridget," said Spencer before he decided to focus on the files in front of him.

xxxxxx

Detective Wolynski noticed two men and two women approaching him.

"You the FBI?" asked Detective Wolynski.

Morgan shook hands with the detective.

"Derek Morgan. Spencer Reid, Jennifer Jareau, and Section Chief Strauss," said Morgan.

"Vic Wolynski, Milwaukee PD," said Detective Wolynski.

Spencer instantly recognized the detective's name.

"You worked the Jeffrey Dahmer case," said Spencer.

"16 years ago," said Detective Wolynski.

"I've studied it," said Spencer.

Detective Wolynski looked at Spencer.

"And you remember my name?" asked Detective Wolynski.

"He remembers everything," said JJ.

"It's what he does," said Morgan.

Strauss looked at the detective.

"What can you tell us?" asked Strauss.

"Uh, local merchant noticed her a few hours ago. Uh, but considering he didn't see her when he first came to work, uh, we figure she was dumped there between 7:50 and 8:05. The same window as the others," said Detective Wolynski.

"All the bodies were found in this area, right?" asked Morgan as he gestured to his surroundings.

"Uh, Wauwatosa is an upper-middle-class suburb approximately 15 minutes from here. All the women were abducted from there in the afternoon   
and turned up here in the morning two days later," said Detective Wolynski.

JJ looked around.

"All this foot traffic and no one saw anything," said JJ.

Everyone started to walk closer to the body.

"Well, he, up, wraps the bodies, uh, loosely so they're not immediately recognizable. Eventually the, uh, wrapping comes open my guess is he, uh, has a van or a truck, something he can back up so he's shielded when he makes the drop," said Detective Wolynski.

Morgan who was crouching down by the body looked at the detective.

"No prints on whatever he wraps them in?" asked Morgan.

Detective Wolynski shook his head.

"There have been traces of paint and wood stain, but most of its just common stuff you'd get at any hardware store," said Detective Wolynski.

"He's trying to demean them, putting them out like trash," said Spencer.

"This guy might work or live around here. Gets off on the reaction to his... handiwork," said Morgan.

JJ looked at Detective Wolynski.

"What can you tell us about the victim?" asked JJ.

"She was taken from a supermarket. Her husband says that most days she would have been picking up her son at school, but he was spending the afternoon at a friend's," said Detective Wolynski.

Strauss looked at Detective Wolynski.

"This is your fifth victim, right?" asked Strauss.

"Yes," said Detective Wolynski.

"You should have called us sooner," said Strauss firmly.

"I thought we had a handle on it," said Detective Wolynski.

"Apparently not," said Strauss.

"Ma'am," said JJ before looking at the detective, "Excuse me, sir," said JJ before she led Strauss away.

xxxxxxx

Detective Wolynski looked at one of his cops.

"Hey. What do we know?" asked Detective Wolynski.

"Woman's name is Claire Thompson. Husband tried to reach her on the cell phone. When she didn't pick up, he drove to the department store. Car's in the parking lot, but she's not inside," said the cop.

JJ noticed a man sitting down.

"Is that the husband?" asked

"Yeah," said the cop.

Morgan looked at JJ.

"JJ, take Strauss with you," said Morgan.

JJ and Strauss walked away while the cop looked at Spencer and Morgan.

"I had the department store uplink the security footage to your analyst in Quantico," said the cop.

"Perfect," said Morgan.

"My desk is over here," said Detective Wolynski.

A minute later Spencer was looking at the security camera footage.

"She doesn't seem to be on anyone's radar," said Spencer.

Morgan instantly saw a kid.

"Look. Who's the kid?" asked Morgan.

"Does Claire Thompson have a son?" asked Detective Wolynski.

"No. 2-year-old daughter," said JJ.

Spencer's heart melted at the thought about the missing woman having a daughter who's a year younger than Diana.

"It looks like the kid's lost," said Spencer.

"Garcia, this all you got?" asked Morgan.

"That's it. They turned down a hallway without no security camera and we lose them," said Garcia.

"I'll get a list of missing kids, see if we can make out a resemblance to any of them," said Detective Wolynski before he walked away.

Morgan instantly remembered his conversation with Hotch.

"Oh, damn," said Morgan.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"Something Hotch said. All the abductions and disposals have been timed around school. We thought the unsub might work in the system. What if this guy's actually using his own son to lure his victims?" asked Morgan.

xxxxxx

Spencer and Morgan stood in front of the police force.

"Detective Wolynski told us you're trying to single out trucks and vans. That's smart. The unsub is dumping his victim in the business district, so I'd agree with you- he's probably not driving something that would stand out. He may even have some type of company logo on the side of his vehicle as well," said Morgan.

Spencer walked to the geographical profile he made.

"We know that he abducts the women in Wauwatosa and dumps their bodies somewhere in the third ward. Most unsubs keep their area of control- where they kill their victims- triangulated between the two points," said Spencer as he gestured to his geographical profile.

"Which means that the unsub probably lives in Wauwatosa or the third ward. Somewhere in that area. And the people who live there know the unsub," said Morgan.

"There's no sexual component to these crimes, which means it's more about the unsub making a point. He's cutting their hearts out," said Spencer.

"It might just be that this is the sickest way the unsub knows to disfigure the women and... Throw them out like trash. We can't we really know," said Morgan.

"The two most important questions to ask ourselves are: What is this guy doing with these women for 48 hours? And why is he willing to use his own son to abduct them?" asked Spencer.

"And if he is truly using his own son, then it's likely that he has what we call borderline personality disorder. Now, borderlines- they think that all relationships revolve entirely around them. When they set their mind to something, absolute there is no gray area," said Morgan.

"It would also manifest in a way that would be visible to people around the unsub. Intense bouts of anger and depression, problems drinking. He would also be highly sensitive to rejection," said Spencer.

"And one last thing. It is not easy to crack clean into breastbone," said Morgan as he tapped his chest a bit, "You're dealing with a guy who works with his hands and he's used to hard labor. At the very least, he's not afraid to get dirty," finished Morgan.

xxxxxxx

Spencer stood in front of the map of Milwaukee with Morgan and Detective Wolynski.

"I have triple patrol in the area and I've got every available unit recanvassing," said Detective Wolynski.

"It's tough knowing they're out there and we're still a step behind," said Morgan.

Detective Wolynski, Spencer, and Morgan made their way to some chairs to sit down.

"You know, it used to be a running joke that if you told people you were from Milwaukee, all they wanted to talk about was "Happy Days" reruns. And then Dahmer happens and they ask you about it as if it's the same thing. As if it's entertainment. But I was in that apartment," said Detective Wolynski.

"Gideon, one of our bosses, says that there are things that attach to you that you can never wash off," said Spencer.

"All right it, is it possible we're looking at this the wrong way?" asked JJ.

"What do you mean?" asked Strauss.

"Well, we're trying to zero in on the unsub. Now, you guys tell me, but... if he really is using his son, wouldn't the trauma manifest more clearly on the boy?" asked JJ.

Spencer squinted his eyes at JJ's idea.

"Can your analyst get a list of all the children in the area that we're targeting?" asked Strauss.

"Garcia can get you whatever you want," said Morgan.

Strauss quickly used the land-line to call Garcia while not realizing that Garcia thought that Morgan was calling her.

"Talk dirty to me," said Garcia in a sultry voice.

Spencer held back his laughter as he watched Morgan face-palm himself while JJ held back her giggles.

"This is Section Chief Erin Strauss," said Strauss.

Spencer, JJ, and Morgan heard Garcia gasp.

"Ma'am, I think it goes without saying that I was expecting it to be someone else," said an embarrassed Garcia.

Spencer held back his laughter even more as he watched Morgan run a hand over his head.

"I need a list of every grade school in the third ward and Wauwatosa," said Strauss.

"Yes, ma'am," said Garcia as she started typing, "The third ward has one public grade school, but there appears to be four private schools that draw from that area," said Garcia.

"And Wauwatosa?" asked Strauss.

"That would be 9, ma'am," answered Garcia.

"And how many students?" asked Strauss.

"3,200," answered Garcia.

"Can you also get me a list of every guidance counselor that deals directly with the student body in that area?" asked Strauss.

"Certainly, ma'am. And again, I'd like to a…," said Garcia as she tried to apologize before Strauss hung up.

"You need to present these counselors with a profile of a troubled kid," said Strauss.

xxxxxxx

After getting back from the schools Spencer was going through files with JJ when Morgan entered the room.

"All right, the boy doesn't look like he could be any older than seven. Let's work youngest to oldest. Start with the worst behavior. Get the names of the parents, send them over to Garcia. She can cross-check for criminal records. This guy's dumping bodies between 7:30 and 8:00," said Morgan as he checked his watch, "That gives us... A little over 12 hours to make something hit. Let's get it done," said Morgan.

At that moment Spencer smiled when he saw his brother-in-law and Emily enter the room.

"Look who's here," said Spencer.

"Hey. Where do we start?" asked Emily as Hotch shook hands with Morgan, "How fast can you get us up to speed?" asked Emily.

JJ tossed files onto the table.

"How fast can you sit down?" asked JJ.

Strauss entered the room causing Hotch and Emily to look at Strauss.

"We're only here to help," said Emily.

Strauss quickly glanced at Spencer and noticed that he looked happy to have his brother-in-law back.

"We'll deal with this later," said Strauss.

Hotch reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a picture that Diana drew and passed it to Spencer who smiled at the picture of him, Clarissa,   
Diana, and Bridget together before smiling at Diana's message that said I LOVE YOU DADDY causing Spencer to smile at the progress that Diana was making when it came to her writing.

"I take it that your oldest niece convinced you to join us and give me a picture that she drew?" asked Spencer as he gave his brother-in-law an innocent look.

"Your oldest daughter is going to be one hell of a master manipulator when she grows up since she told me that she would be sad if I'm no longer a knight like you while giving me the puppy dog eyed look," said Hotch.

Spencer beamed.

"Diana does have the both of us wrapped around her finger," smiled Spencer.

"I know, but you and my sister were right that I shouldn't break Diana's heart," said Hotch.

"What's going on?" asked Detective Wolynski.

Spencer looked at a confused Detective Wolynski.

"Agent Hotchner and I are brother-in-laws since I'm married to his little sister," said Spencer.

"Oh," said Detective Wolynski.

At that moment everyone started working.

xxxxx

11 hours later Spencer pushed the glasses that he ended up switching to up his nose.

"It's impossible. There's too many," complained Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Keep looking, Reid. We still have an hour," said Morgan.

Hotch looked at JJ.

"Thank you, by the way, for giving Garcia that file to give to me," said Hotch.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't see Garcia before I left," said JJ.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer watched Strauss slip on the dead woman's hair causing Hotch to catch Strauss.

"Are you all right?" asked Hotch.

Strauss looked at the body.

"I st-I stepped on her hair," choked Strauss.

"If you need a second, take a second. This is what it is. Just don't let the public see you break down," said Hotch.

As soon as Strauss walked away, Emily looked at the crime scene.

"This is a different area from the other dump sites, isn't it?" asked Emily.

"He's getting smart. He knows where all of our manpower will be so he's changing locations," said Spencer.

Morgan crouched down a bit.

"How long before he changes when and where he abducts them?" asked Morgan.

"He does that, we're back at zero," said Emily.

At that moment Claire's husband was approaching the crime scene.

"Claire?" asked Bill Thompson.

"No, no, no, no. We gotta keep him out of here," said Morgan.

As soon as Morgan, JJ, and Emily were out of earshot, Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Both Clarissa and Morgan told me that you're worried about Gideon," said Hotch.

Spencer inwardly shook his head as he thought about the few times he was able to talk to Clarissa.

"I keep on calling him, he doesn't call back," said Spencer.

"He's probably at his cabin. That's where he goes when he... needs to get away," said Hotch while Spencer stood up to his full height, "Reid, I need your head in this," said Hotch.

"I know," said Spencer softly as he nodded.

xxxxxx

Hotch looked at Detective Wolynski.

"So what's around the dump site?" asked Hotch.

"Here's the old printing press of quad graphics, and the paving yard, and then the concrete factory where we found the body. None of them visible from the highway," said Detective Wolynski.

"You don't end up there by accident," said Emily.

"So we go back to the schools, we eliminate the third ward, and we target problem kids whose fathers have held blue-collar jobs over the last 10 years," said Hotch.

Spencer thought about how he acted after his biological parents were killed.

"What if he's not a problem kid?" asked Spencer.

"What?" asked Morgan.

Spencer hesitated.

"Forget it. It's off the textbook profile," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"What is it, Reid?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"After my biological parents died, I tried to be the perfect child because I was afraid that my aunt and uncle would put me in foster care if I misbehaved before they sat me down and told me that they wouldn't get rid of me. So I'm thinking that this child is trying to be the perfect child," said Spencer.

"Like help your father abduct women?" asked Emily.

Spencer looked at his team.

"They're never late for school. Even with the abductions, the disposal of the bodies, it's always timed perfectly so the kid will be on time to school. I don't think the killer would care. I think the kid would," said Spencer.

Hotch quickly left the room to call Garcia

xxxxxxx

Spencer and JJ sat in front of the principal.

"He's a kid that's a model student," said JJ.

"Not just straight As, though. It's someone who tries to please in a way that the other teachers have probably talked about. Inventing extra-credit projects, volunteering to skip recess to help clean the classroom, stuff like that," said Spencer as he thought about how he volunteered to skip recess to avoid his classmates during recess.

The principal instantly recognized who Spencer was describing.

"David Smith," said the principal.

"Do you know his father?" asked Spencer.

"Oh, it's such a sad story. The teachers all talk about it. He was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor six months ago, and his wife left the two of them," said the principal.

"She just left?" asked JJ.

"Yeah. I don't know what's gonna happen to David," said the principal.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer and JJ walked with the principal as they headed towards David's classroom.

"I can't imagine David's father being someone you're looking for. He's very involved. He drops David off and picks him up every day," said the principal.

"Do you happen to know what kind of car he drives?" asked Spencer.

"A van, maybe? I can't say. Something big. He makes hand-crafted furniture. I know he does deliveries," said the principal before she stood in an open doorway, "Miss Bennett," said the principal.

Ms. Bennett looked at her students as she headed towards Spencer, JJ, and the principal.

"Just continue working," said Ms. Bennett.

"We're looking for David Smith," said Spencer.

"You just missed him," said Ms. Bennett.

"Do you know where he went?" asked JJ.

"He wasn't feeling well, so the nurse volunteered to drive him home to help out David's father," said Ms. Bennett.

"Thank you," said JJ before she and Spencer hurried away.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer and JJ who both had earwigs in their ears followed Hotch's silent instructions on heading to the back door, and a few minutes later Morgan was handing them their Kevlar vests.

"Prentiss is in. We're waiting for her go," said Morgan.

A few minutes later Spencer and JJ were going through the back door, and a minute later Spencer was untying the school nurse.

xxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer set his phone down again when Hotch joined him.

"Are you planning on going to Gideon's cabin?" asked Hotch.

"I am, and luckily I actually drove myself to the BAU the other day," said Spencer.

"As soon as you get home, I need you to let me know if Gideon's there or not," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"I promise," said Spencer as his cell phone vibrated causing him to read a text from Clarissa.

AS SOON AS YOUR ON YOUR WAY HOME FROM GIDEON'S CABIN, LET ME KNOW SO I CAN WAIT UP FOR YOU. ~ CR

Spencer quickly typed a reply.

I PROMISE. ~ SR

xxxxxxxx

Spencer pulled over by Gideon's cabin, and a minute later he was knocking on the door

"Gideon?" asked Spencer.

After a minute of silence, Spencer opened up the unlocked door

"Gideon?" asked Spencer.

After hearing silence, he quickly grabbed his flashlight and turned it on to find the cabin to be completely empty while being thankful that he wasn't smelling a decomposing body before turning on a lamp only to find Gideon's gun, badge, and an envelope that contained his name on it.

Spencer sat down and opened up the envelope and started to read the letter to himself.

'I knew it would be you who came to the cabin to check on me. You must be frightened. I apologize for that. I never meant to cause you any pain. And I also never envisioned writing this letter. I've searched for a satisfactory explanation for what I'm doing. All I've come up with is. A profiler needs to have solid footing. I don't think I do anymore. The world confuses me. The cruelty, the indifference. The tragedy. When my dear friend Sarah was murdered, it tore a hole in me.'

Spencer continued to read the letter as tears fell down his face, and as he got to the end of the letter he steeled himself.

'And that was the last domino. The death of that girl. Hotch being suspended over something that was my fault. I said at the beginning of this letter that I knew it would be you to come up here. I'm sorry the explanation couldn't be better. And I am so sorry that it doesn't make more sense. But I've already told you I just don't understand any of it anymore. I'm sorry.'

'One thing I need to tell you is I'm proud of the man I watched you become when I first met you when you were 19-years-old. You've managed being a profiler while being a husband to a wonderful young woman and be a father to two beautiful little girls, so please don't let this job ruin yours and Clarissa's relationship since Clarissa's been one of the best things that have ever happened to you after all the tragedy you had to deal with during your short 25-and-a-half-years of life.'

'With how much I enjoyed being Diana's godfather, your oldest daughter is the reason why I didn't commit suicide. I don't care if you ask someone else Diana's godfather because I'm planning on staying away from Washington DC for a long time. I'll be sending you an email address that you can use to send me pictures of your little girls and any other children you and Clarissa have together.'

After Spencer finished reading the letter, he quickly headed to his car.

xxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer entered the house to find Clarissa in the kitchen.

"Thank you for waiting up for me," choked Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband and noticed the dried tear stains on his face causing her to hurry towards her husband.

"Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"He left," said Spencer angrily.

"Who?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer handed the letter to Clarissa as he placed Gideon's gun and badge onto the kitchen island, and a few minutes later Clarissa hugged her husband.

"I better call Aaron and ask him to come here," said Clarissa as she quickly headed to the land-line in the kitchen and called her brother who answered on the second ring.

"Everything OK?" asked Hotch.

"You better get here as soon as possible because Spence is in distress and I have a feeling that his PTSD symptoms might return," said Clarissa.

"I'll be there as soon as possible," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

15 minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Hotch were all drinking tea while Hotch read the letter that Gideon wrote Spencer.

"I thought that I would be finding a dead body in Gideon's cabin, but with all the losses I've dealt with, I'm glad that he didn't eat his gun," said Spencer.

Clarissa reached over and squeezed her husband's hand.

"Me too, Spence," said Clarissa.

Hotch looked at Spencer as he made a mental note to start thinking of Spencer as a second son since he sometimes treats Clarissa as his daughter.

"We all need sleep because I'm going to be calling in an early meeting to let the others know that Gideon left," said Hotch.

Spencer sighed before looking at his wife who was yawning while glancing at the baby monitor that was on the kitchen island.

"Bridget will be waking us up in a couple of hours," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her oldest brother.

"Do you want to stay the night so you and Spence can ride into Quantico together in the morning?" asked Clarissa.

"I think I will," said Hotch before looking at his brother-in-law, "Since you have Gideon's gun and badge with you, I'll need to take them to headquarters tomorrow," said Hotch.

"I know, and that's why I made sure to grab them," said Spencer.

"I better go grab my go bag from my car," said Hotch.

Five minutes later Hotch was walking down the hallway upstairs only to find Spencer and Clarissa each carrying one of their sleeping daughters out of Diana's and Bridget's bedrooms.

"Having them sleep with you two?" asked Hotch quietly.

"I need them close to me," whispered Spencer before entering the master bedroom.

"Goodnight, Aaron," said Clarissa.

"Goodnight, Clarissa," said Hotch.

15 minutes later Spencer was fast asleep in bed with Diana laying between her parents while Bridget was fast asleep in her bassinet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Part of me wanted to be evil and have it that Gideon committed suicide and that Spencer finds Gideon's dead body in his cabin, but with all the death that I had Spencer deal with (His biological parents, his aunt Ethel, and his uncle Gordon) I decided against it because of having Gideon be little Diana's godfather (I ended up remembering that I had Spencer and Clarissa name Gideon godfather when I reread chapter 23 of the prequel to this story), Gideon will send gifts to Diana because she has became a granddaughter to him.


	15. Scared to Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rossi won't be appearing for another couple of chapters yet, but he will be in this story.
> 
> This chapter takes place two days after the last chapter so Bridget is six-weeks old. So its still September of 2007, so Spencer's 26th birthday will be coming up soon. With the talk that Spencer and Emily had in this chapter, I had to make changes since I gave Spencer an AU background when it came to losing his biological parents when he was four and his aunt and uncle when he was 19.
> 
> Spencer will be bringing up one of his job offers in this chapter, but he won't be leaving the BAU because he can handle consulting for another agency during slow days at the BAU.

Clarissa entered the kitchen only to find Spencer sitting by the kitchen island with two brownies and a glass of almond milk, reading a letter.

"Spence?" asked Clarissa

Spencer looked at his wife and groaned when he saw Clarissa wearing one of his old dress shirts that comes in handy for when she's nursing Bridget.

"I came down here for a late night snack while you were nursing Bridget," said Spencer.

Clarissa got herself onto her husband's lap causing Spencer to wrap his arms around his wife.

"What are you reading?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer looked at the clock on the microwave and noticed that it was 1 AM.

"I'm reading one of my job offers that I received in the mail yesterday," said Spencer.

"From where?" asked Clarissa.

"The NSA," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband's pile of job offers.

"Are you thinking about leaving the FBI again?" asked Clarissa.

"I don't know, but I know that I will need to let your brother know about these offers tomorrow," said Spencer before looking at his job offer   
again, "This offer is a consultant position, and the letter states that I could come in and consult a few times a month when things are slow at the BAU," said Spencer.

Clarissa tilted her head up and kissed her husband on the lips.

"If you want to consult with another agency, you have my permission," said Clarissa.

"Really?" asked Spencer.

"I know that you like being challenged, and normally your away from home for a few days every week while having an occasional week or two that's designated for paperwork unless there's an absolute emergency. So consulting for the NSA can challenge you a bit when things are going slow at the BAU," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded at his wife's reasoning.

"We also need to think about how much money we're spending when it comes to deciding that our children will get a private school education. So it won't hurt to replenish the money that's depleting from the account that contains the leftover money from our trust funds since we already use that money to pay Lucy," said Spencer.

"Exactly since we use our paychecks for putting food on our table, bills, and entertainment," said Clarissa.

"Are you sure that you don't want to start your own private practice as a pediatric nurse practitioner?" asked Spencer.

"Children's National wants me back in six weeks, so I'll be returning to work in six weeks," said Clarissa as she shifted in her husband's lap causing Spencer to groan as he felt his pajama pants start to tighten.

"Really, Clarissa?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa turned her head and smirked at her husband.

"I decided to sit on your lap because other than waking up to tend to Bridget, we have over six hours before we have to get ready for the day," said Clarissa as she shifted on her husband's lap again and smirked when her husband groaned, "So let's go upstairs and fix the problem that I started, before we clean ourselves up and get some sleep," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were helping each other remove their pajamas before falling into their bed in a heated make-out session.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Six hours later Diana looked at her daddy who was rereading the letter that her godfather left for her daddy.

"Are you still sad, daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter while being saddened at the thought of Diana turning four in December.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Clarissa took a sip of her orange juice before looking at her husband.

"Since your birthday is three weeks away, is there anything special you want other than our first professional family portrait with Bridget?" asked Clarissa.

"Maybe a family movie day after church?" asked Spencer.

"Done, but I do want to watch "Son of the Mask" again," said Clarissa.

Spencer chuckled as he thought about how he and Clarissa went to the movies to see "Son of the Mask" when the movie was in theaters as their belated Valentines Day date since he was on a case during Valentines Day of 2005.

"Are you hinting that you want another child soon?" asked Spencer.

"Maybe," said Clarissa.

"Can I have a brother next?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at Diana.

"We don't know if your next sibling will be a boy, but either way mommy and I will be happy if its a boy or a girl," said Spencer.

"OK, daddy," said Diana.

Bridget who was in her baby seat started cooing, causing Spencer to look at his six-week-old daughter.

"Are you trying to join in on our conversation?" asked Spencer.

Bridget smiled at her daddy causing Clarissa to gasp while Spencer smiled at his youngest daughter.

"This is Bridget's very first smile," said Clarissa as tears fall down her face.

Diana looked at her mommy.

"Why are you crying, mommy?" asked Diana.

"These are happy tears, sweet pea," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at the clock on the microwave before looking at Diana who had cleaned off her plate that contained scrambled eggs, pancakes, and shredded hash browns.

"We have five minutes before I take you to preschool, and no dawdling because I can't be late for work," said Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

Five minutes later Spencer was getting Diana into her car seat before he drove Diana to preschool before driving towards Quantico.

xxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer entered his brother-in-law's office.

"I thought that I should tell you about my latest job offer," said Spencer as he passed his brother-in-law the letter.

Hotch read the job offer from the NSA, and when he was finished, he looked at Spencer.

"Thinking about consulting for the NSA a few times a month?" asked Hotch.

"Clarissa told me that she would support my decision about consulting for another agency, and it would be nice to put my PhD in mathematics to use for the NSA. I know that I wouldn't be able to tell the team about doing consultant work for another agency, but at least you would have the clearance to know that another agency will borrow me from time to time," said Spencer.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you get consulting offers from other agencies since they know that you're not going to leave the FBI," said Hotch.

"I agree, but Clarissa and I know that being paid to consult for another agency would help us replenish the money in our savings account since we decided that Diana, Bridget, and your future nieces and nephews will all receive a private school education," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting at his desk reading Gideon's letter again with both Emily and Morgan near him when Garcia exited Gideon's office with a box.

"He left everything, except the photographs," said Garcia.

"He always said those were like his family," said Spencer quietly before he looked at a picture of him, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget together on the day of Bridget's birth.

"What should we do with all of this?" asked Garcia before walking away.

A few seconds later Spencer's personal cell phone vibrated causing Spencer to see a picture of Bridget with a real smile on her face.

I THOUGHT THAT A PICTURE OF A SMILING BRIDGET WOULD CHEER YOU UP. ~ CR

Spencer smiled a bit causing Emily to see a picture of Bridget on Spencer's phone.

"She's smiling," said Emily.

"Bridget gave me her real first smile this morning," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting at the conference room table.

"OK, we have four victims in Oregon. Two male, two female," said JJ as she passed files around.

Hotch looked at JJ.

"I got this," said Hotch.

"Uh, sure," said JJ.

Hotch looked at his teammates.

"I know that we've all been wondering what this was all about. And, uh... You know I've known Jason for many years, and I can tell you I have no idea. But it doesn't even matter. What matters is we're here, and we're gonna continue," said Hotch before he clicked the remote to start the slide show, "Portland Field Office uncovered a mass grave with three bodies, killed six months ago. Nearby they found another body. Causes of death range from burning alive to asphyxiation. No sexual assault," said Hotch.

"Well, the torture's clearly sadistic," said Morgan.

"The lack of sexual preferences could make it hard to tell if the unsub is male or female," said Spencer.

"Typically, female serial killers stick to the same MO. It looks like this guy's all over the place," said Emily.

Hotch pulled up another picture.

"Most recent victim is Jenny Wittman. Asphyxiated. Discovered yesterday," said Hotch.

"How long was she missing?" asked Spencer.

"She was never reported missing," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law in shock.

"What about the others?" asked Spencer.

"Only one," said Hotch.

"One of four?" asked Spencer.

Hotch pulled up a missing person's notice.

"Rick Holland was reported missing nine months ago, but the search was called off," said JJ.

"Family discovered his car at the train station. But more importantly, they received e-mails from him saying that he needed time to figure things out," said Hotch.

"And his family bought that?" asked Morgan.

"Well, I guess the alternative was too hard to accept," said Hotch.

"Reaching out could be a sign of remorse," said Spencer.

"Psychopaths don't apologize for their behavior. This guy's covering his tracks," said Hotch.

"Well, it's working," said Morgan.

Emily stood up and headed to the crime scene photos that were already on the board.

"So... three victims he buried in one grave and then only Jenny Wittman in the other," said Emily as she pointed at a picture.

"You thinking it's a pattern?" asked Morgan.

"Uh, it's hard to tell," said Emily.

"If there is, it's one down... two to go," said Hotch before he gave a departure time.

A few minutes later Spencer had his personal phone out to call Clarissa.

"You have a case?" asked Clarissa.

"Going to Portland, Oregon. So I'm planning that I'll call around bedtime so I can say goodnight to Diana and Bridget," said Spencer.

"Are you planning waking up at 5 AM Pacific time so you can talk to Diana before she leaves for preschool?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm already planning on it because there's no doubt that Hotch will send me to the hotel a bit earlier since I woke up a few times last night to tend to Bridget," said Spencer.

"I'll make sure to sweet-talk Aaron into sending you to the hotel a bit earlier," said Clarissa.

Spencer chuckled.

"Due to your sweet talking ability, you have Hotch, Sean, and I all wrapped around your finger," teased Spencer.

Clarissa laughed.

"Damn straight," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his watch.

"Well I have to get going since its a long flight to Portland," said Spencer.

"You and Aaron better stay safe, and I love you," said Clarissa.

"I promise, and I love you too," said Spencer before hanging up.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer unbuckled himself and headed to the small kitchenette area to prepare himself a cup of coffee.

"Can we go over what Portland found?" asked Hotch.

JJ passed files around.

"One female and two male victims found buried together in the same grave. All 25 to 30. All had been dead... six months?" asked JJ.

"That sounds like three different MO's," said Emily.

"Uh, Gary Taylor, the phantom sniper, was all over the map, just like this guy. He changed his MO as his need to control the situation changed," said Spencer.

"What about the fresh grave?" asked Hotch.

JJ looked at the file that was in her hands.

"Uh, female, 28, dead roughly 48 hours. She was asphyxiated," said JJ.

"It's a good thing this guy's dump site has been compromised," said Morgan.

"As soon as the unsub knows that, he may feel pressured that we're onto him. It could push him to make a mistake," said Emily.

All of a sudden Garcia's face popped up on the laptop, and when Garcia only saw Spencer she decided to have some fun.

"Hey," whispered Garcia before seeing Spencer looking around causing her to raise her voice, "You. Uh, down here," said Garcia.

Spencer instantly looked down at the laptop and saw Garcia's face causing him to shook his head.

"I knew that," said Spencer.

"Good thing you're handsome, doctor," said Garcia as Emily chuckled while Spencer and Hotch turned the laptop around together before Spencer sat down, "Attention team members this killer guy continues to stoop to an all-time low of lows by posing as his victims. He's also manipulated two of the families into thinking that everything was OK, even after they were reported missing. One of the fake e-mails was from their daughter. She said she met this guy and was taking him to her favorite place, Australia, for a couple of weeks. Family contacted the Australian authorities after too much time had passed," said Garcia.

"This guy sure knows a lot of personal information about his victims," said Morgan.

"How did he get access to their e-mail accounts?" asked Emily.

"Screen name was the same, but the domain was different. The families never noticed. When I find more pieces of the puzzle, you'll know. Garcia out," said Garcia before signing off.

"This guy's creative," said Hotch before he decided to take advantage of the long flight, "Let's go over the details one more time just to make sure we haven't missed anything," said Hotch.

xxxxx

Spencer followed his teammates into a conference room where an FBI agent was waiting for them.

"You must be the BAU Special Agent Bill Calvert," said Agent Calvert.

JJ shook hands with Agent Calvert.

"Hi. Jennifer Jareau. This is SSA Aaron Hotchner. These are Agents Morgan, Prentiss, and Dr. Reid," said JJ.

"I appreciate your help on this case," said Agent Calvert.

Morgan recognized Agent Calvert's accent.

"So you're from Boston, huh?" asked Morgan.

"The accent's kind of hard to miss in Oregon, right?" asked Agent Calvert.

"We'd like to take a look around Jenny Wittman's apartment," said Hotch.

"I'd take you myself, but I'm waiting to meet a family, so I'll have another agent drive you out there," said Agent Calvert.

"Thank you," said Hotch.

"I'll stay behind and work victimology," said Emily.

"Great," said Hotch before looking at Spencer and Morgan, "I could use some extra hands. We'll call you if we find anything," said Hotch.

A few seconds later Spencer and Morgan were following Hotch.

xxxxx

Spencer, Morgan, and Hotch approached an elevator.

"Wittman's place is on the fourth floor," said Spencer.

A few seconds later the elevator door opened and Morgan stepped inside with Spencer following him.

"Can you get in there?" asked Spencer.

Hotch looked at the size of the elevator before looking at Spencer and Morgan.

"I'll... meet you guys up there," said Hotch before walking away.

A few seconds later the elevator started going up before stopping, and a few seconds later Morgan started jumping.

"Don't do that," scolded Spencer as he used the tone when he has to scold Diana.

"Why isn't it moving?" asked Morgan before he jumped a little bit more.

"I don't know," said Spencer.

Morgan started to press a button multiple times.

"Don't stop it!" scolded Spencer as Morgan kept pressing the button, "Don't..." scolded Spencer.

"What? What's the problem?" asked Morgan as Morgan kept on pressing the button.

"Don't do that!" hissed Spencer.

"Why not?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Because there are six elevator-related deaths per year, not to mention 10,000 injuries that require hospitalization. Chill out," said Spencer.

"That sounds like pretty good odds to me. Are you scared, Reid?" asked Morgan with a smile on his face

"I'm not scared. I don't want to be in an elevator with you, to be honest," said Spencer.

"How about I push that? What if I push," said Morgan as he pushed a button before the elevator dropped a bit causing both men to brace themselves.

"Whoa," said Morgan.

"OK. Hit the-hit the," said Spencer as he pressed the alarm button.

"Push it!" exclaimed Spencer.

Morgan pushed a button.

"Push, pull, push, pull. I'm doing it. Nothing's happening," said Morgan.

"Pry-pry- pry the door open," said Spencer.

Morgan tried to pry the door open.

"It's stuck, man," said Morgan before the elevator moved more, "No, no, no, no. Not today. No, not today," said Morgan to himself.

Spencer instantly thought about his brother-in-law.

"Hotch," squeaked Spencer.

Morgan pressed the alarm button.

"Hotch!" shouted Morgan just before the elevator door opened causing Morgan to hurry out, "Hallelujah," said Morgan to himself.

Hotch looked at Spencer and Morgan who both looked shaken up.

"Was that the alarm? You guys OK?" asked Hotch

Spencer slowly got out of the elevator and looked at his brother-in-law.

"I'll get back to you on that," said Spencer.

After Spencer and Morgan took some time to compose themselves, they quickly followed Hotch while making a mental note to take the stairs when they're leaving.

A few minutes later the apartment super was letting Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan into Jenny's apartment.

"FBI was already here two days ago. Didn't find anything," said the super.

"We're from the Behavioral Analysis Unit," said Spencer.

"What's that mean?" asked the super.

"It means that we study human behavior. We don't just look at evidence. It helps us to determine why this killer chose this particular victim," said Spencer as he looked around the apartment, "The place has a lived-in feel to it," said Spencer.

Hotch picked up a DVD case.

"It looks like she spent most of her free time here," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at the phone.

"No messages on the answering machine," said Spencer.

Morgan exited the bathroom.

"Hey, guys. Come take a look at this," said Morgan.

30 seconds later Spencer, Morgan, Hotch, and the apartment super were in the bathroom when Morgan gestured to the tub.

"There are bath products all around the tub, but she never turned the shower on," said Morgan.

"What makes you say that?" asked the super.

Morgan opened up the shower door to reveal a bunch of boxes.

"It's got nothing but boxes inside. She used it for storage," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at the apartment super.

"Uh, did anything ever strike you as odd about Jenny?" asked Spencer.

"You know what? When she moved in here two months ago, she walked up and down those stairs a hundred times. She wouldn't use the elevator,"   
said the super.

Morgan thought about his time in the elevator earlier.

"I don't blame her," said Morgan.

A minute later everyone was out of the bathroom.

"OK, so we know Jenny didn't like tight spaces or the elevator. What else do we know?" asked Morgan.

"We know that he preys on people that are new to the city with no strong social ties," said Spencer.

"And Jenny fits the model. She's an easy target," said Morgan.

"And he's betting that she won't be missed," said Hotch.

xxxxxxx

"OK, we know this guy used Wildwood Trail as his personal graveyard for six months. That site's been blown for him now, which means that he's been forced to change part of his MO," said Morgan

"Which won't be easy for somebody who thrives on being in control. The reason that he's gotten away with these first three murders is that he's been meticulous at every stage, from how he chooses his victims to their torture and their burial," said Hotch.

"To us, his victims appear to be nonspecific. Other than being new to Portland, all they seem to have shared was a torturous death," said Emily.

"But you think the unsub chooses them for another reason, too?" asked Agent Calvert.

"We think so," said Emily.

"The tortures lack a sexual component, which is incredibly rare. I think it's more about, uh, not necessarily about exerting power, but more like overcompensating for a lack of it," said Spencer.

"This guy craves control. He's coming from a place of weakness, trying to demonstrate strength. Now we see this a lot in unsubs who've have been abused," said Morgan.

Hotch stood up.

"The lack of sexual assault could be as simple as the fact that he's impotent, something that he's trying to hide," said Hotch.

"A man this obsessed with control most likely feels powerless in his everyday life. So he would crave stability, security. He's most likely married. If   
he is impotent, he could keep up appearances by adopting children," said Emily.

"Yeah, and someone this methodical has every moment planned. If he is captured, he'd most likely take his own life rather than give up any sort of control," said Spencer.

"The victims' lack of defensive wounds suggest that they willingly put themselves in danger. So someone of authority or otherwise easily trusted put them up to this," said Morgan.

"Also, the victims' families were led to believe their loved ones were alive and well through e-mails written by this murderer," said Emily.

"He's calculating, and he's intelligent, and... We're going to have to do something that he's not expecting," said Hotch.

"Like what?" asked Agent Calvert.

"Like warn his potential victims," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer's cell phone rang causing Spencer to smile when he saw Clarissa's number.

"Calling me so I can say goodnight to Diana and Bridget?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Please put them on," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Clarissa spoke again.

"You're on speaker, Spence," said Clarissa.

"How are my favorite girls?" asked Spencer.

"I'm good, daddy," said Diana.

"So you're telling me that you've been a good girl all day, Diana?" asked Spencer.

"I help mommy and Lucy with Bridget, and Sammy kissed me at preschool," said Diana.

Spencer thought about the brief meet and greet that he and Clarissa had with other parents of the preschoolers that are in the same class with Diana.

"Sammy Nichols?" asked Spencer.

"I give Sammy my cookie so he kissed me to say thank you," said Diana.

Spencer scowled causing Hotch to glance at his brother-in-law.

"Your too young to be kissing boys that aren't your uncles, cousin, or me," said Spencer sternly.

"You kiss mommy," said Diana.

Clarissa laughed at her oldest daughter's pout before Spencer heard Bridget cooing over the phone.

"Is that Bridget saying hello to me?" asked Spencer.

Bridget cooed over the phone.

"Well hello there, Bridget Mackenzie Reid," said Spencer.

"Bridget's smiling, daddy," said Diana.

"Seems like she loves hearing her daddy's voice just like you did when you were a baby," said Clarissa before looking down at Bridget, "Bridget just fell asleep, so I'm going to go put a clean diaper on her before putting her down so I give Diana her bath," said Clarissa.

"OK," said Spencer.

"I love you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I love you, Clarissa," said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy," said Diana.

"I love you too, Diana," said Spencer.

"Try and call me tonight after you get to the hotel," said Clarissa.

"I'll try," said Spencer before hanging up.

A minute later Spencer approached Hotch.

"I'm not sure if Clarissa and I should have sent your niece to preschool yet," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Hotch.

"One of her male classmates kissed Diana after she gave him her cookie, and I know that we can't do anything since Diana and Sammy are both three-years-old," said Spencer.

Hotch chuckled.

"Diana's definitely her mother's daughter," said Hotch.

"I know," smiled Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Hotch answered the land-line and put the phone on speaker for Spencer and JJ.

"Hotchner," answered Hotch.

"Hey, that landlady Prentiss spoke to was right to be worried. We just found Patrick Walker dead in a river. And it was exactly what you predicted," said Morgan.

"He found a new place to dump the body," said Emily.

Hotch got up and headed to the board that contained the crime scene photos.

"Fire, hanging, asphyxiation. Now we've got a drowning," said Hotch.

Spencer instantly realized why the unsub was targeting certain victims.

"I think it's someone who's afraid of drowning," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"What do you mean?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah, it hit me when Morgan freaked out when we were stuck in the elevator," said Spencer.

"You got stuck in an elevator?" asked Emily.

"I freaked?" asked Morgan.

"Well, that's not important," said Spencer before becoming serious, "Here's what is. If you look at the MO's of the victims, what do they all have in   
common? They could all be classified as anxiety disorders. It's right out of the "Diagnostics and Statistical Manual". It lists five subtypes of phobias," said Spencer.

"Most of these are environmental and situational," said Hotch.

"Exactly," said Spencer.

"So it's all about fear. These people are being killed by their fears," said Hotch as he looked at the crime scene photos.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer and Emily were walking side by side in the city when Emily looked at Spencer.

"So Hotch is even more intense now that Gideon's gone," said Emily.

Spencer held his tongue as he thought about Hotch not revealing that he and Haley were in the process of getting a divorce and that he and Clarissa were keeping the divorce a secret.

"Yeah, I've noticed," said Spencer.

Emily stopped walking causing Spencer to stop walking.

"Do you think that's going to change?" asked Emily.

"I certainly think we'll find out," said Spencer.

Emily looked at Spencer and thought about all the losses he dealt with.

"What about you? You OK?" asked Emily.

"Oh, I'm-I'm great," said Spencer.

Emily gave Spencer a disbelieving look.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Emily.

"What's there to talk about, really?" asked Spencer.

"Gideon," said Emily.

"He left a letter explaining everything. He's still alive while my biological parents, aunt Ethel, and uncle Gordon are all dead. He promised me that he would stay in contact because he's Diana's godfather," said Spencer.

"He addressed it to you," said Emily.

"Yeah, yeah. You know, Gideon stood toe to toe with some of the sickest people on this planet. I think that took a lot of courage, right?" asked   
Spencer.

"Yeah," said Emily.

Spencer removed the letter from his pocket.

"So, why'd he do this? It's addressed to me, but I'm-I'm not- I'm not the only one that he abandoned," said Spencer as he shook his letter.

"But why is it addressed to you?" asked Emily.

Spencer stayed silent.

"I think you need to read that letter again," said Emily.

"I have an eidetic memory, Emily," said Spencer.

Emily scoffed.

"Ah, yeah, I know, and an IQ of 187, but what do you remember about your father and your uncle?" asked Emily.

"My dad wanted me to do normal activities while uncle Gordon encouraged me to engage in my interests until his death," said Spencer.

"Your father gave your four years until his death and your uncle gave you over 14 years before he died. I know that you dealt with a lot of loss in your life before Clarissa entered your life, but then Gideon leaves. I think you need to read that letter again, and ask yourself why, of all the people he walked away from, did he only explain himself to one person. You," said Emily before walking away.

A few seconds later Spencer was walking in step with Emily.

"Clarissa said the same thing to me," said Spencer.

Emily laughed.

"Then you married a really wise woman," said Emily.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Emily entered a laundromat.

"Morgan said this is the laundromat closest to Patrick Walker's apartment building," said Emily.

Spencer made a beeline for a snack machine and bought some pretzels just as Emily found a bulletin board.

"We have a bulletin board," said Emily.

"Snack machine," said Spencer as he opened a small bag of pretzels.

Emily rolled her eyes as she thought about some of Spencer's favorite snack foods being chips and pretzels and how they always kept pretzels on   
the jet for Spencer.

"Yeah, I don't think he's luring them with pretzels," said Emily.

Spencer popped a pretzel into his mouth as he read the board.

"Babysitter, buy a car…," said Spencer.

Emily noticed an advertisement for The Goodman Institute.

"Ooh, look at this baby," said Emily as she pulled down the advertisement, "Participate in a controlled research project and you'll receive 100 bucks   
to get over your anxieties," said Emily.

Spencer read the advertisement.

"You only have to attend two sessions?" asked Spencer.

"Two hours of your time, 100 bucks-easy sell," said Emily.

"Just one stub's taken," said Spencer just as Morgan approached them..

"Hey, well, Patrick Walker just joined a pretty sweet boxing gym, but that's about it. You guys find anything?" asked Morgan as he noticed Spencer   
snacking on pretzels.

Emily passed the advertisement to Morgan who read it.

"Well, I think we should go over to victim number 2's coffee shop, see if any of these are hanging around," said Morgan.

"If all of our victims saw these fliers, we just figured out how he casts his net," said Emily.

"Let's do it," said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer stood by a white board as he looked at the questionnaire that he taped to the board.

"Look at this, guys. He calls them phobias instead of anxiety disorders," said Spencer as he circled one of the questions.

Emily looked at the information that Garcia sent them.

"Yeah, this guy's either an amateur or he studied psychology in the eighties," said Emily.

"His phrasing of the questions are clinical. This guy's a professional," said Morgan.

"Well, he's able to pick the perfect victims. Are you close to your family? Easy making friends? Just answer yes and you're spared the torture," said Hotch.

"We figured out how he chooses his victims, but how does that get us his real name?" asked Agent Calvert.

"All right. Let's review. JJ, can you get Garcia?" asked Hotch.

JJ started to dial Garcia's number.

"I think the guy's a real psychiatrist," said Morgan.

"Also afraid of being alone, so he's most likely married," said Emily.

"May have adopted children," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Agent Calvert.

"Well, because the tortures lack a sexual component," said Spencer.

"Oh, right. He might be impotent," said Agent Calvert.

"Hey, guys," said Garcia through the phone.

"Also, he's desperate for a sense of community. He'd definitely have kids," said Spencer as he sat down.

"OK, I'm crossing Portland doctors with adoptions," said Garcia.

"And given the obsession to control his victims with torture, he might have been abused," said Hotch.

"OK, juvenile records are going to be sealed, so you gotta give me a minute," said Garcia.

"He uses antiquated terms like phobias, so he's most likely in his 40s," said Emily.

"And... The creep of the moment award goes to... One 43-year-old Dr. Stanley Howard, psychiatrist," said Garcia.

"This guy was killing his own patients?" asked Agent Calvert.

Hotch looked at Agent Calvert.

"No. Stan Howard's smarter than that. That's why he created Goodman and the research ruse," said Hotch.

"Married to Jane Howard, has one 8-year-old daughter Jessica. He started a center for abused kids," said Garcia.

"Probably because he could relate," said Hotch.

"One good deed's not fortifying his karma sufficiently. Looks like his practice shut down last year," said Garcia.

"Right about the time the killings started?" asked Hotch.

"He still has a lease on his old office building. City permits were pulled due to renovation, but what do you know? They've been delayed. Yikes! His   
bank records show a seriously depleted savings account," said Garcia.

"So he's keeping up appearances. Where's the building?" asked Hotch.

"427 Cedars Avenue," answered Garcia.

"It's not far from here," said Agent Calvert.

"All right. Let's go check the building," said Hotch before looking at JJ and Emily, "You two," said Hotch.

"Talk to the family. Got it," said Emily.

"Thanks, Garcia," said Hotch before hanging up.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan approached Agent Calvert as they entered the building.

"There are no tenants in this building. These must be fake names," said Agent Calvert.

"Helps with the ruse," said Hotch.

Morgan looked at the list of names.

"Goodman's on the fifth floor," said Morgan.

A few minutes later Spencer opened up the blinds in Dr. Stan Howard's office before he started to go through the desk.

"Missy Cassell was the last person to sign in," said Hotch.

"When was that?" asked Spencer.

"Hours ago. All right, let's split up. Calvert, you and Reid take the west side," said Hotch.

Spencer quickly followed Agent Calvert, and a few minutes later Spencer heard Morgan's voice in his earwig.

"Reid, it's Morgan. We got Howard. Call the fire department. He's going to the roof," said Morgan.

Spencer quickly grabbed the mic on his vest.

"Copy that," said Spencer before he quickly called the fire department before looking at Agent Calvert, "Howard's heading to the roof," said   
Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer hurried outside and his mouth opened in shock as he noticed Howard's dead body on the ground before forcing himself to focus on finding Missy.

"I went through all of his journals and I found Missy's," said Spencer.

"What did it say?" asked Hotch.

"That she was going on a cave-diving trip. She wasn't scared of the water, but she was terrified of the walls crumbling down on her?" asked Spencer.

"So what's she afraid of?" asked Agent Calvert.

Spencer thought about how he developed the fear of being buried alive after Hankel.

"Being buried alive," said Spencer.

Hotch crouched down a bit.

"Guys, look at the dirt under his nails," said Hotch.

Morgan looked.

"She's gotta be close, guys," said Morgan.

Hotch looked at Agent Calvert.

"Is there a basement in this building?" asked Hotch.

"Yes," said Agent Calvert.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A few minutes later Spencer was holding a flashlight while Hotch and Morgan dug Missy out of her grave, and a minute later Spencer was helping Hotch and Morgan pull Missy out before he sighed in relief when Missy started to cough.

"It's OK. It's all right. We're here to help. It's ok. It's ok. You're going to be all right. We're here to help you. You're going to be all right," soothed   
Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Morgan looked over where Spencer was sleeping peacefully before looking over at Hotch who was doing paperwork while keeping an eye on Spencer.

"I, um... can't sleep," said Morgan.

"Want me to turn off the light?" asked Hotch.

"No. I want to be able to sleep," said Morgan.

"What's the matter?" asked Hotch.

"What's the matter with you, Hotch? You're sitting here doing work when you'd normally take a break. Please don't tell me it's about Gideon leaving," said Morgan.

"You know, we made a deal a long time ago not to profile each other," said Hotch.

"Am I wrong? You know, Hotch, today was a huge, huge victory for all of us. I mean, I never thought I'd say this, but... We're doing just fine without Gideon. Hotch," said Morgan causing Hotch to look up, "What's keeping you up tonight?" asked Morgan.

"Haley and I are in the process of getting a divorce since we filed for legal separation in June," said Hotch.

"Do Reid and Clarissa know?" asked Morgan.

Hotch glanced over to where his brother-in-law was sleeping on the couch.

"They've known since the beginning since they were the ones to catch Haley cheating on me before they reported to me what they witnessed," said Hotch before taking a deep breath, "I'm glad that I found out about Haley cheating on me when I did because if I didn't, Haley and I would have been hurting each other until I caught her in the act myself," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer slipped into bed with his wife.

"Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm home, Clara," said Spencer.

"So did you decide to take that consultant position?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, and that consultant position can be a good distraction for me," said Spencer.

Clarissa playfully glared at her husband.

"I thought that I already do a good job distracting you with sex?" asked Clarissa.

"You do," said Spencer as he gave his wife a heated kiss while knowing that he was starting their celebration for his homecoming.


	16. Spencer Turns 26 & Children of the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bridget's two-months-old in this chapter, and this chapter contains scenes from Children of the Dark.

Clarissa looked at her husband as she passed him a small box.

"Happy early birthday, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer opened up the small box and his eyes went wide when he saw two season passes to watch the Washington Wizards play when they're in DC.

"Even though I know that you won't be able to go to every game, but I thought that we could go to games when you're in town," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled at his wife as he thought about how they bonded over their favorite sport being basketball.

"Thank you," said Spencer as he gave his wife a kiss.

As soon as she broke out of the kiss, Clarissa smiled at Diana.

"Maybe you can take Diana to at least one game since we've been teaching her about basketball," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled at his oldest daughter.

"I think I will just in case you want to play basketball in a couple of years," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband and oldest daughter.

"Since we're done eating breakfast, we might as well finish getting ready for church," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her parents as she thought about how Lucy and Bridget stayed home from church until Bridget turned eight-weeks-old so she could get baptized.

"Will Bridget come to church again?" asked Diana.

"Bridget's coming with us," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

Nearly two hours later Reverend Alden looked at his congregation before looking where he knew that the remaining members of the Reid family were sitting.

"Before everyone either leaves to get on with your Sunday with your families or join me in the fellowship hall for coffee, I want to wish our very own Dr. Spencer Reid an early happy birthday. Spencer's going to be turning 26-years-old on Tuesday," said Reverend Alden as he smiled at Spencer who was blushing while Clarissa who had Bridget in a baby sling across her chest smirked at her husband, "There will be cake in the fellowship hall so we can celebrate Spencer's birthday, so I hope that everyone decides to join us for cake," said Reverend Alden.

A few minutes later Spencer was scooping Diana up while he watched other children be reunited with their parents.

"Miss Sally said that there will be cake today," said Diana.

"That's because Reverend Alden decided that my birthday needed to be celebrated during fellowship hour," said Spencer.

"Cool," grinned Diana.

"If there are candles for me to blow out, are you wanting to help me blow them out?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," grinned Diana.

10 minutes later Spencer was blushing while Reverend Alden led the entire congregation into singing "Happy Birthday" to Spencer before Diana   
helped her daddy blow out the 26 candles that were on the cake.

xxxxxx

Later on that day after lunch; Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy were sitting in the living room eating popcorn as they watched "Son of the Mask" while Bridget peacefully slept in her bassinet.

xxxx

Two days later Spencer woke up to being given wet kisses by Diana and hearing Bridget coo and gurgle, and a few seconds later he had his glasses on causing him to smile at his two little girls before cradling Bridget against his chest.

"What's with the wake-up call, Diana?" asked Spencer.

"Happy birthday, daddy," grinned Diana.

"Thank you, Diana," said Spencer just as he smelled breakfast, "Here comes mommy with breakfast," said Spencer.

"I help mommy make pancakes," beamed Diana.

"Then I can't wait to see how they turned out," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Clarissa gave him a kiss.

"Happy birthday, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Thanks," said Spencer before looking at the tray that contained omelets, homemade shredded hash browns, and pancakes, "We should eat up our breakfast before I take you to preschool and head to work," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer was allowing Clarissa to feed him breakfast while he cuddled with his two little girls.

xxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer walked into the bullpen and groaned when he saw Garcia setting up some balloons around his desk with JJ, Emily, and Morgan.

"Guys," said Spencer.

Garcia quickly made a beeline to Spencer.

"Happy birthday, sweet cheeks," said Garcia as she gave Spencer a kiss on the cheek.

Spencer instantly blushed before he wiped lipstick off of his cheek before looking at his teammates.

"Clarissa and I already celebrated my birthday on Sunday after church, and this morning I was woken up by Diana and Bridget before being surprised with breakfast in bed," said Spencer.

"What did you do with Clarissa and the kids on Sunday?" asked Emily.

"How about I tell you guys at lunch," said Spencer.

"Deal," said Emily.

xxxxxxx

Later on that day during lunch, Spencer, Hotch, JJ, Emily, Morgan, and Garcia were eating pizza that they ordered in when Emily looked at Spencer.

"You promised to tell us about how your birthday was celebrated on Sunday before you, Clarissa, and the girls retired for the night," said Emily.

"After church, we went out for lunch before I cuddled on the couch with my girls as we watched movies. And for dinner, we ordered pizza while we continued our movie marathon until it was bath time for Diana and Bridget," said Spencer.

"What type of movies?" asked Garcia.

"We watched "Son of the Mask", "Are We There Yet", "Are We Done Yet", and "Firehouse Dog"," said Spencer.

"I thought that you wouldn't be into those types of movies," said Morgan.

"Clarissa and I try to go to the movies two or three times a month, and if we believe that Diana and now Bridget will enjoy the movie, we'll buy the DVD when it gets released," said Spencer before blushing a bit, "Clarissa insisted that we watch "Son of the Mask" and "Are We Done Yet" because watching those movies was her way to tell me that she wants to try for a boy," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled a bit at a thought about becoming an uncle again because of Diana and Bridget are some of the reasons why he's still able to smile despite his impending divorce.

"Should I expect the news about becoming an uncle again within the next couple of months?" asked Hotch.

Spencer blushed a bit.

"You probably should," said Spencer.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"So why are you wearing a suit today?" asked Garcia.

"Clarissa and I scheduled a professional family portrait for this evening, and Clarissa said that she planned a date night for us since we had cake on Sunday," said Spencer.

Garcia grinned as she thought about the trip to Victoria's Secret that she, JJ, and Emily dragged Clarissa on.

"Hopefully the shopping trip that Emily, JJ, and I took her on was worth it," said Garcia.

Spencer looked at his three female teammates with wide eyes as his face reddened causing Morgan to laugh and Hotch to smile when he noticed Clarissa with Bridget.

"Look who's here," said Hotch.

Spencer turned his head and his face broke into a huge grin when he saw Clarissa with Bridget.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Spencer as he got up from his chair.

"Someone wanted to be held by her daddy, so I got the OK from Aaron to come visit," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer had Bridget in his arms.

"Have you been missing me today?" asked a smiling Spencer as he gave his two-month-old daughter a kiss on the cheek.

Bridget gave her daddy a big smile.

"Where's my kiss?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer gave his wife a quick kiss.

"Hey," said Spencer.

"Hey yourself," said Clarissa before looking into her husband's eyes, "Are you having a good birthday so far?" asked Clarissa.

"So far being woken up by kisses from Diana before being surprised with breakfast in bed and you bringing Bridget by to visit me has been my favorite parts of the day so far," said Spencer.

"Don't forget the plans I made for us this evening," said Clarissa.

"I can't wait," said Spencer.

An impatient Garcia looked at Spencer.

"So are you going to pass Bridget around before Hotch forces us to get back to work?" asked Garcia.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law who was smiling at them.

"Uncle Aaron gets to hold his niece first," said Spencer as he passed his two-month-old to Hotch.

A few seconds later Hotch smiled at his niece.

"Hello there Bridget," said Hotch.

Bridget smiled at her uncle.

"Even though you have your daddy's eyes and curls, you really look like your mommy," said Hotch.

Bridget happily cooed at her uncle before an eager Garcia took Bridget.

xxxxxxxx

Five and a half hours later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana were all smiling for the camera while Bridget stared at the photographer as the photographer took a picture of the color-coordinated family. After being satisfied with the photo he took, the photographer then took a series of shots with Spencer with his daughters, Clarissa with her daughters, Diana and Bridget together, and a few pictures of Spencer and Clarissa together before Lucy took Diana and Bridget home while Spencer and Clarissa left to make their reservations.

xxxxxxx

A half-hour later Clarissa looked at her husband as they drank some sparking grape juice.

"Are you enjoying your birthday so far?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"Today has been a great day," said Spencer.

"Just so you know, Lucy's going to have Diana and Bridget stay in her cottage tonight," smiled Clarissa.

"Its nice of Lucy to insist on putting a bed and crib into her cottage for Diana and Bridget so we can have occasional child-free nights," said Spencer.

"I know," said Clarissa just as their waitress came over with their food.

"Enjoy your dinner," smiled the waitress.

xxxxxx

An hour and a half later Spencer and Clarissa were undressing each other before they fell into their bed while having a heated make-out session.

xxxxxxxxx

A week later Spencer smiled at his two-month-old daughter as he smoothed back his youngest daughter's growing hair.

"Even though you have my eyes and curls, you really look like your mommy," said Spencer.

Bridget cooed at her daddy.

"Are you trying to talk to me?" asked Spencer as he made a funny face at his youngest daughter.

Bridget smiled at her daddy as she kicked her little legs around.

xxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer was sitting at the roundtable.

"The Halbert family. They were murdered in their home last night in the Denver suburb of Cherry Creek. It's the third home invasion like this in the last month," said JJ.

Hotch instantly thought about Jack, Diana, and Bridget.

"They kill everyone," said Hotch.

"Parents, kids, pets if they have them. Always families, nice neighborhoods, said JJ.

"What do they take?" asked Morgan.

"Nothing they can't fit in their pockets... Cash, jewelry," said JJ.

"Hundreds of ways to get cash and jewels without killing entire families," said Hotch.

"That's why home invasions are so hard to profile... Multiple motives," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about the smiling faces of his daughters and Jack.

"National statistics show an uptick in home invasions over the last few years, 18% in Colorado," said Spencer.

"You know it's bad if they're inviting us back," said Hotch.

"Back?" asked JJ.

"Well, things went bad after the Jonbenet Ramsey case when a couple of agents publicly criticized local detectives," said Hotch.

"Well, they didn't need us to make them look bad," said Morgan.

"And that was in Boulder," said JJ.

"Yeah, but the statewide media ran with it, and it took on a life of its own," said Hotch.

"Well, I talked to a Lieutenant Nellis. Trust me. They want our help," said JJ.

Emily looked at the file that she was reading.

"They need it. The first two invasions were 20 days apart. This last one was just nine days later," said Emily.

"So they're killing in faster cycles, acquiring a taste," said Morgan.

"And getting better at it every time," said Hotch before he gave a departure time.

A few minutes later Spencer had Clarissa on the phone.

"You have a case?" asked Clarissa.

"Going to Denver, Colorado," said Spencer.

"Due to the home invasions that made national news?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Other than asking you to send me a lot of pictures of the girls, when I get home, I'm going to need the girls, Merton, and Daisy to sleep with us," said Spencer.

Clarissa laughed.

"I'll make sure that happens, Spence. Please catch that son of a bitch while staying safe," said Clarissa.

"I will," said Spencer.

"I love you, and I'll give the girls a kiss for you," said Clarissa.

"I'll give you a kiss when I get home, and I love you too," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer who was sitting between his brother-in-law and a window looked at his teammates.

"Home invasions typically involve the elderly and single females. The fact that entire families are being targeted suggests multiple unsubs," said Spencer.

"Could mean gang-related, revenge motive, personal business," said Morgan.

"I don't think any of these victims are running in gang circles," said JJ.

"Sewing circles, more like it. PTA moms, gray-flannel dads... These guys are killing the Cleavers," said Emily.

"Strange," murmured Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"The pattern?" asked Hotch.

"No, the Cleavers. Of all the names for a 1950s idyllic TV family, I mean, it's rife with violent implication. Kind of makes you wonder how the writers really felt about suburbia, huh?" asked Spencer causing a few chuckles.

"Focus, please," said Hotch.

"Uh, OK, what about, um, class-based uprising? Helter Skelter?" asked Emily.

"There's no graffiti, no messages, at least not visible ones. There's no rituals," said Morgan.

"Manson's aim was to start a race war. There's no proof of any hate crime here," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at the crime scene photos that were in his hands.

"The parent murders are brutal, messy. The instruments vary. Uh, golf club, kitchen knife, iron," said Hotch.

"Household implements, symbols of family," said Morgan.

"But the kids were different. They died by injection, pentobarbital," said JJ.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"It's a barbiturate sometimes used as an anticonvulsant for epileptics, anxiety disorders, and state executions," said Spencer.

"The invasions are well planned. Phone lines are cut. Ligature marks show the parents were bound and gagged," said Hotch.

"Look like these guys had some robbery experience," said Morgan.

"And then found their true calling," said Emily.

Spencer's personal phone vibrated, and a few seconds later Spencer smiled softly when he saw a picture of Bridget.

I ASKED BRIDGET IF I SHOULD TAKE HER PICTURE AND SEND IT TO YOU AND AARON, AND SHE RESPONDED WITH THE HUGE GRIN THAT SHE'S SHOWING IN THIS PICTURE. PLEASE STAY SAFE AND THE GIRLS AND I ALL LOVE YOU! ~ CR

A few seconds later Spencer nudged his brother-in-law who smiled at the picture of his niece.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was writing in his little black notebook as he listened to the Halbert family's neighbor Carol tell him what happened.

"I came by about 9:00 to return the Pyrex. No one answered when I rang the bell, but lights were on inside," said Carol.

Spencer turned his head to see a Pyrex pan on the porch before making eye contact with Carol.

"Did you happen to look in the windows?" asked Spencer.

"Not then, no. I had my cell phone. I was gonna call, but I... I couldn't get a signal, which was strange," said Carol.

"Why was that strange?" asked Spencer.

"You always get a signal here. There's a tower on the next block. Uh, I left the dish. This morning, it was still here... So I came over. Th-that's when I looked inside," said Carol.

Spencer stopped writing and looked at Carol.

"And you called the police on your cell," said Spencer.

"Yeah," said Carol.

xxxxx

"These guys don't lack confidence. Targeting entire families is a high-risk endeavor," said Hotch.

"It's possible they're minimizing that risk by jamming cell phones inside the house. No one can call out," said Spencer.

"High tech. That narrows the profile, right?" asked Lieutenant Nellis.

"Not really," said Spencer.

JJ looked at Lieutenant Nellis.

"Oh, you can buy a hand-held jammer online for what, 100 bucks?" asked JJ.

"I could use one of those next time I go to the movies," said Lieutenant Nellis.

Morgan chuckled just as his cell phone rang.

"Hey, girl. You're on speaker. Behave," warned Morgan.

"Or what, you'll spank me?" asked Garcia before realizing what she said.

Lieutenant Nellis noticed the mixed reactions from Spencer, Hotch, JJ, Morgan, and Emily before Garcia spoke again.

"So I've been searching the area for unsolved robberies. I found four with similar elements... Phone lines cut, small valuables only," said Garcia.

"Occupants tied up?" asked Morgan.

"Yes, but no homicides," said Garcia.

"OK. Thanks, dollface. I'll call you back," said Morgan before hanging up.

"Well, if this is our guys, something made them graduate to murder," said Hotch.

"If we can figure out what that trigger was, it might tell us how they choose their victims," said Emily.

"Well, that would help. I've been looking into victimology, and so far, there's really nothing to connect the families. Different political affiliations, different careers, different school systems. At this point, it simply appears the unsubs are targeting their victims at random," said Morgan.

A minute later Spencer's personal cell phone rang, causing the 26-year-old genius to smile a bit when he saw that it was Clarissa causing him to look at his brother-in-law who nodded at him before he walked away.

"Hey," said Spencer.

"Have some time to talk before bath time for the girls?" asked Clarissa.

"I have a few minutes, so please put me on speaker," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer smiled when he heard Diana's voice.

"Hi, daddy," said Diana.

"Hello there, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"I draw you a picture in preschool today," said Diana.

"Drew, bumble bee," corrected Spencer.

"Will you look at my picture when you come home?" asked Diana.

"How about you have mommy take a picture of the picture you drew for me and she can send it to me," said Spencer.

"OK," said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer smiled when he heard Bridget coo over the phone.

"Hello Bridget," said Spencer.

"Bridget smiled when she hear you talk, daddy," said Diana.

"You think that your baby sister misses me?" asked Spencer.

Diana giggled.

"Mommy, Bridget, and I all miss you, daddy," said Diana.

"I miss all three of my girls, but as soon as the dragons are slain, I'll be home," said Spencer.

"Can we go to the zoo when you come home?" asked Diana.

"We sure can, but daddy has to get back to work," said Spencer.

"Bridget and I love you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I love you, daddy," said Diana.

"I love you, three girls," said Spencer before hanging up.

xxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was standing next to his brother-in-law.

"We're looking for two men, probably white, given the neighborhoods that they hit, mid to late twenties, intelligent, and organized," started Hotch.

"These are career criminals. One or both has done hard time, but neither presents as a convict. They would appear clean-shaven, well dressed…," said Morgan.

"Neighborly. This helps them talk their way into the homes. They may also be using a ruse," said Emily.

"What kind of ruse?" asked Lieutenant Nellis.

"Given that the invasions have taken place in the evening, it could be anything. Could be door-to-door sales, person in distress, car trouble," said Hotch.

Spencer thought about his two-month-old daughter as he looked at the officers who came to listen to the profile.

"Uh, Derrick Todd Lee used a tape of a baby crying to get women to open their doors in Baton Rouge. Never underestimate their creativity," said Spencer.

"These men share a very tight bond and a mutual compulsion to kill, but their signatures reveal two very distinct personalities," said Emily.

"One brutalizes the parents. This is the dominant one... Sadistic, remorseless, extremely volatile," said Hotch.

"The other prefers a needle. His injections are consistent with an angel of death. He's more withdrawn, sensitive, and he has a warped sense of mercy," said Emily.

"Agent Morgan is passing out a list of places where he might have access to the drug he uses. It's long, but…," said Hotch just as JJ rushed into the room.

"Hotch. There's been another one, and they're sending an ambulance," said JJ.

"Ambulance?" asked Emily.

"There's a survivor?" asked Hotch.

JJ nodded.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was wearing his glasses and reading a file when Hotch looked at his teammates and Lieutenant Nellis.

"Witness says these unsubs are using cats. We should find out where they might be getting them," said Hotch.

Spencer sighed sadly at the thought of innocent cats getting killed as he thought about his nearly five-year-old cat.

"There's plenty of strays out there. Nobody would notice if a few went missing," said Morgan.

Emily walked over with a cup of coffee for herself.

"Or they could work someplace where they had access to animals," said Emily.

"Could overlap with the pentobarbital... Research labs, veterinary hospitals," said Spencer.

"I'll get Garcia to make up a list," said Morgan.

"Carrie said that they referred to each other as brothers," said JJ.

"It's not uncommon for duos to be related. The Hillside Stranglers were cousins. The Carr brothers perpetrated the Wichita massacre," said Spencer.

"Yeah, but these two are of different races, and Carrie said the Hispanic one did not speak Spanish, which makes me think…," said Emily.

"Raised in a white household. Maybe they're half-brothers," said Hotch.

Spencer thought about his own adoption.

"What if they're adopted? Family destruction plays a role in the crimes. It could be a reflection of their own broken home," said Spencer.

"This guy expressed affection for Carrie. We know he took her photograph. We could use that," said Hotch.

Spencer understood what his brother-in-law was doing.

"If we release news of her survival, it might draw him out," said Spencer.

Hotch noticed a look on Emily's face.

"Not comfortable with that?" asked Hotch.

"OK, but I would be more comfortable if we doubled her security," said Emily.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer pointed a pen at a crime scene photo.

"This is the Laybourne house, where we believe our unsubs graduated from robbery to murder," said Spencer.

"Did you find a trigger?" asked Morgan.

"Not until I looked at the daughter's autopsy reports. Uh, check out the bruises on her torso," said Spencer as he pointed at the picture.

"She was beaten?" asked Hotch.

"But not by our unsubs. The coroner noted those bruises were several days old. Uh, it turns out she'd been to the emergency room three times in less than two years. The DS had even been notified," said Spencer.

Hotch noticed the anger flashing in his brother-in-law's eyes.

"So the Laybournes were abusing their daughter. Where's this going?" asked Hotch.

"One of the unsubs decimates parental figures, but we know the statistics there. It's... It's likely he was abused himself," said Spencer.

"So you're saying the unsub recognized the signs of abuse, flew into a rage, and killed the parents?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Anger displacement. He's getting revenge for his own childhood abuse," said Spencer.

"So you think what, the victims were beating their kids?" asked Lieutenant Nellis.

"Uh, the Laybourne case was just the trigger, but now they see all parents the same," said Spencer.

"That doesn't explain the kids," said Lieutenant Nellis.

"Maybe it does. Think of the family annihilators John List and Mark Barton. They thought they were saving their kids by killin' 'em," said Morgan.

"But what is he saving them from?" asked Lieutenant Nellis.

"Life without their parents, without love, life like his," said Morgan.

"They're orphans. What if they both grew up in a third-party household?" asked Spencer.

"What, like a foster home?" asked Lieutenant Nellis.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Didn't Carrie describe an aversion to eye contact?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Oppositional defiant disorder," said Spencer.

"Often seen in kids who grew up in foster homes," said Hotch.

At that moment Emily approached them.

"Guys, I think we may have found our girl's secret admirer," said Emily.

"Garcia traced the flowers?" asked Morgan.

"Yep. Paid for by phone with a credit card under the name Robert Serrano," said Emily.

"Let's go," said Hotch.

xxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer got out of the SUV just as his cell phone rang causing him to see that its Clarissa.

"Its Clarissa," said Spencer.

"Go ahead and answer it, and you can just wait out here," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded as he answered his phone.

"Hey," said Spencer before hearing crying in the background.

"Bridget won't stop crying, and wearing one of your shirts or playing a recording you made isn't helping. So I'm guessing that she wants to hear your voice that isn't from a recording," said Clarissa.

"Please put her on then," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Clarissa spoke up.

"Your on speaker," said Clarissa.

"Hello Bridget," said Spencer.

Bridget instantly stopped crying causing Spencer to softly chuckle.

"Are you missing daddy right now?" asked Spencer.

Bridget instantly cooed causing Clarissa to laugh.

"I miss you too, Bridget. Hopefully, I'll be home soon because I miss you, your mommy, and your big sister," said Spencer just as he heard a door and Diana's voice.

"Hi mommy," said Diana.

"How was preschool, sweet pea?" asked Clarissa.

"I had fun, but can we call daddy?" asked Diana.

"I'm on the phone with daddy right now, so how about you say hi to daddy before we let him get back to work," said Clarissa as she took her cell phone off speaker.

"Hi daddy," said Diana.

"Have you been a good girl at preschool, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"Sammy got a time out for giving me a kiss again, and Mrs. Lee ended up telling us about cold and flu season as a way to tell Sammy to stop kissing all the girls," said Diana.

Spencer laughed.

"Mrs. Lee is right about it being cold and flu season. So that's why you, mommy, and I went to the doctor for our flu shots while we focus on washing our hands really good, practice good hygiene, while we work on keeping the house clean because we need to keep Bridget safe since she's too young to get a flu shot," said Spencer.

"When will Bridget get a flu shot?" asked Diana.

"Not until she's six months old, but she might have to wait until next fall," said Spencer just as he noticed Hotch and Emily, "Daddy has to get back to work, but I'll try to talk to you before bedtime," said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy," said Diana.

"I love you too," said Spencer before Diana hung up.

A few seconds later Hotch and Emily approached him.

"Supervisor left a message for Ervin to come in right away. Work emergency," said Hotch.

Spencer started walking with Hotch and Emily.

"He also said a man stopped by yesterday, got into a heated argument with Ervin," said Emily.

"The description sounded a lot like the one Carrie gave," said Hotch.

"The partner... Did he say what they were fighting about?" asked Spencer.

"He couldn't hear it," said Emily.

"We need a name on this guy," said Hotch.

"Well, until we find Ervin, there's only one person that can tell us that," said Spencer.

"The foster mom," said Emily.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer got out of the front seat of the SUV when Mrs. Manwaring stepped out of her house.

"What is all this?" asked Mrs. Manwaring.

"We have reason to believe that Gary may be on his way here to hurt you," said Hotch.

"Me? I don't understand!" exclaimed Mrs. Manwaring.

Spencer stepped onto the porch.

"These murders are rehearsals of what he wants to do to you," said Spencer.

"'Cause of what you did to him in this house," said Hotch.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" exclaimed Mrs. Manwaring.

"Ma'am, we don't have time to debate this. The fact is, you and your husband are in danger," said Hotch.

"I... I have to pick up the children at school," said Mrs. Manwaring.

"We'll send someone to pick them up. The only way we can protect you is if you go back inside," said Hotch.

Mrs. Manwaring looked at Spencer who raised his eyebrows at her before she headed inside.

xxxxxxxxx

As soon as Spencer got into the front passenger seat of Lieutenant Nellis's car, his personal cell phone vibrated causing him to smile softly at a picture of Diana giving Bridget her bottle.

"Even though we're dealing with two missing children right now, what's causing you to smile?" asked Lieutenant Nellis.

"My wife just sent me a picture of my daughters," said Spencer.

Lieutenant Nellis looked at the picture and smiled a bit.

"They're beautiful, and how old are they?" asked Lieutenant Nellis.

"Diana will be four in December while Bridget just turned two-months-old on the seventh," said Spencer.

"Having a two-month-old is definitely a good reason why your unit chief sent you to the hotel a bit earlier than the rest of your team during your first day in this city," said Lieutenant Nellis.

"Luckily Bridget is starting to sleep more during the night, but every night I'm home, she'll wake up the entire house because of wanting attention from me for an hour," said Spencer.

"Daddy's girl?" asked Lieutenant Nellis.

"She's an extreme daddy's girl, and Diana also has me wrapped around her finger," said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Even though I enjoy making this country a safer place for my daughters, I really enjoy the reunion I have with my girls after being away from home for a couple of days," said Spencer just as the radio came on.

A few minutes later Spencer got Hotch on the phone as he kept an eye on Tyler and Sara.

"Reid, what?" asked Hotch.

"We got him. He's at a donut shop two miles from the school. Black and whites saw the car, called it in," said Spencer.

"Kids?" asked Hotch.

Spencer used his binoculars to get a visual of the kids and Gary.

"Ah, we got a visual on Gary and the boy, but I don't see the girl," said Spencer just as there was a knock on his open window causing Spencer to see Sara.

"Are you the police?" asked Sara.

"Yeah," said Spencer as he rolled down his window.

"He told me to give this to you," said Sara as she passed Spencer the note.

Spencer and Lieutenant Nellis quickly read the note.

"We might have a problem, Hotch," said Spencer seriously.

"I'll be right there," said Hotch before hanging up.

A few seconds later Spencer had Sara sitting in the backseat of a police car.

"What do you say about me doing some magic tricks before my friends arrive?" asked Spencer.

"Really?" asked Sara.

"My three-year-old daughter loves my magic tricks, and I can't wait to hear my two-month-old daughter laugh when I do magic tricks," said 

Spencer as he pulled a quarter out from behind Sara's ear.

"How did that quarter get there?" asked Sara.

Spencer winked at Sara.

"A magician never reveals his secrets," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

10 minutes later Spencer was wearing his Kevlar vest when Hotch who was strapping on his vest approached him and Lieutenant Nellis.

"Guys, guys, fall back, I don't want them feeling boxed in," said Hotch.

"I got sharpshooters lining up," said Lieutenant Nellis.

Spencer passed his brother-in-law the note that Sara gave him.

"Tell them to keep their safeties on. I want to talk to him first," said Hotch before he took the binoculars from Spencer.

A few seconds later JJ looked at Hotch.

"Hotch?" asked JJ.

"Yeah?" asked Hotch.

JJ held up a phone.

"Got the clerk," said JJ.

Hotch passed Spencer the binoculars as he took the phone from JJ.

"That guy sitting at the table with the little boy, I'd like to speak to him, please," said Hotch.

Spencer watched what was going on in the donut shop as he listened to Hotch negotiate with Gary. And a few minutes later Morgan and Emily were taking Tyler out of the donut shop before Hotch rested a hand on Spencer's shoulder and motioned him to come with him as SWAT arrested Gary.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer paid for the donuts that he bought for JJ and himself before sitting down across from JJ, and as he was about to eat his donut he listened to the clerk.

"I didn't know anything was up until he, uh, came and got the phone. That's when I saw the piece. Then I handed him the phone," said the clerk.

Spencer quickly set down his donut and made his way to the clerk and an officer.

"Excuse me, did you say piece?" asked Spencer.

"Uh, yeah, revolver of some sort. He had it stuck in his pants," said the clerk.

Spencer looked at the officer who was taking the clerk's statement.

"Did you clear a gun?" asked Spencer.

"No," said the officer.

Spencer quickly headed to the window and called his brother-in-law.

"Yeah, Reid?" asked Hotch.

"Hotch, the clerk said Gary had a gun, but we didn't recover anything here," said Spencer.

"You sure?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah," said Spencer.

"I saw Nellis turn him inside out. He had nothing on him," said Hotch.

Spencer looked around the shop.

"I guess it's probably here somewhere. A gun doesn't just walk away," said Spencer just before Hotch hung up, "Hotch?" asked Spencer before hanging up and looked at his phone.

xxxxxxxx

15 minutes later Spencer was wiping his hands as his cell phone rang, and after listening to Hotch, Spencer looked at JJ.

"Gary gave Tyler a revolver to shoot his foster parents, but luckily no one got hurt," said Spencer.

"Thank God," sighed JJ.

"I just hope that those kids are removed from that home," said Spencer.

"Me too, Spence," said JJ before looking at Spencer, "Diana and Bridget are lucky to have a father like you," said JJ.

"I feel like the luckiest man in the world when it comes to having a wife like Clarissa and daughters like Diana and Bridget," smiled Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer led Morgan, Emily, and JJ onto the jet before taking a seat near his brother-in-law.

"Tell me they restocked the bar," said Morgan.

"I called ahead," said JJ.

Spencer looked over where his brother-in-law was on the phone.

"Do you... Do you mind waking him up? I just... I just want to hear his voice," said Hotch before listening to Haley, "Thanks," said Hotch.

A few seconds later Spencer had Clarissa on the phone.

"Are you on your way home?" asked Clarissa.

"We're taking off in a few minutes, but I want to talk to Diana," said Spencer.

"I'll wake her up," said Clarissa.

A minute later Spencer smiled when he heard Diana's voice.

"Hello?" asked a groggy Diana.

"I'm currently on my way home, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"Really, daddy?" asked an excited Diana.

Spencer slightly chuckled at the possibility of his oldest daughter grinning.

"Yes, so you'll be joining mommy and me in bed," said Spencer.

"Bridget too?" asked Diana.

"Bridget too, but go back to sleep because it's going to be a few hours," said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy," said Diana.

"I love you too, bumble bee," said Spencer before hanging up.

10 minutes later Spencer was sitting across from his brother-in-law and gently pushed a cup of tea over to Hotch before taking a sip of his own cup of tea.

"Diana is hoping that you come over for dinner tomorrow and Bridget will definitely love to have her uncle Aaron hold her," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled at the mention of his nieces.

"I just can't believe that Diana's going to be four in December and that Bridget's already two-months-old," said Hotch.

"I'm sad at the thought about how fast my daughters are growing," said Spencer.

"I just can't believe that Jack will be two on the 28th," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled at the mention of his nephew.

"Me too," sighed Spencer before grinning, "I can't wait to see him smile when he opens up his presents from Clarissa, the girls, and me," said Spencer.

"I hope that you and Clarissa haven't gone overboard on presents," said Hotch.

"With how much you spoil my daughters, Clarissa and I are glad to return the favor," smirked Spencer before he decided to get started on his post case report.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was taking a quick shower before he joined his sleeping wife and daughters in bed.


	17. Seven Seconds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention this, but Diana got diagnosed with asthma when was 16-months old. Her asthma attacks are more frequent at night (Three times a week) while having at least two asthma attacks during the day every week. But otherwise Diana is a happy and healthy preschooler while not letting her asthma stop her.
> 
> Rossi will be in the next chapter! And here's a heads up that you readers will be learning more about Lucy in the next chapter.

Spencer and Clarissa both woke up at the same time to hear Diana coughing and wheezing through the baby monitor that was still in Diana's room.

"Diana must be having an asthma attack," said Spencer as he climbed out of bed just as Bridget started crying through the other baby monitor.

"You assist Diana while I check on Bridget?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Spencer.

15 seconds later Spencer was helping Diana use her inhaler as he rubbed his oldest daughter's back for the next five minutes.

"You'll be feeling better in a few minutes, sweetheart" soothed Spencer.

"OK, daddy," cried Diana as she tried to control her breathing.

Spencer coached his oldest daughter with her breathing just as Clarissa entered the bedroom.

"Is she OK now?" asked Clarissa.

Diana instantly started wheezing again causing Spencer to help Diana use her inhaler again.

"What did Bridget need?" asked Spencer.

"A diaper change," said Clarissa before looking over Diana as looked at her daughter's complexion while being thankful that the color of Diana's face told her that no emergency room was needed, "How are you feeling, sweet pea?" asked Clarissa.

"I can breathe a bit better," said Diana before looking at her parents, "Will I have to go to the hospital?" asked Diana.

"I don't think that you'll need to go, but I'll warn Mrs. Lee to make sure that you take it easy at preschool tomorrow," said Clarissa.

"OK, mommy," said Diana.

"I take it that you want to join daddy and me in bed?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Diana.

A few minutes later Diana was fast asleep between her parents in bed when Spencer looked at Clarissa.

"Let's get some sleep since Bridget will be waking us up in a few hours," said Spencer.

"Night Spence," said Clarissa.

"Night Clara," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer and Clarissa were fast asleep as they cuddled with Diana.

xxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer looked at Clarissa who was already dressed in her work out clothes.

"Are you ready to return to work on November 5th?" asked Spencer as he pulled on one of his sweatshirts.

Clarissa sighed sadly as she worked on pulling her hair into a ponytail.

"As much as I enjoyed being a stay at home mom for the past 11 weeks so I can recover from Bridget's birth and bond with Bridget, I'm excited about returning to work since my colleagues have missed me," said Clarissa.

"It was hard to return to work after Bridget's birth, but it does get easier from being away from our daughters," said Spencer as he put on a reflective vest over his sweatshirt.

Clarissa quickly put on her own reflective vest before looking at her husband.

"Ready for one of our last morning runs before it gets too cold to run in the morning?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am," said Spencer.

"I'm eager to lose all the weight that I gained while I was pregnant with Bridget," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"Even though you gave birth to our second daughter 11 weeks ago, I have to confess to you that your more beautiful than ever," said Spencer firmly.

Clarissa gave her husband a quick kiss.

"With you calling me beautiful every day, that's one of the many reasons why I love you," said Clarissa.

"I love you too," said Spencer.

Two minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were running side by side as they enjoyed the early fall morning breeze hit their faces.

xxxxxxx

Spencer and Clarissa who were both covered in sweat entered the kitchen and smiled when they saw Lucy at the stove making breakfast while Diana munched on some grapefruit and a wide awake Bridget watching her big sister eat from her baby seat.

"What's for breakfast," asked Spencer as he grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge.

"Breakfast tacos," said Lucy.

Spencer grinned before he took a sip of water.

"How much longer until they're done?" asked Spencer.

"20 minutes, and I'm also making shredded hash browns and pancakes," said Lucy.

Diana sniffed the air before looking at her parents.

"You two are stinky," said Diana.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Let's go take a shower," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were getting into the shower together.

xxxxxxx

Over an hour and a half later, Spencer reached into his messenger bag and smiled when he pulled out a few framed photos causing Emily to look at him.

"What's that?" asked Emily.

"Clarissa picked up the photos that were taken on my birthday last night," said Spencer.

"Please let me see before you show Hotch," said Emily.

10 seconds later Emily smiled at the picture of Spencer, Clarissa, Diana and Bridget who were all smiling for the camera.

"That's a really great picture," said Emily.

"There's more," said Spencer as he showed Emily the picture of him with his daughters.

Emily smiled at the picture of Spencer sitting pretzel legged on the floor with a wide awake Bridget sitting on his lap while Diana stood by her father as she gave her daddy a kiss on the cheek.

"Now that's adorable," said Emily.

"Its one of my favorites," said Spencer.

Emily then looked at a picture of Diana and Bridget together.

"Aww," said Emily before looking at a picture of Clarissa with the girls, "That's a great one," said Emily.

"I know, and here's my absolute favorite picture of Clarissa and me together," said Spencer.

Emily then saw a photo of a laughing Spencer who had a laughing Clarissa on his back causing her to laugh.

"You two look happy in that picture," said Emily.

"When Clarissa jumped onto my back, the photographer took that photo without us even knowing," smiled Spencer.

"There are photographers who knows when to take a photograph at the last minute," said Emily.

"I know, and I can't believe that I'll be celebrating my five year wedding anniversary next month," said Spencer.

"Have you started gift shopping yet?" asked Emily.

Spencer slightly smirked.

"I'm already making my gift to Clarissa," said Spencer as he showed Emily the picture of the porch swing that he was in the process of making, "Clarissa has been talking about having me build a porch swing, so I'm in the process of making one," said Spencer.

Emily smiled as thought about Diana's swing set, the book shelves that weren't built into the walls, and the single shelves that held souvenirs from trips and pictures.

"Its amazing that your good at wood working," said Emily.

xxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer rushed into the mall with his teammates as he thought about his daughters being safe at home with Clarissa and Lucy when his brother-in-law looked at Agent Jim Franklin.

"Jim," said Hotch.

"We've been in lock down for almost 20 minutes. My team's already in motion," said Agent Franklin as walkie talkies were passed around.  
Spencer clipped a walkie talkie to his belt while Emily looked at Agent Franklin.

"Another female, same age, same time of day, taken from essentially the same location," said Emily.

Morgan looked at Agent Franklin.

"What makes you sure Katie Jacobs is still in the building?" asked Morgan.

"The mall's got cameras installed at every entrance and exit. Surveillance video confirms Katie entering the building, but no sign of her leaving. Security paged her over the intercom, and their initial sweep came up empty," said Agent Franklin.

Spencer held his composure as he thought about the little girl that was killed a week prior.

"Whoever killed Jessica Davis last week left that mall with her because he wanted time with his victim in privacy," said Spencer.

"Assuming it's the same offender, he wouldn't stray from his MO he wouldn't leave here without his victim," said Hotch.

"So if Katie's still under this roof, so is her abductor," said JJ.

Hotch decided to give assignments.

"Garcia, report to the mall's security office. Reid, Morgan, I want you to find the head of security. We need all data from every search team. You guys start with Katie's parents. We'll treat the mall like a neighborhood, And we'll separate into areas of control. Come on," said Hotch.

Jim looked at Spencer.

"Before you leave with Agent Morgan, congratulations on your second daughter, Dr. Reid," said Jim.

"Thank you," said Spencer before he followed Morgan.

xxxxxxx

Marie laid down the schematics of the mall as she looked at Spencer and Morgan.

"117 stores, uh, 69 storage closets, 73 dressing rooms, six men's rooms, six ladies' rooms, exits to the rooftop via the north and south stairwells, six restaurants, each with separate kitchen, and four elevators," said Marie.

"Every team's gonna need a copy of this," said Morgan.

"OK," said Marie.

A few seconds later Spencer was running a hand over the map memorizing the details.

"Well, aside from the stairwells, storage closets, and hundreds of shops, there's a whole underbelly beneath our feet subterranean level, air ducts,   
boiler rooms," said Morgan.

Marie looked at Spencer and Morgan.

"Realistically, it'll take at least... three hours to cover this place," said Marie.

"Realistically, we have less than half that time," said Morgan.

"How do you figure?" asked Marie.

Spencer took a deep breath before looking at Marie.

"99% of abducted children who are killed die within the first 24 hours, 75% within the first three hours, And what only law enforcement knows is Jessica Davis joined the 44% of children who are abducted and killed within the first hour," said Spencer just as Morgan's cell phone rang.

"Yeah. What you got?" asked Morgan before he listened to Garcia before looking at Spencer, "Please stay with Marie," said Morgan.

As soon as Morgan walked away, Marie looked at Spencer and noticed his wedding band.

"You have kids?" asked Marie.

"I have two daughters under the age of four, and luckily Diana and Bridget are safe at home with their mother and live-in nanny," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

Spencer led Marie to the arcade.

"So she and her cousin came in here about 30 minutes ago, and that was the last time anyone saw Katie?" asked Spencer.

"That's right," said Marie.

Spencer placed his hands into his pocket.

"10 minutes after the assault is generally the molester's lowest point of self-esteem," said Spencer.

"He could be panicking right about now, realizing he's got a witness," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about Diana's and Bridget's smiles as he prepared himself to talk about another little girl.

"Richard Allen Davis strangled Polly Klaas just to prevent her from identifying him," said Spencer.

"A single abduction like this would normally be classified as a snatch-and-grab, but with the Jessica Davis abduction, It's more likely we're dealing   
with a preferential offender," said Morgan.

"Whose victims fall into a particular type. He came to this mall knowing what he was looking for, because he feels safe here, familiar with his surroundings," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer sat across from Jeremy who was fiddling with his hands.

"Jeremy, we asked your mom and dad if we could talk privately. Thought it might be easier that way," said Spencer gently.

Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"'Cause my dad thinks this is my fault," said Jeremy.

Spencer thought about the emotional reunion he had with his team, Clarissa, and Diana after Hankel and how Diana cried when he left for his first day back to work after Hankel.

"No. Jeremy, your dad is just super upset right now, because times like this, people get really emotional," said Spencer.

Morgan crouched down a bit.

"Hey, kid..," said Morgan as he waited for Jeremy to give him eye contact, "The moments right before a kidnapping like this are the most important. You gotta understand you're the only one who can help us with that," said Morgan firmly.

"But-but I can't remember," said Jeremy.

Spencer leaned forward a bit.

"Jeremy, all we need is the last thing Katie did or said before you realized she was gone," said Spencer gently.

Jeremy started breathing heavily as he stood up and clutched his hands to his chest causing Morgan to become alert.

"Jeremy. What is it. Talk to me," said Morgan.

"I can't breathe," choked Jeremy.

Spencer instantly recognized the symptoms of a panic attack.

"Uh, y-you're having a panic attack. Sit down," ordered Spencer.

Morgan quickly helped Jeremy sit down.

"Jeremy, sit down. Sit down," said Morgan before he helped Jeremy put his heads between his knees, "Want you to put your head between your knees. Put your head between your knees. That's right. Just breathe. Just breathe," coached Morgan before he exchanged glances with Spencer and noticed the concerned look in Spencer's eyes.

"As soon as Jeremy's out of this panic attack, we should take him back to his parents," said Spencer.

"How can you stay calm while your a father to two little girls?" asked Morgan.

Spencer shook his head.

"The times that Diana has wandered away from either Clarissa, Lucy, and me always freaked us out, but I know that its important to stay calm right now," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

Spencer stood by Morgan and Emily as Beth's voice sounded over the intercom.

"My name is Beth Jacobs. 45 minutes ago, our daughter Katie went missing. She's only six years old. Last month, she started first grade. Katie is our only child, and we love her very much. We just want her back safe. The other day... Katie told me that she was ready to ride... A big girl's bike... Without training wheels..." said Beth through the intercom as she broke down a bit, "And I promised her that she could do that on her birthday. Please, whoever you are... I hope you're listening. We just want our daughter back to us safely. Katie is just a little girl. She's just a little girl who deserves another birthday," said Beth.

A few seconds later Emily looked at Spencer.

"Are you OK?" asked Emily.

"I'm sad at the fact that Diana will be four in less than two months and pretty soon she'll be asking to ride her bike without training wheels," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Morgan stood in the arcade with Jeremy causing Spencer to smile at the memory of how he and Clarissa enjoy playing arcade games while they were dating.

"So what are you youngsters playing these days?" asked Morgan.

"I like… DOA," said Jeremy.

"DOA? As in "Dead on Arrival"?" asked Morgan.

Spencer smiled slightly.

"It's "Dead or Alive."" corrected Spencer.

Morgan shook his head.

"What do you like so much about it, Jeremy?" asked Morgan.

"The close combat. It's all about timing, how well you know your enemies. Plus I'm really good at it," said Jeremy.

"Yeah, I bet you are, kid. So, uh, what was the first game that you walked to when you came in here earlier?" asked Morgan.

A few minutes later Morgan looked at Jeremy as they stood in front of the game that Jeremy was playing before his cousin went missing.

"I'm gonna ask you to close your eyes for a minute, all right?" asked Morgan as Jeremy closed his eyes, "I want you to go back to when you first walked in the arcade a little earlier. Can you remember that?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah," said Jeremy.

"You're doin' great, my man. OK, in your mind, I want you to try and picture what it sounded like her picture what it smelled like. Was it crowded?" asked Morgan.

"It was loud," said Jeremy.

"Were the people loud, or were the sound effects loud?" asked Spencer.

"Both. Some kid was yelling at his game," said Jeremy as he flashed back to his time in the arcade.

A minute later Spencer noticed a distressed look on Jeremy's face.

"What's making you so uncomfortable, Jeremy?" asked Spencer.

"Katie was clutching her ears while crying," said Jeremy.

"What was she crying about?" asked Spencer.

"I don't remember. I- I couldn't hear," stuttered Jeremy.

"OK. Jeremy, go back to the video game," said Morgan.

"I was winning," said Jeremy.

"And how did that make you feel?" asked Morgan.

"Awesome, proud of myself, kind of embarrassed," said Jeremy.

"Embarrassed? How?" asked Morgan.

"Like people were watching me," said Jeremy.

"Why were you self-conscious who was watching you?" asked Morgan.

"I could smell her shampoo," said Jeremy.

"Katie's?" asked Morgan.

"No," said Jeremy as he ended up repeating the conversation.

"So Katie was asking for ice cream?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah," said Jeremy as he bit his inner cheek.

Spencer noticed Jeremy biting his inner cheek.

"Was there something else?" asked Spencer.

Jeremy slightly hesitated.

"No," said Jeremy.

"You did good, kid," said Morgan.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer looked at Morgan as they headed to Katie's house.

"Two nights ago Clarissa and I woke up to Diana having an asthma attack over the baby monitor," said Spencer.

"Even though Diana isn't even four yet, you and Clarissa still have a baby monitor in her room?" asked Morgan.

"Diana's pulmonologist suggested that Clarissa and I keep a baby monitor in Diana's room until she's at least seven years old and can manage her inhaler without any help," said Spencer right as Morgan pulled over.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer examined the fireplace as he thought about how he and Clarissa were starting fires more often as they cuddled on the couch to watch movies.

"Somebody lit a fire last night," said Spencer before he headed over to the DVD player.

"Well, there's dirty dishes for three in the kitchen, so they eat together as a family," said Morgan.

Spencer smiled a bit when he recognized the DVD that was in the DVD player.

"Hey, my favorite movie from when I was a kid," said Spencer as he held up a "Babar" DVD and passed it to Morgan.

Morgan slightly chuckled as he thought about seeing Diana tug around a stuffed Babar or wear clothing that had Babar on it.

"So they watch movies together, too," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about how his family were similar to the Jacobs as he and Morgan both picked up framed photos.

"By a fireplace in a house that's in a cookie-cutter neighborhood. Norman Rockwell couldn't have painted this any cozier," said Spencer.

"That's what worries me," said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer checked Katie's mattress causing him to see the similar stains that were on Diana's mattress when it came to Diana not getting out of bed fast enough to use the bathroom during the middle of the night.

"Katie's been wetting her bed," said Spencer.

"A lot of six-year-olds do. Could be bad dreams," said Morgan.

"Some kids won't get up at night, 'cause they're afraid of the dark," said Spencer.

A sighing Morgan pulled out a destroyed Barbie doll out of Katie's toy bin and showed it to Spencer.

"Or it could be a lot more complex than that," s aid Morgan.

"Most girls covet their dolls like an extension of themselves," said Spencer.

"Reid, I know these signs- acting out on her toys, wetting the bed. She's obviously covering up something about that necklace," said Morgan.

Spencer instantly flashed back to the last question that he asked Jeremy.

"And her cousin might be holding something back," said Spencer..

"Katie's in a lot of pain and not telling anybody, and I think I know why," said Morgan as he called Hotch causing Spencer to listen to Morgan's side of the conversation before he looked at Spencer, "We need to head back and bring this doll with us," said Morgan.

A few minutes later Spencer was climbing into the front seat of the SUV when Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Since Diana is fully potty trained, has she wet the bed at night?" asked Morgan.

"Diana stopped wearing pull-ups to bed three months ago, but other than either Clarissa or I waking Diana up every couple of hours to use the   
bathroom, there has been a few times that Diana has wet the bed," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

Spencer entered the room that Jeremy was being held in, and as soon as he sat down across from Jeremy, Jeremy looked up at him.

"What's going on? Did you find Katie?" asked Jeremy.

"Jeremy, how old are you?" asked Spencer.

"13," answered Jeremy.

Spencer instantly thought about attending Yale when he was 13-years old and how hard it was for him to talk to girls until he met Clarissa.

"13 wow. You know, when I was 13, I was starting to notice girls, too. I was curious, but, uh-heh. I was-I was, like, really awkward, so it was super hard for me to talk to them, and I, uh- I found that incredibly frustrating," said Spencer.

Jeremy noticed Spencer's wedding band that had some dings and nicks on them.

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Jeremy.

Spencer thought about how Clarissa's hair always smells like peaches.

"'Cause I think I understand you. You're, uh- you're in the arcade. Pretty girl walks in, and, uh... You get distracted by the-the scent of her hair, right?" asked Spencer as he noticed Jeremy biting his inner cheek.

"I guess. So what?" asked Jeremy.

Spencer chuckled.

"So you're becoming a man. It's heh. Believe it or not, it happens to all of us. There's nothing wrong with that at all," said Spencer.

"Never said there was," said Jeremy.

Spencer leaned forward a bit.

"And these video games that you play, these cool video games allow you to, to explore your violent side. Right?" asked Spencer as he watched Jeremy shift in his chair, "So, I mean, clearly you're intrigued. My only question is whether or not you acted on these curiosities, you've experimented yet," said Spencer as he noticed Jeremy bite his inner cheek again.

"Shouldn't you be looking for my cousin right now?" asked Jeremy.

Spencer stared at Jeremy.

"I am looking for your cousin right now," said Spencer.

"Why are you asking me these questions?" asked Jeremy.

"Why are you avoiding them?" shot back Spencer before smirking slightly, "Your playing the same game that my nearly four-year-old daughter plays with my wife and me when she's trying to avoid getting out of trouble when she knows that she did something wrong," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

"Hey, Jeremy, do you know what I do for the FBI?" asked Spencer.

Jeremy shook his head.

"No," answered Jeremy softly.

"My oldest daughter knows that I study human behavior," said Spencer.

Jeremy pushed his chair back away from Spencer a bit.

"Like, uh, the way you're pushing your chair away from me," said Spencer as he leaned forward a bit, "it tells me that what I'm saying is making you uncomfortable, like, uh, you're trying to distance yourself from me, maybe from what I'm capable of reading about you," said Spencer.

"Whatever," said Jeremy softly before he bit his inner cheek again.

"Case in point: You bite your inner cheek. It's a- it's a nervous tic, like you're holding on to something. Doing it right now. You were also doing it inside the arcade, and I think you were doing it because maybe- I don't know- Maybe you remembered something more than what you told us," said Spencer.

"No. I told you everything," said Jeremy quickly.

Spencer shook his head.

"I don't know. I don't think you told us everything. I think something else happened inside that arcade, something- something you haven't told anybody yet," said Spencer.

Jeremy looked at Spencer's wedding band.

"If you stated that you are socially awkward, how did you get your wife to marry you?" asked Jeremy.

Spencer smiled slightly.

"My wife's a free spirit. So when it comes to Clarissa being the free spirit and me being the quiet and reserved one, we really clicked since we both have similar interests while agreeing to try new things," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

A half hour later Spencer and Morgan were standing by Jeremy as they watched Emily lead Susan away.

"Is Katie gonna be all right?" asked Jeremy.

Morgan looked at Spencer and thought about how Spencer's eyes lacked its usual sparkle until Bridget's birth after Hankel.

"She will eventually," said Morgan.

Jeremy locked eyes with his mom before and officer put Susan into a police car.

"I heard her call my mom's name. That's what I remembered before." said Jeremy.

"We get it, kid. That's your mom," said Morgan.

Jeremy looked at Spencer and Morgan.

"What's gonna happen to me now?" asked Jeremy.

Spencer's heart melted for Jeremy as he thought about losing his parents in one day like he did.

"I don't know, Jeremy, but, uh, we're gonna make sure you're all right, OK?" asked Spencer before Morgan motioned him that it was time to hand   
Jeremy over to social services, "Let's go," said Spencer as he rested a hand on Jeremy's shoulder and led him away.

A minute later Spencer pulled out a card and passed it to Jeremy.

"If you ever need anything please don't hesitate to call me," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Jeremy.

"I know what its like to lose your parents in one day because I lost my biological parents to a drunk driver when I was four," said Spencer before smiling sadly, "When I was 19, I lost my aunt and uncle who adopted me to a drunk driver. The transition period will be a bit rough at first, but things will eventually get better for you since you have an aunt, uncle, and cousin who all love you," said Spencer before Hotch approached him.

"If you want to get home to Clarissa and your daughters, I'll give you a ride since I'm going to check on Jack," said Hotch.

"OK," said Spencer as he patted Jeremy on the shoulder, "Call me as soon as you get settled in," said Spencer before he followed his brother-in-law.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer entered his house and smiled when he saw Clarissa fast asleep on the couch with Bridget's and Diana's baby monitors on the coffee table.   
A minute later Spencer entered Bridget's nursery where he watched his youngest daughter sleep for a few minutes before he entered Diana's bedroom and watched his oldest daughter sleep for a few minutes before he headed to the master bedroom and changed into his pajamas.

A few minutes later Spencer headed downstairs just as the doorbell rang causing Clarissa to wake up.

"I got it, love," said Spencer.

"OK," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer was letting Hotch into the house.

"Need to watch your nieces sleep for a few minutes?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Hotch as he looked at his sister, "Hi, Clarissa," said Hotch.

"Hello, Aaron," said Clarissa before looking at two of her favorite men, "Found the missing girl?" asked Clarissa.

"We did, but Katie has asthma just like Diana. So I'm hoping that I could watch Diana and Bridget sleep for a few minutes since I went over to Haley's to watch Jack sleep for five minutes," said Hotch.

"I ended up watching Diana and Bridget sleep for a few minutes before coming down here," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Sometimes your so quiet when walking around the house since I didn't even hear you enter the house," muttered Clarissa.

Spencer smirked at his wife.

"Blame the training I went through in the academy," said Spencer.

Hotch chuckled a bit before he became serious.

"I'm going to go watch my nieces sleep for a few minutes before I let you two be alone for the night," said Hotch.

"You don't want to stay the night?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"If Diana finds out that you went into her bedroom to watch her sleep for a few minutes before leaving, you're going to be dealing with an upset Diana since your her favorite uncle," said Spencer.

"I'm her favorite uncle?" asked Hotch.

"Your here in DC while Sean is in New York," said Clarissa.

Hotch sighed.

"I'll stay in your guest bedroom tonight," said Hotch.

At that moment Bridget started crying through the baby monitor causing Clarissa to look at her brother.

"That's her 'I'm hungry' cry, so how about I heat up a bottle for you and you can feed and burp Bridget," said Clarissa.

"Deal," said Hotch.

Clarissa looked at her husband and brother.

"I'm going to also heat up leftovers since I know that you two haven't eaten dinner yet," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in the kitchen drinking some tea while Spencer ate some leftovers as they listened to Hotch   
talk to Bridget through the baby monitor.

"I promise that I will never hurt you and Diana," said Hotch gently through the baby monitor before Hotch started to sing a lullaby to his youngest niece as he fed her.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Was he just talking about the case you two just worked on?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer started to explain about what both Susan and Richard Jacobs did to their niece and when he was finished, Clarissa looked at her husband.

"What is going to happen to their son?" asked Clarissa.

"If his aunt and uncle don't take him in, Jeremy will be going to a foster home. I ended up bonding with Jeremy as my teammates searched for Katie. When I found out that Richard raped his niece and that Susan abducted and gagged her asthmatic niece so she could try and try and fix everything with her husband, my heart dropped for Jeremy since he lost his parents on the same day since I know what its like to lose your parents on the same day," said Spencer.

"Are you planning on staying in contact with Jeremy?" asked Clarissa.

"I gave him my number," said Spencer.

"Maybe he can join us for dinner sometime," said Clarissa.

"That would be great," said Spencer as he continued to eat his leftovers before Hotch came into the kitchen with an empty bottle.

"I also changed Bridget's diaper too before I watched Diana sleep for a few minutes," said Hotch.

"Thank you," said Clarissa as she pulled the warmed up leftovers out of the oven, "Sit down and eat this before you go to bed," said Clarissa as she gave her Hotchner glare to her oldest brother.

"Yes, ma'am," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Clarissa.

"Even though I watched my daughters sleep for a few minutes, I need them in the room with us," said Spencer as he used his eyes on his wife.

Clarissa groaned.

"Even though I fell in love with your eyes, sometimes I hate how you can use your eyes against me," said Clarissa causing Spencer and Hotch to quietly laugh.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

20 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were fast asleep in their bed with Diana between her parents and Bridget in her bassinet by her parents bed while Hotch slept in the guest bedroom.


	18. About Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Criminal Minds except for my OCs

Spencer entered the house and laughed when he saw Diana running around the house in her skunk costume while pretending to spray Clarissa and Lucy.

"Now you two need a tomato juice bath," grinned Diana.

"You make a cute Stella, Diana," smiled Spencer.

Diana grinned at the mention of her favorite character from "Over the Hedge".

"Thank you, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"Tomorrow I'll be seeing David Rossi for the first time since our wedding day since he decided to come out of retirement and help us out," said Spencer.

Clarissa's eyes lit up at the mention of the man who treated her like a daughter when she met Rossi when she was 16-years-old.

"Really?" asked Clarissa.

"Your brother sat us down to tell us," said Spencer.

"Then you better invite David over for dinner since he treated me like a daughter ever since the day I met him," said Clarissa.

"I promise," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning a Halloween costume-clad Spencer walked into the bullpen of the BAU while passing out candy to agents and civilian staff who all thanked him while smiling. When he saw Morgan focusing on the file in front of him, he decided to have a bit of fun as he started to playfully growl as he crouched a bit behind Morgan.

"I'm going to eat you!" growled Spencer.

Morgan fell out of his chair a bit while Emily and a few other agents who were watching burst out laughing.

"Reid…," said Morgan as he righted himself.

Spencer reached his desk.

"Happy All Hallows Eve, folks," said Spencer as he lifted up his mask a bit, "To paraphrase from Celtic mythology, tomorrow night all order is suspended, and the barriers between the natural and the supernatural are temporarily remooooved!," said Spencer in a spooky voice as he reached into the paper bag he was carrying and tossed a shrunken head over to Emily.

Emily laughed as she caught the head.

"See, that right there is why Halloween creeps me out," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan in shock.

"You're scared of Halloween?" asked Spencer.

"I didn't say I was scared, I said I was creeped out. There's a difference there, youngster. You should look it up," said Morgan.

Spencer removed one of his monster hands.

"What creeps you out about it?" asked Emily.

"I don't know. People wearing masks. I don't like folks in disguises," said Morgan.

"That's the best thing about Halloween. You can be anyone you want to be," grinned Spencer as he tossed some candy onto Morgan's desk.

Morgan waved one hand a bit.

"Nah, I'm pretty good just being me," said Morgan.

"Yeah, why is it that neither of those points of view surprise me?" asked Emily.

"You know what, though? On the flip side, it does provide a pretty good reason to cozy up with a scary flick and a little Halloween honey," said   
Morgan as he winked at Emily.

Emily grimaced as she looked at Spencer.

"Eww. Halloween honey. Now I'm creeped out," said Emily.

Spencer quickly noticed Strauss walking with Rossi.

"Guys, he's here," said Spencer as he quickly removed his Frankenstein mask before Strauss and Rossi gave him small smiles before Emily looked at him.

"Can you tell me about what Diana dressed up for Halloween since her first Halloween?" asked Emily.

Spencer grinned as he pulled out his wallet, and a few seconds later he was pulling out three photos and passed Emily the first one.

"Diana's 10-months-old in this photo," said Spencer.

Emily grinned when she saw baby Diana dressed up as a ghost while Spencer and Clarissa were dressed up as Ghostbusters.

"I see that you and Clarissa are the type of parents who are willing to dress up with their children," said Emily.

Spencer grinned.

"We are," said Spencer.

"Diana sure makes a cute ghost in this picture," said Emily.

Spencer passed Emily the photo from Diana's second Halloween.

"Here's the photo from when Diana was 22-months-old," said Spencer.

Emily looked at the picture that involved Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana doing a "Star Wars" theme causing her to grin when she noticed that Clarissa was dressed up like Princess Leia.

"Diana sure makes a cute Yoda," said Emily.

"I know, and here's last year's costume from when Diana was two," said Spencer as he passed Emily the picture.

Emily smiled at the sight of both Diana and Jack dressed up as honeybees while Spencer and Clarissa were dressed up as beekeepers.

"You and Clarissa took Jack trick or treating?" asked Emily.

"We did so Hotch and Haley could have a date night, but Diana ended up getting half of Jack's candy while Clarissa and I got the rest," said Spencer.

"Now I can't wait to see what Diana dresses up as this year," said Emily.

"Let's just say that Diana can be a stinker sometimes," said Spencer just as Hotch and Rossi approached them causing him to remove the noose that he was still wearing around his neck.

"SSA David Rossi, this is SSA Emily Prentiss," said Hotch.

Emily shook hands with Rossi.

"Sir," said Emily.

"SSA Derek Morgan," introduced Hotch.

Morgan shook hands with Rossi.

"It's an honor, Agent Rossi," said Morgan.

"Please, just Dave," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at Spencer who was literally bouncing on his heels.

"And you already know Dr. Spencer Reid since you met him when he married my baby sister," said Hotch.

"Nice to see you again, doctor," said Rossi before smiling a little bit, "And congratulations on the new baby since I saw the photos in Aaron's office," said Rossi.

"Thank you," said Spencer before becoming excited, "Sir, if I could talk to you later about your work with the Scarsdale Skinner. Psycho-linguistics is an incredibly dynamic field, and the fact that your profile of his reading habits ultimately led to his capture is something I find so incredibly intrig- -," rambled Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Reid, slow down. He'll be here for a while. You can catch up with him later," said Hotch.

"Sorry," said Spencer meekly.

"No problem, doctor," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law and decided to get a smile on his face.

"Maybe you guys can talk on the jet," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"Oh, yeah, that'd be great," said Spencer.

A confused Rossi looked at Hotch.

"The jet?" asked Rossi.

"We have a jet now," said Hotch.

Rossi thought about the plans he made with Gideon about getting a jet for the army of profilers they wanted to build up.

"Are you serious?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah. It comes in pretty handy. Come on. JJ's waiting," said Hotch.

Spencer motioned Emily to pass him and Morgan first before Morgan lightly slapped him on the head, and a minute later Spencer was in the conference room with his teammates.

"Carrollton, Texas, is a suburb just outside of Dallas. Four days ago, Michelle Colucci found this flier on her front door," said JJ as she pulled up a picture while everyone took a chair.

Morgan looked at the flier.

"She found it?" asked Morgan.

Spencer grabbed a pen.

"Meaning she wasn't actually missing?" asked Emily.

"Yet. She took the flier to a friend's husband, Detective Yarbrough, at the Carrollton PD. Who told her it was probably just a Halloween prank, and he sent her home," said JJ.

"Well, I don't blame him. Halloween brings out the fool in everyone," said Morgan as he glanced at Spencer.

Spencer rolled his eyes a bit.

"Still, he stopped by Michelle's house later to check on her. The door was open, and when he went inside, he found this," said JJ as she played a video of the fliers that the detective found, "He still thought maybe it could be some kind of a prank, until yesterday. Michelle was found floating in a small creek just outside of Carrollton. She had been sexually assaulted…." said JJ as she showed a picture causing everyone to grimace at the picture of Michelle, "And her face had been removed," said JJ.

"Removed? It wasn't animals or fish?" asked Rossi.

"The Dallas county ME say that the edges of the wounds were smooth, not torn. A very sharp instrument had been used. He also found water in   
her lungs," said JJ just as Garcia entered the room.

Garcia looked at the monitor and quickly covered her eyes with a file.

"Oh, my god! What is that?" asked a freaked out Garcia.

"Technical analyst Penelope Garcia, this is SSA David Rossi," introduced Hotch.

"Is it gone, JJ?" asked Garcia.

JJ smiled as she clicked the button for another picture from the crime scene could show up.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're safe," said JJ.

Garcia uncovered her face.

"OK. Just to, um... Carrollton, Texas, has nearly 117,000 residents, a diverse population with A... it's all in there. I'm sorry," said Garcia before shaking hands with Rossi, "Very happy to meet you, sir. I'll be in my office. Sorry," said Garcia as she closed the door.

Rossi looked at Hotch.

"She's different," said Rossi.

Hotch smiled a bit.

"You have no idea," said Hotch.

"Uh, so, the unsub tells her she's going to go missing to psychologically torture her, then tortures her physically. Textbook sadist," said Emily.

"A sophisticated one. That's elaborate," said Hotch.

Morgan looked at the picture of the mask that he was holding while seeing "Number one" written on it.

"Number one," said Morgan.

"That particular mask is known as a false face. It's most commonly worn during Halloween and Mardi Gras," said a smiling Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Creepy. I rest my case," said Morgan as he tossed the photo onto the table.

"False face," said Hotch.

"Her face- he mocks it, then destroys it," said Emily.

"Oh, and, Hotch- local media has the story. It broke big," said JJ.

Hotch looked at his teammates while deciding that Spencer deserved one more night with Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget.

"Tell Carrollton we'll be there first thing in the morning. Let's stop this one at one," said Hotch.

"Yes, sir," said JJ.

Hotch looked at Rossi while everyone packed up.

"If you want to take some time to get situated, maybe start on the next case?" asked Hotch.

"I'm not back to get situated, Hotch, I'm here to work," said Rossi.

"Everybody get your things together. We're going to Texas," said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer sighed sadly causing Emily to look at him.

"Are you sad about missing out on taking Diana trick or treating?" asked Emily.

"I am, but I tell myself that I have many more Halloweens that I'll be home to take my children trick or treating," said Spencer before looking at Rossi, "Clarissa told me to tell you that you must come over for dinner," said Spencer.

Rossi smiled a bit at the mention of Clarissa.

"After this case, I'll come over for dinner," said Rossi.

xxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer looked at Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy as they ate dinner.

"I'm leaving for Texas in the morning," said Spencer.

Diana's face saddened.

"So you can't take me trick or treating?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled sadly at his oldest daughter.

"I'm afraid not, bumble bee, but there will be many other Halloweens that I'll most likely be home for," said Spencer.

"OK, daddy," sighed Diana.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I'll make sure to send you a lot of pictures," said Clarissa.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

The next morning Spencer woke up to Bridget crying through the baby monitor, and as he slipped on his glasses, Clarissa woke up and slipped on her own glasses and look at the clock.

"I'll go see what Bridget wants while you get dressed before you wake Diana up and get her ready for preschool," said Clarissa.

"Yes, ma'am," said Spencer as he got out of bed.

10 minutes later a freshly dressed and shaved Spencer entered Diana's bedroom and sat down on the foot of his oldest daughter's bed.

"Its time to wake up and get ready for preschool, Diana," said Spencer before he decided to speak in his excited tone, "Don't forget that you get to go to preschool in your Halloween costume today since its Halloween," said Spencer excitably.

Diana opened her eyes, and a few seconds later Spencer frowned at how flushed his oldest daughter's face looked causing him to kiss his oldest daughter's forehead.

"You feel a bit warm, bumble bee. So I'm going to go grab the thermometer and take your temperature," said Spencer.

Diana coughed a bit.

"OK, daddy," croaked Diana.

A minute later Spencer was frowning at the temperature.

"You have a 100-degree temperature, so you'll be staying home from preschool," said Spencer.

Diana coughed a little bit more.

"No trick or treating too?" asked Diana.

"I'm afraid not, sweetheart. Your already aware that catching a cold causes your asthma to get worse," said Spencer.

Tears started to fall down Diana's face.

"I want to dress up in my skunk costume and get free candy since you, mommy, and Lucy only let me talk to strangers on Halloween when they give me candy," said Diana.

"I know sweetheart, but when I get back from Texas I'll make sure to make it up to you on having to miss out on trick or treating," said Spencer.

"OK, daddy," sniffed Diana.

"Do you want chicken noodle soup instead of the pumpkin pancakes Lucy's making for breakfast?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, please," said Diana.

"Just go back to sleep and I'll let mommy and Lucy know that your sick and have to stay in bed. Mommy and Lucy will take good care of you," said Spencer as he gave his daughter one last kiss before leaving his daughter's bedroom just as Clarissa exited Bridget's nursery with Bridget.

"Why isn't Diana out of bed and dressed for preschool?" asked Clarissa.

"Diana has a temperature of 100 degrees while coughing and sniffing, so in a few minutes I'll call Washington International School to let them know that Diana's sick and won't be going to preschool," said Spencer.

"She must be upset about having to miss out on trick or treating tonight," said Clarissa.

"She is, but I promised her that I'll make it up to her when I get back from Texas," said Spencer just as his stomach growled.

Clarissa passed Bridget to Spencer.

"While I get Diana to take some cold medicine, you should head downstairs and start eating since Aaron's picking you up at 7," said Clarissa.

"OK," said Spencer before he looked at his youngest daughter who was going to be three-months-old in a week, "Let's go say good morning to Lucy, baby girl," said Spencer.

Bridget smiled at her daddy, and a minute later Spencer was setting Bridget into her baby seat and looked at Lucy who was already pouring the batter that she made the night before onto the griddle.

"Diana's sick, so she's in bed and asking for chicken noodle soup," said Spencer.

"Poor piccola ragazza," said Lucy.

Spencer looked at Lucy as he headed to the pantry and grabbed a can of chicken noodle soup.

"I didn't know that you spoke Italian," said Spencer.

"My mother's side of the family are Italian, so they made sure I'm fluent in Italian and know how to cook many Italian dishes," said Lucy.

Spencer started to heat up the soup.

"As soon as your done heating up this soup, I'll take it up to Diana while you focus on eating breakfast since I know that you might forget to eat lunch while in Texas today," said Lucy.

"Yes, ma'am," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was eating breakfast before Hotch picked him up.

xxxxxxx

Two hours later Hotch looked at his team.

"Let's go over victimology," said Hotch before looking at Rossi, "Would you like to join us, Dave?" asked Hotch.

As soon as Rossi was sitting closer to everyone, Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Reid, what have you got?" asked Hotch.

"Uh, Michelle Colucci was single, lived alone, no boyfriend and no ex-husband," said Spencer.

"Dating?" asked Emily.

"There's nothing in the reports," said Morgan.

JJ looked at the file in her hands.

"She was an architect. Friends and co-workers say she's a class workaholic. Basically, a loner who rarely went out of the house," said JJ.

"So she's extremely low risk," said Emily.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"If it wasn't someone she knew personally, it's possible she was being stalked," said Spencer.

"Interesting," said Rossi to himself.

Spencer looked at Rossi.

"What's that?" asked Spencer.

Rossi looked at his new teammates.

"Oh, I'm just thinking out loud," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at Rossi.

"Something to add?" asked Hotch.

"No. Sorry to interrupt," said Rossi.

Morgan looked at a picture of Michelle.

"Well, she's pretty. It could be that the unsub met her casually and... Made her part of some kind of fantasy," said Morgan.

"And he tries to act on it and she rejects him?" asked Hotch.

"So he tortures her, out of anger?" asked Emily.

Spencer looked at a picture of the mask he was holding.

"Masks often represent a state of mind. This one's blank, expressionless. Doesn't really coincide with anger," said Spencer.

Morgan held up a picture that was taken after Michelle's body was found.

"Reid, it's hard to imagine he did this out of anything less than rage," said Morgan just as Garcia's face popped up on the laptop.

"Hey, guys," said Garcia.

"What's up? You got something for us?" asked Morgan.

"A list of Michelle Colucci's clients. She designed office space. Mostly big corporate remodeling plans," said Garcia.

"No private clients, one-on-one contact?" asked Hotch.

"Doesn't look like it, no," answered Garcia.

"Thanks, baby girl," said Morgan.

"Yeah," said Morgan as he turned off the laptop.

A minute later Spencer's cell phone vibrated causing Spencer to frown at a text message from Clarissa.

DIANA JUST HAD AN ASTHMA ATTACK THAT DIDN'T IMPROVE AFTER USING HER INHALER. SO DUE TO THE LEVELS THAT SHOWED UP ON DIANA'S PEAK FLOW METER AND HER COLD, I'M TAKING HER TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM. I PROMISE TO KEEP YOU UPDATED, SO JUST FOCUS ON CATCHING THE UNSUB YOUR CHASING WHILE STAYING SAFE. ~ CR

Hotch noticed the frown on his brother-in-law's face.

"Are Clarissa and my nieces OK?" asked Hotch.

"Diana ended up staying home from preschool due to a cold, and Clarissa wanted to let me know that Diana had an asthma attack that's earning her a trip to the emergency room," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Little Diana has asthma?" asked Rossi.

"She had her first asthma attack when she was 16-months old, but other than having more asthma attacks when she's sick, her asthma attacks are more frequent at night than during the day," said Spencer.

"Poor piccola ragazza," said Rossi.

"Diana's and Bridget's live-in nanny said that too this morning," said Spencer.

"Your daughters' nanny Italian?" asked Rossi.

"Yes," said Spencer before looking at his brother-in-law, "Clarissa told me that I don't need to go home since she promised to keep me updated, but at least Diana should pretty much be over this cold by the time Clarissa goes back to work on Monday," said Spencer.

"Diana must be upset about having to miss out on trick or treating tonight," said Hotch.

"She is, but I promised her that I'll find a way to make up for trick or treating for Diana," said Spencer before he focused on the file in front of him.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer followed his teammates towards the detective who called them in.

"Detective Yarbrough?" asked JJ.

"FBI? We got another flier- this time Metro Dallas. Enid White. Her roommate called Dallas P. D. This morning. Enid never came home after walking   
her dog last night," said Detective Yarbrough.

Spencer looked at Detective Yarbrough.

"So she is missing," stated Spencer.

"Well, he wallpapered the neighborhood with fliers for two blocks around their apartment," said Detective Yarbrough.

"Outside. That's different," said Morgan.

"No one saw him putting them up?" asked Emily.

"Dallas PD is still canvassing, but nothing so far. They're waiting for you on the new scene," said Detective Yarbrough.

Hotch looked at the flier that Detective Yarbrough handed him.

"Mind if I keep this?" asked Hotch.

"Not at all," said Detective Yarbrough.

Hotch looked at his teammates.

"Morgan, you and Prentiss go to Michelle Colucci's house. JJ and I will talk to Enid's roommate," said Hotch before looking at Rossi, "Dave, do you mind walking the disposal site with the detective and Reid?" asked Hotch.

"Whatever you need," said Rossi.

"We'll regroup in an hour," said Hotch.

xxxxxxx

Spencer and Rossi followed Detective Yarbrough through a small wooded area

"We went over this area pretty thoroughly. There's no evidence left," said Detective Yarbrough.

"I just want to stand where she was," said Rossi before looking at Spencer, "Dr. Reid, do we still keep all the old files in the fourth-floor storeroom?" asked Rossi.

"I think some are up there. You know, most of our information is on computers now," said Spencer.

"Right," said Rossi.

"Have you had a chance to go through our data since you've been back?" asked Spencer.

"Not yet," said Rossi.

"You'll be amazed. The original team- I mean, you interviewed something like, uh, 45 serial killers, right?" asked Spencer.

"Something like," said Rossi.

"Today we have interviews with over 1,000 offenders. Serial killers, child abductors, sex offenders- I'll go through it with you sometime if you like, answer any questions-," said Spencer.

Rossi decided to cut off Spencer.

"Sounds good," said Rossi.

Detective Yarbrough looked at Spencer and Rossi.

Michelle's body was found right here. I really thought it was a prank," said Detective Yarbrough sadly.

Spencer looked at the detective as he thought about how he and JJ only thought that Tobias Hankel was a witness before realizing that he was the unsub.

"You can't really blame yourself for that," soothed Spencer.

"She made herself dinner," said Detective Yarbrough sadly.

Spencer looked at the detective.

"Excuse me?" asked Spencer.

"She had time to make herself dinner. I mean she was home for a while before he... There was time to help her," said Detective Yarbrough.

Rossi looked at the water.

"Water. Obliterates a body... Destroys evidence. But you weren't in the water that long, were you, Michelle?" asked Rossi.

"She had rocks tied to her to weigh her down," said Detective Yarbrough.

"She floated to the surface before there was any other damage," said Spencer.

"Just what was done to her already," said Detective Yarbrough.

Rossi pulled out the small black book that he was writing in earlier.

"The salient point is that it was the first thing the unsub wasn't good at," said Spencer.

"Green River dumped most of the bodies in the water. But they weren't weighed down," said Rossi.

"Yeah. We know now it's cause he didn't care if they were found. He had no connection to them," said Spencer.

10 minutes later Spencer was in the backseat of Detective Yarbrough's car when his cell phone vibrated causing him to see a text from Clarissa.

DIANA'S GOING TO BE OK SINCE SHE JUST HAD A BREATHING TREATMENT DONE, AND WE JUST NEED TO CONTINUE DIANA'S ASTHMA ACTION PLAN TO HELP HER BREATHE BETTER. ~ CR

Spencer sent Clarissa a reply.

THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW AND I WILL TRY TO CHECK IN LATER. I LOVE YOU, DIANA, AND BRIDGET, AND I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was showing Detective Yarbrough something on the computer when Hotch and JJ approached them.

"We got anything?" asked Hotch.

"Agent Rossi pointed out that since the victims were weighted down, it suggests the unsub didn't want them found. It suggests some sort of connection between them," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Detective Yarbrough.

"Detective, how long was Michelle missing?" asked Hotch.

"She was found on the fourth day," said Detective Yarbrough.

"So if she wasn't in the water long, then he held her for three," said Hotch as his cell phone rang causing him to answer his phone while putting it on speaker, "Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"I've been running all of Enid White's credit cards," said Garcia.

"And?" asked Hotch.

"She made a purchase at 9 AM this morning at a sporting goods store in Dallas," said Garcia.

"This morning?" asked Hotch.

"What did she buy?" asked Spencer.

"A shotgun," answered Garcia.

The two brother-in-laws exchanged glances while Rossi wrote in his little black book.

"Thanks," said Hotch before hanging up.

A minute later Hotch looked at Detective Yarbrough.

"She can buy a gun that easily?" asked Hotch.

"This is Texas," said Detective Yarbrough.

"There's no license or waiting period for most rifles or shotguns," said Rossi.

"Is there video surveillance of guns sales in sporting goods stores?" asked Hotch.

"There's supposed to be," said Detective Yarbrough.

"JJ, call the store. Find out if it was Enid or the unsub using her credit card," ordered Hotch.

"Right away," said JJ before she walked away.

An officer quickly approached them.

"Detective Yarbrough. There's an urgent call from a woman on one," said the officer.

Detective Yarbrough quickly answered the land-line.

"Detective Yarbrough," answered Detective Yarbrough.

"My name is Enid White," said Enid over the phone.

"Where are you, Enid?" asked Detective Yarbrough.

"The news reports said that the police didn't believe that other woman when she saw the missing fliers," said Enid.

"That was a mistake, Enid," said Detective Yarbrough.

"I have a gun. I don't think I can stay awake very much longer," said Enid.

"Enid, this is Agent Hotchner of the FBI. We believe you, and we want to help you. Can you tell us where you are?" asked Hotch.

"El Royale motel in Dallas. It's room 6. I saw the fliers. Hurry, please. He's gonna kill me," pleaded Enid.

"Don't move, Enid. We're on our way," said Detective Yarbrough.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was standing about a foot away from his brother-in-law to help his teammates sans Rossi give the profile.

"He's a white male. His shoe prints have been examined and put him at about 5'11, 165," said Morgan.

"So we've narrowed it down to anyone of average weight and height?" asked Detective Yarbrough.

"Exactly," said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxx

"There's a sophistication and patience in what this unsub does that suggests a level of maturity. We believe this puts his age in the mid-30s to 40s range," said Emily.

"Michelle Colucci was taken from the primary crime scene and disposed of at the tertiary crime scene four days later. That means she was held somewhere for at least three days. You can't really just hold a victim anywhere for days on end, so he most likely has access to a house of some kind," said Spencer.

"And he's also fairly tech savvy. The fliers were made on a computer. And it's probable that he used a device to intercept Enid White's phone call," said Morgan.

"Witnesses in Enid white's neighborhood say they may have seen a white man putting up fliers, but none of them could describe him, even with all the media attention this case has received," said Hotch.

"Great," said Detective Bowie.

"Actually, what that tells us is that there is absolutely nothing remarkable about this man. He is exceedingly average," said Emily.

"As you said, Detective Yarbrough, average height, average build," said Morgan.

"It extends to his professional life as well. He most likely works in a field where he doesn't stand out, doesn't really make a mark," said Spencer

"His lack of distinction is part of his psychopathy. We have hundreds of interactions with people every day. Most of those involve someone overlooking someone else. Most of us don't pay any attention to being ignored, but to this kind of unsub, each oversight is intentional. Especially when it comes from his object of sexual desire. He begins to obsess over her until she's all he can think about. And the rage builds until he has to attack that person," said Hotch.

"So he's pissed off that nobody notices him?" asked Detective Yarbrough.

"Have you seen me?" asked Morgan.

"Wait. That's not about the women?" asked Detective Bowie.

"No. The masks are about the women- number one, number two. The fliers probably refer to him," said Emily.

"Removing his victims' faces transfers his feelings of being ignored into a mission and it gives him a sense of power," said Spencer.

"And the power can make him arrogant, but it doesn't make him notable," said Hotch.

"So how the hell do we catch an invisible man?" asked Detective Yarbrough.

Hotch looked at Detective Yarbrough.

"I'm pretty sure we can get him to contact you," said Hotch.

"What?" asked Detective Yarbrough.

"Well, the crime scenes show he wants to deliver his message to the police. He isn't going public," said Emily.

"Hopefully, by playing on his anger…," said Hotch before he noticed a picture of the mask on TV, "JJ, How'd they get that?" asked Hotch.

"Not from me. I- Hotch, I called all the local police departments and I stressed withholding the mask," said JJ.

Rossi who came back into the room looked at Hotch.

"I called them," said Rossi.

"What?" asked Hotch.

"I said the FBI thinks the masks mean he's impotent," said Rossi.

Hotch sighed as he thought about one of the last times a teammate antagonized the unsub caused Spencer to be dead for a few minutes.

"Can I speak to you for a second?" asked Hotch.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer entered the office building that their unsub was working in with his teammates.

"Is the building sealed?" asked Hotch.

"Top to bottom," said a man.

"Yarbrough, make sure it stays that way," ordered Hotch before he quickly called Garcia, "Garcia, which floors did Michelle Carlucci remodel? Got it 7, 8, 9," said Hotch before hanging up.

Hotch looked at his teammates.

"Morgan, take 7. We're looking for a rank-and-file employee who made a scene in the last 20 minutes or was here and gone. Prentiss, 8, Reid, 9. Don't approach him. Just... Try to get a name, maybe a picture," ordered Hotch.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer approached Max Poole's desk, and after finding a picture of Enid White on Max's computer, he called his brother-in-law.

"Yeah, Reid?" asked Hotch.

"I found a picture of Enid White on Max Poole's computer," said Spencer.

"Got him," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was giving Morgan, Emily, and JJ candy from his messenger bag so his teammates could help him pass out candy to the children who were curiously approaching the crime scene.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer was texting Clarissa.

I'LL BE HOME TONIGHT. ~ SR

A minute later Clarissa replied.

SHOULD I WAIT UP FOR YOU SO WE CATCH WATCH A HORROR MOVIE TOGETHER BEFORE WE GET SOME SLEEP? ~ CR

Spencer smiled a bit.

SURE, AND I'M GOING TO GET STARTED ON PAPERWORK RIGHT NOW SO I CAN COME STRAIGHT HOME FROM THE OFFICE. ~ SR

A minute later Rossi approached him.

"Texting with the lovely Mrs. Clarissa Reid?" asked Rossi.

"I am, and Clarissa's going to wait up for me since we're going to watch a movie before heading to bed," said Spencer.

"I'm glad to see that you and Clarissa are still going strong," said Rossi.

"We'll be celebrating our five year wedding anniversary on November 30th," said Spencer.

"That's one of the milestone anniversaries," said Rossi.

"I know, and I'm excited about my upcoming anniversary while being sad at the thought of Diana turning four this December while Bridget will be three months old on the 7th," said Spencer.

"Speaking of Diana and Bridget, would you show me a few pictures of your daughters?" asked Rossi.

"Sure," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Rossi smiled a bit at the latest Reid family portrait.

"Diana and Bridget are definitely bellissimo ragazzas like their mother," said Rossi.

"I agree," said Spencer.

"Are you two planning on having any more children?" asked Rossi.

"We are, and Diana's hoping for a little boy like her cousin," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

The next evening Clarissa smiled when she saw Rossi as she passed Bridget to her husband.

"It's nice to see you again," said Clarissa as she hugged Rossi.

"Even though the last time I saw you was on your wedding day, I have to say that you look more beautiful than ever," said Rossi.

"Thank you," said Clarissa just as Lucy came into the living room.

Rossi's eyes went wide when he recognized Lucy.

"Lucy?" asked Rossi.

"David," said Lucy.

"Its been over four years since I last seen you at Caleb's and Willy's funeral," said Rossi.

Lucy smiled sadly at the mention of her late husband and son.

"I know," said Lucy before she pulled Rossi into a hug.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at each other as they watched Rossi and Lucy hug before Spencer cleared his throat.

"You two know each other?" asked Spencer.

"I served in Vietnam with Lucy's late husband, and Lucy's one of my cousins from my mother's side," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at Lucy and instantly realized that Lucy had the same eye color as Rossi before looking at Lucy.

"Why didn't you say anything?" asked Spencer.

"My family practically disowned me when I joined the FBI since they thought that I was better off being a home economics teacher, but my family did come for my husband's and son's funerals," said Lucy.

Spencer's stomach growled causing Lucy to laugh.

"Dinner will be done soon, and I made lasagna," said Lucy.

Spencer grinned while Rossi looked at Lucy.

"When I first met Reid nearly five years ago, he was so skinny," said Rossi.

Lucy laughed.

"I know, but luckily my cooking has helped Spencer put on some much-needed weight while Clarissa reduces Spencer's coffee intake when he's home," said Lucy just as Diana came down the stairs.

"Daddy!" cried Diana.

Spencer instantly swooped up Diana.

"I missed you while I was at the office, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"I missed you when I was in bed today," said Diana.

"Are you feeling better, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"No more fever," said Diana before looking at Rossi, "Who are you?" asked Diana.

Rossi took in the sight of the three-year-old girl in her father's arms.

"I'm your father's new coworker David Rossi, and your daddy and uncle Aaron have told me about you," said Rossi.

Diana's eyes went wide in recognition.

"You write books," said Diana.

"I do," said Rossi.

"Mommy and daddy say I too little to read your books, but I am reading "The Magic Tree House" books on my own right now," said Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Lucy, and Rossi were sitting around the dining room table enjoying the lasagna that Lucy made while Bridget slept in her baby swing.

xxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer's eyes went wide when Garcia entered the bullpen with Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget causing Spencer to smile at Diana who was wearing her skunk costume and a wide-awake Bridget who was dressed up as a porcupine.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Spencer as he hugged and kissed Diana before giving his wife and Bridget each a kiss.

"When you told me that Diana ended up missing out on trick or treating because of being sick, I decided that Diana should go trick or treating here. I told everyone here to bring candy for Diana today," said Garcia.

Spencer smiled at Garcia.

"Thanks, Garcia," said Spencer.

"Your welcome, boy wonder," said Garcia.

Spencer smiled down at his completed stack of consults before he looked at his wife.

"Since I'm finished with my work, I can take Diana around the bullpen before I head home with three of the most beautiful girls in the world?" asked Spencer as he gave his wife a peck on the cheek.

"Yes," said Clarissa.

Garcia looked at Bridget who was in her stroller.

"Also you're going to need to pass your little porcupine around since I'm dealing with baby fever right now," said Garcia.

"OK," laughed Clarissa as she gently removed Bridget from her stroller just as Aaron exited his office, "Get down here Aaron so you can hold your youngest niece before the others start to fight over who gets to hold your niece first," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer was escorting Diana around the bullpen as agents dropped candy into Diana's plastic pumpkin bucket while Clarissa chatted with her brother, Rossi, Morgan, Garcia, Emily, and JJ while Bridget was passed around.


	19. Exciting News & Identity Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts on November 5th of 2007, and here's a heads up that when Clarissa was pregnant with Bridget, her doctor ordered her to start maternity leave when she reached week 37 of her pregnancy since both Diana and Bridget were born at 38 weeks.

A hospital scrub-clad Clarissa looked at her husband as she helped her husband tie his tie.

"Part of me wants to become a stay at home mom so I can be here full time for Diana and Bridget, but I know that we agreed to be parents who worked full time since our trust funds won't last forever," said Clarissa.

Spencer pecked his wife on the lips.

"The first few weeks back at work are always the hardest, but at least you get to come home every day while I have to travel for work," said Spencer.

"Well hopefully you'll get me pregnant again so I can be ordered to take time off of work again after the baby's born and focus on being a mother for a few months," said Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head.

"You must have really enjoyed being pregnant," said Spencer.

"Damn straight," said Clarissa before smiling at her husband, "Also we created two beautiful little girls together, so I'm hoping to give birth to our   
firstborn son before Bridget becomes a toddler," said Clarissa.

"But after we have baby number three, are we going to wait a few years before trying for baby number four?" asked Spencer.

"As soon as we have our third child, I'm planning to go back to using an IUD as birth control until Bridget turns three," said Clarissa.

"Bridget will be attending preschool by then too," said Spencer.

"Exactly," said Clarissa.

"After we have our fourth child, are you wanting to have any more children with me?" asked Spencer.

"For now, I think four kids are plenty, but if we do decide to have more kids, I'm willing to take the challenge since one of the nurses at the hospital has a total of six kids," said Clarissa.

At that moment Bridget started crying through the baby monitor causing Spencer and Clarissa to look at each other.

"I deal with Bridget while you wake Diana up for preschool?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smiled softly at his wife and thought about how they divide and conquer taking care of the girls when he's home.

"Are you needing extra time with Bridget before we leave the house at the same time so you can take Diana to preschool while I start my commute to Quantico?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, and at least you'll have extra time to work on paperwork since I'm now in charge of taking Diana to preschool every single morning while Lucy picks her up," said Clarissa.

"I did enjoy taking Diana to preschool every morning when I'm home, so I don't mind arriving at work a little later than the rest of my team since there are other parents who make the same commute like me," said Spencer as they exited the master bedroom.

"How about I take Diana today and if your home this evening, we can ask Diana about who should take her to preschool when you're home," said Clarissa.

"Deal," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer was waking Diana up for preschool while Clarissa tended to Bridget before the family of four headed downstairs so Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy could eat the breakfast that Lucy made for them.

xxxxxx

A half-hour later Spencer looked at Bridget who was in her mother's arms.

"You be a good girl for Lucy, and hopefully I'll see you tonight," said Spencer as he gave his youngest daughter a kiss.

Bridget smiled at her daddy before Spencer looked at his wife.

"You need to hand over Bridget to Lucy, Clarissa," said Spencer.

"I can't," said Clarissa.

Lucy looked at Clarissa.

"Bridget will be fine with me, and I'll make sure to send you a lot of pictures of Bridget and send you texts to let you know how Bridget's doing," said Lucy.

"It was hard to return to work after Diana was born, but now its harder since I'm a mommy to two kids," said Clarissa.

Diana who was wearing one of her favorite dresses, a fall jacket, and had her mid-back length curly brown hair pulled into two French braids by her daddy looked at her mommy.

"I will be late for preschool if you don't give Bridget to Lucy," said Diana.

Spencer looked towards his youngest daughter and noticed that Bridget was asleep.

"Bridget's asleep, and she'll be more comfortable in her baby swing," said Spencer.

Clarissa reluctantly handed Bridget over to Lucy, and a minute later Spencer was buckling Diana into her front-rear car seat.

"Have a good day at preschool, bumble bee. Hopefully, I'll be home before dinner, but if I have to go away with your uncle, please be good for mommy and Lucy and I'll call you at bedtime," said Spencer.

"OK, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer pulled his restrained daughter into a hug.

"I love you, Diana," said Spencer.

Diana tightly hugged her father before kissing him on the cheek.

"I love you too, daddy," said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer was standing by the driver's side of Clarissa's SUV giving his wife a kiss.

"Have a good first day back at work, and hopefully I'll see you tonight," said Spencer.

"I'll send you a text during my first break, but if you get called away please let me know," said Clarissa.

"I promise," said Spencer.

"I love you," said Clarissa.

"Love you too," said Spencer before he headed to his classic car and got into the driver's side.

xxxxxx

Less than an hour later Spencer sat down at his desk and smiled at one of the latest pictures of him with his girls on his desk.

"How was your weekend, Reid?" asked Emily.

"Other than going to church yesterday and spending time with Hotch and Jack yesterday afternoon, on Saturday I took Diana to see "The Bee Movie" before I had a date night with Clarissa that night," said Spencer.

"Did Diana love the movie?" asked Emily.

"She loved it, so Clarissa and I are already planning on buying a copy of the DVD when it gets released so Bridget can watch it when she's old enough," said Spencer.

"Speaking of Clarissa, didn't she return to work today?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded.

"It was hard for her when we had to say goodbye to Bridget, but I did get a text 20 minutes ago from Clarissa telling me that there's a cake to celebrate her return today," said Spencer.

"That's nice of Children's National," said Emily.

"Even though I'm not a huge fan of hospitals, I enjoy the atmosphere at Children's National since I enjoy doing magic shows for the children," said Spencer.

"When is one of your next magic shows planned?" asked Emily.

"One of my big ones is planned for December 22nd, and Garcia already insisted on helping out since she wants to bake cookies and cupcakes for the children," said Spencer.

"Isn't that day also the day after Diana's fourth birthday?" asked Emily.

"It is, and I already got Diana her birthday present," said Spencer.

Emily gave Spencer a knowing smile.

"More books?" asked Emily.

"I got her every "Junie B. Jones" book since I know that she'll be done with "The Magic Tree House" series pretty soon," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was joining Hotch by the coffee pot.

"How did Clarissa handle returning to work?" asked Hotch.

"It was definitely hard for her to hand Bridget over to Lucy, but during my commute here she sent me a text telling me that there was a cake in the nurse's lounge to welcome her back to work today," said Spencer.

"That's nice of them," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Clarissa looked at the calendar that she used to monitor her monthly gift before she did the math in her head. As soon as she finished her calculations, her face broke into a huge grin just as Spencer exited the bathroom with only a towel slung around his waist.

"What's with the grin on your face?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband and swallowed as she tried to prevent herself from jumping her husband.

"It seems like your little swimmers know where I wanted them to go," said Clarissa.

Spencer gave his wife a confused look.

"What?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa smirked at her husband.

"While you were tucking in Diana, I took three pregnancy tests that all showed positive results," said Clarissa.

Spencer's face broke into a huge grin at the idea of having three kids before he turns 27-years-old.

"That's great, and how far are you?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa grinned as she rushed over to her husband.

"I'm five-weeks pregnant, Spence," said Clarissa as she pulled her towel-clad husband into a kiss.

After kissing for a minute, Clarissa looked at the towel that was still around her husband's waist.

"When you exited the bathroom with only a towel slung around your waist, I had to control myself from jumping you so I could tell you the news," said Clarissa seductively as she removed the towel from her husband's waist, "But now we need to celebrate since I already locked the bedroom door," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer and Clarissa were making out in bed.

xxxxxx

An hour later a sweaty Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Since I still have to go to Dr. Larson to confirm this pregnancy, let's not tell anyone but Lucy about expecting our third child until the day of our wedding anniversary since I'll be almost nine weeks-pregnant by then," said Clarissa.

"OK, and I can't believe that we'll be celebrating our five year wedding anniversary and seven years of friendship this month," said Spencer.

"Me too," said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "Even though its too soon to know the gender, I have a feeling that I'm carrying a boy," said Clarissa.

Spencer rested his hands on his wife's still flat stomach and smiled at the firmness.

"I think so too, but with Diana naming the teddy bear she bought me 'Tristan' there's no way I would name my firstborn son Tristan like we planned because everyone would get confused," said Spencer.

"I always liked the name Gabriel," said Clarissa.

"I like Gabriel because our possible son could insist that we call him Gabe," said Spencer.

"What name would you like for a middle name?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer thought about it for a minute.

"Evan?" asked Spencer.

"Gabriel Evan Reid definitely rings a good bell," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxx

The next evening Spencer was sitting on the edge of Morgan's desk talking about one of his favorite movies as he waited for 5 PM to happen.

"A popular theory among leading astrophysicists estimates that the hyper-matter reactor would need about 10 to the 32nd jewels of energy to destroy a planet the size of earth. Now, Lucas said it took 19 years to build the first death star, right? But if you look at the new essential chronology, there's a testbed prototype for a super laser that spans…," rambled Spencer just as Morgan got up, "Where are you goin'?" asked Spencer.

"Taking back the last five minutes of my life," said Morgan as he headed to Rossi's empty office.

Spencer realized where Morgan was going.

"You can't go in there," said Spencer.

"Don't you want to know about this guy?" asked Morgan.

Emily quickly got up from her desk.

"I do," said Emily.

"Got it all memorized... His books, his bio," said Spencer.

"Yeah, books have sold over a million copies," said Morgan as he gestured with his hand.

"So?" asked Spencer.

"There are a million reasons not to come back if you know what I'm sayin'," said Morgan.

A few seconds later Emily and Morgan were looking around Rossi's office while Spencer stood outside the doorway.

"Huh. Taupe walls. That's a negative color. Cold, distant. You know, emotionally, taupe is linked to loneliness and the desire to escape from the world," said Emily.

Morgan looked at the empty walls in Rossi's office.

"I just figured the guy's walls would be covered with plaques and commendations," said Morgan.

"Huh. Maybe he doesn't want to be reminded of past victories. It's a new chapter for him," said Emily.

Spencer looked at his surroundings before entering Rossi's office.

"What happened to the moratorium on inter-team profiling, guys?" asked Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Come on, Reid, team? I don't think this guy knows the meaning of the word," said Morgan as he pulled a painting out of a box, "Oh, I found something. Looks like some type of religious art. Original, maybe? Definitely expensive," said a pleased Morgan as he saw Spencer joined him and Emily.

Spencer took the artwork from Morgan causing him to think about his mom.

"It's Renaissance art. If that's original...," said Spencer.

"Is it?" asked Emily.

Spencer examined the artwork.

"I don't know, it's kinda hard to tell. Means he's into the classics," said Spencer.

"What else?" asked Morgan as he didn't even realize that Rossi was nearby.

"Uh, Italian, Strict Catholic upbringing. Probably believes in redemption," said Spencer.

At that moment Rossi decided to alert his presence.

"Well, I believe in a lot of things. Catholic, yes. Italian-American, 52 years. Strict upbringing, not so much. Now, the artwork, that's 15th century, original. Cost more than my first house. And as for the wall color, it's just a base coat. Painters will come in and finish tomorrow. Now, if you're all finished, I think JJ and Hotch are ready for us," said Rossi before looking at Morgan, "Isn't that how a team works?" asked Rossi.

Spencer quickly left the office before Emily and Morgan followed him, and less than a minute later Spencer was sitting at the conference room table.

"Great Falls, Montana. Over the past 14 months, three women have been reported missing. Michelle Lawford, Jennifer Hillbridge, and Darcy   
Cranwell. All young caucasian brunettes. After an extensive search, all were presumed dead by local authorities," started JJ.

"So at least we know he has a type," deadpanned Emily.

JJ pulled up another photo.

"And now there's a fourth woman, Angela Miller. This morning, she and her car went missing from a small grocery store while her husband and   
son were inside," said JJ.

Spencer exchanged glances with his brother-in-law as they thought about the three children in their lives before Spencer looked at JJ.

"This morning?" asked Spencer.

JJ nodded while Rossi looked at JJ.

"Montana's requesting our help?" asked Rossi.

"40 minutes later, state troopers spotted Angela Miller's car on the highway," said JJ as she sat down.

"And when troopers tried to apprehend the driver, he blew himself up with a grenade, putting one of the troopers in the ICU," said Hotch.

"Are they sure that she wasn't in the car with him?" asked Spencer.

"They went through the wreckage, and it appears she's still missing," answered JJ.

"Troopers get a look at the guy?" asked Morgan.

"Caucasian, stocky, brown hair, Moustache. Early forties. He has a scar on the left side of his face," said JJ.

Morgan looked at Hotch.

"Do you think Angela Miller's still alive?" asked Morgan.

"Since the other missings were never found, we don't know, but he only had her for 40 minutes, so we have to assume she is," said Hotch.

After discussing the case for another hour, Hotch looked at his team.

"We'll be leaving first thing in the morning so everyone should head home and get some rest," said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was packing up to go home when Hotch came out of his office.

"Since you took the train in this morning, I'll give you a ride home," said Hotch.

"Thanks and Clarissa requested that you come into the house," said Spencer.

xxxxx

An hour later Spencer and Hotch entered the Reid family home and Spencer smiled as he watched Diana read to her baby sister who was having tummy time on the floor.

"There are two of my three favorite girls," said Spencer.

Bridget gave her daddy a wide grin while Diana ran to her daddy and uncle Aaron.

"Daddy! Uncle Aaron!" exclaimed Diana.

Spencer swooped up his oldest daughter while Hotch made a beeline for his youngest niece that he gently scooped up.

"Hello there Bridget," said Hotch.

Bridget gave her uncle Aaron a wide grin.

"You have definitely grown since the last time I saw you, Bridget," said Hotch.

Diana who was on her daddy's back looked at her favorite uncle.

"What about me?" asked Diana.

Hotch smiled at his oldest niece and thought about Diana getting her height genes from Spencer.

"With how fast you're growing, you might end up taller than your mother," said Hotch just as Clarissa came into the living room.

"I kept dinner warm for you two," said Clarissa as she gave two of her favorite men either a kiss on the lips or on the cheek.

"Sorry that I missed dinner since a case popped up," said Spencer as he set Diana onto the floor so everyone could head to the kitchen.

"Its OK, Spence," said Clarissa before looking at Diana, "I have some fruit out as your bedtime snack," said Clarissa.

"OK, mommy," said Diana.

Clarissa looked at a tired Bridget who was in her uncle's arms.

"I should give you a snack before I give you a bath and put you to bed," said Clarissa before looking at Spencer, Diana, and Hotch, "Each of you should give Bridget a kiss before I take her upstairs," said Clarissa.

Spencer gave his nearly three-month-old daughter a kiss.

"Good night, baby girl. I'll see you in a few hours," said Spencer.

Hotch gave his youngest niece a kiss.

"Good night, Bridget," said Hotch.

Diana gave her baby sister a sloppy kiss.

"Good night, Bridget and I love you," said Diana.

A few minutes later Diana was done eating her snack causing her to look at two of her favorite men.

"Are you two leaving for a case?" asked Diana.

"We're leaving to Great Falls, Montana tomorrow morning," said Spencer.

"Will we put a pin on my map of the United States before you tuck me in, daddy?" asked Diana.

"We will, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"Map?" asked Hotch.

"I wanted to know what cities you and daddy went to put bad people in long timeouts," said Diana.

Spencer gave his brother-in-law an innocent look.

"Its never too early to start giving Diana geography lessons," said Spencer.

Hotch chuckled before Diana looked at her uncle.

"The capital of Montana is Helena," said Diana.

Spencer gave Diana a high five.

"Good job and your spot on with pronunciation," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

The next morning Emily looked at Spencer who was already working on a geographical profile to help him pass the time.

"You know, I could have gotten you a coloring book at the airport," said Emily.

"I would have just given the coloring book to Diana," said Spencer before looking at his teammates, "I'm creating a topographical map, weighing   
down and geocoding all key locations looking for algorithms," said Spencer.

Emily opened her mouth.

"Yeah. That's exactly what I thought you were doing," said Emily.

Hotch who was making himself a cup of tea decided to explain the type of geographical profile he asked his brother-in-law to make.

"It's called a jeopardy surface. It's a way of narrowing down where the unsub could reside," said Hotch.

"And by default, where he may be stashing Angela Miller," said Spencer as he continued to work on his map.

Morgan looked at the file that he was reading.

"You know, it says here the guy had a fully loaded gun, so we know he had options. Why the grenade?" asked Morgan.

Hotch sat down while Spencer opened up a file.

"He wants to be remembered. And he wanted to be sure To take as many cops with him as possible. He knows he's out gunned. So he waits.   
Times it to the last second. Boom! There are some very committed people in those parts," said Rossi.

"Who loves their firepower," said Hotch.

"Almost as much as they hate us," said Rossi.

"Militia," said Morgan.

"And they're heavily armed," said Spencer.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"Yeah, but hand grenades?" asked Emily.

"It's not uncommon for militia members to have military experience. Oftentimes, they resent the structure and they get discharged, and they form their own paramilitary governments," said Spencer.

JJ looked up from her cell phone.

"Dental records are on their way to Garcia. I'll tell her to check the military first," said JJ.

"Prentiss and I will go meet the husband," said Hotch.

"I can walk the other abduction sights," said Morgan.

"Everybody else, set up base, work on geographical profiles. Establish contact with the locals, and tread carefully. They'll be watching us," said Hotch.

xxxxx

Spencer was setting up the evidence board when JJ walked into the area he was working with Rossi in.

"Hi, this is Agent Jareau with the FBI, and...," said JJ as she hung up, "That's the third time I've been hung up on," sighed JJ.

"Try not saying FBI," said Rossi.

"Who was that?" asked Spencer.

"Contact for a local militia newsletter," said JJ.

Spencer looked at JJ.

"Yeah, drop the FBI part," said Spencer.

JJ looked at Spencer and Rossi.

"A woman is missing. You'd think these people would want to help us," said JJ.

"They do want to help. The missing woman, not us," said Rossi just as JJ's cell phone rang.

"Go ahead, Garcia," answered JJ as she put her phone on speaker for Spencer and Rossi.

"You were spot on, crime fighters. Military records match. Francis Goehring, 42 years old. Did a year in the army but for a bad conduct discharge. Highlight of which was an arrest during a bar brawl in which three other people were hospitalized. He also appears in the federal database for... get this, aggressive militia groups," said Garcia.

"Aggressive militia groups? Is there any other type?" asked JJ.

"Uh-Huh. That's your federal government at work. We specialize in redundancy," said Garcia.

"You see a last known address?" asked Rossi as he crossed his arms.

"A compound just outside of town it's coming your way. Oh, he also has a wife that doesn't appear to live with him. Diane Marie Goehring, lives in Shelby a few hours away," said Garcia.

"Have the state police bring in the wife. Reid and I will go make friends with his neighbors," said Rossi.

"Thanks, Garcia," said JJ before she hung up.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the front passenger seat of an SUV when his personal cell phone vibrated causing him to see a new picture of Bridget having some tummy time.

"A picture of Bridget?" asked Rossi.

"Yes, and even though Clarissa had a hard time handing Bridget over to Lucy yesterday, I had a hard time saying goodbye to Diana and Bridget this   
morning," said Spencer.

"I can imagine that its harder to leave your girls when we're allowed to sleep in our own beds one more time before flying out first thing the next morning than heading to the jet shortly after briefing," said Rossi.

"I always appreciate having an extra night with my family before flying out the next morning, but I keep on telling myself that I'm making this country a safer place for my daughters," said Spencer.

"Speaking of family, are you aware that your brother-in-law separating from Haley?" asked Rossi.

"Clarissa and I have known from the beginning since we were the ones to catch Haley cheating on Hotch before we told Hotch what was going on. We actually opened up our home to him while he figured out what to do," said Spencer.

"I take it that the others don't know yet?" asked Rossi.

"I know that Morgan knows, and Hotch told Clarissa and me that he wants to keep his impending divorce a secret for a little bit longer," said Spencer.

xxxxx

Spencer got out of the front passenger seat of an SUV, and a minute later Spencer was knocking on the door when an older man opened up the door and looked at Spencer.

"What the hell do you want? Can't you read?" asked the manager.

"I'm not a salesman, I'm with the FBI," said Spencer as he pulled out his badge and showed it.

"FBI? You're not serious," said the manager as he gave Spencer a once over causing him to notice that Spencer was too thin for his height, "You look like a pipe cleaner with eyes. I could snap you like a twig," said the manager.

At that moment Rossi decided to appear while being impressed that Spencer wasn't upset about what the manager said.

"But then, he isn't alone. We're here because this was the address listed for Francis Goehring," said Rossi.

"I haven't seen him in months," said the manager.

"We'd like to see his residence. Francis Goehring abducted three women. We're looking for a fourth," said Rossi as he held up a picture of Angela, "He took her while her husband and son were in a store. This isn't about us, it's about a woman from your community," said Rossi firmly.

"I'll show you his place," said the manager before looking at Spencer's Glock, "Piece of advice, pipe cleaner, the way you're wearin' that gun... Beggin' someone to take it off you," said the manager.

A few minutes later Spencer and Rossi entered the house that Francis was living in, and the first thing Spencer glanced at was the mail.

"Mostly just junk mail," said Spencer as he started going through the magazines, "Catalogs for firearms... Survival preparedness," said Spencer.

Rossi who had felt around for dust looked at Spencer.

"He doesn't sleep here," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at some of the envelopes.

"Postmarks are new. He probably just uses this address for mail," said Spencer.

Rossi grabbed a book before looking at the rest of the books.

"Odd choice of reading material," said Rossi.

"Uh, speaking of reading material, I've, uh, read all your books," said Spencer.

"Thanks," said Rossi as he unlocked a trunk.

Spencer approached Rossi.

"Um... One thing that always kind of struck me as odd Is that you really just sort of glance over Ruby Ridge," said Spencer before he noticed a look on Rossi's face, "I mean, you don't... You don't have to tell me, I...," said Spencer.

Rossi opened up the trunk and pulled out a picture of Francis with his wife.

"This picture seems old. It's part of a past life. We need to find where his new life is," said Rossi before looking at Spencer, "How's that map of   
yours coming along?" asked Rossi.

"I've got it narrowed down to about a 30-mile radius," said Spencer.

"Well, Hotch seems to think he was on foot. That's a long walk," said Rossi as he started to go through the trunk more.

"I'm still refining it," said Spencer.

"Good," said Rossi before he found some tapes, "Hello. Home movies," said Rossi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: At first I thought about waiting with Spencer finding out that he's going to be a father again until his five year wedding anniversary, but I realize that with Clarissa being five weeks pregnant is that she'll be starting morning sickness soon. Also with what's happening in the ucoming chapters its better for Clarissa to know that she's pregnant.
> 
> So I'm already planning a sweet chapter that deals with Spencer's and Clarissa's five year anniversary that will involve a small party that involve everyone finding out about the baby.


	20. Identity Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is part two of Identity, and I cast Melissa Joan Hart from "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" as Nurse Alyssa Carter who is practically a big sister to Clarissa.

Previously during chapter 19

"What's with the grin on your face?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband and swallowed as she tried to prevent herself from jumping her husband.

"It seems like your little swimmers know where I wanted them to go," said Clarissa.

Spencer gave his wife a confused look.

"What?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa smirked at her husband.

"While you were tucking in Diana, I took three pregnancy tests that all showed positive results," said Clarissa.

Spencer's face broke into a huge grin at the idea of having three kids before he turns 27-years-old.

"That's great, and how far are you?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa grinned as she rushed over to her husband.

"I'm five-weeks pregnant, Spence," said Clarissa as she pulled her towel-clad husband into a kiss.

xxxxxxx

Rossi opened up the trunk and pulled out a picture of Francis with his wife.

"This picture seems old. It's part of a past life. We need to find where his new life is," said Rossi before looking at Spencer, "How's that map of yours coming along?" asked Rossi.

"I've got it narrowed down to about a 30-mile radius," said Spencer.

"Well, Hotch seems to think he was on foot. That's a long walk," said Rossi as he started to go through the trunk more.

"I'm still refining it," said Spencer.

"Good," said Rossi before he found some tapes, "Hello. Home movies," said Rossi.

xxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 20

Spencer got into the front passenger seat of the SUV when Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Do you think your brother-in-law would laugh when we tell him about your new nickname that you were given by the locals?" asked Rossi.

"Which one?" asked Spencer.

"Aaron of course," said Rossi before looking at Spencer,

"Sometimes I forget that you have two brother-in-laws since Clarissa's closer to Aaron," said Rossi.

"With how Sean can be, I learned that it's better to trust Hotch instead of Sean. Also, Hotch made sure to spend time with me when I was courting his sister," said Spencer.

"What did you and Aaron do together?" asked Rossi.

"Hotch took me to shooting ranges since he wanted to start preparing me for the academy, and luckily uncle Gordon taught me how to shoot a gun before he died," said Spencer.

"I remember hearing that your uncle was one of the best sharpshooters in Nevada and eventually Connecticut," said Rossi.

"Uncle Gordon was, and I have a revolver at home that once belonged to him," said Spencer.

Rossi noticed the Glock on Spencer's belt.

"Why not carry that revolver?" asked Rossi.

Spencer took a deep breath as he tried to keep the flashbacks at bay.

"Looking at that revolver reminds me of what happened to me earlier this year so I have it locked up in my gun safe in my nightstand," said Spencer.

"What happened to you earlier this year?" asked Rossi.

"When Clarissa was 11-weeks pregnant with Bridget, I was abducted and tortured for two days by an unsub who had Dissociative Identity Disorder," said Spencer.

"With you saying had, I assume he's dead," said Rossi.

"That's because I was digging my own grave before I tricked Tobias Hankel and grabbed his revolver and killed him seconds before my teammates  
approached me," said Spencer before he took a deep breath, "I was abducted because of making a rookie mistake of splitting up with JJ," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer and noticed the haunted look in his eyes.

"You don't have to tell me what happened to you," said Rossi.

"Its better that you know what happened to me because I'm still required to see a bureau therapist once a month for PTSD and its better that you know what happened to me because the smell of cooked fish always causes me to have a flashback that makes me get sick," said Spencer as he started to recount what happened to him.

When Spencer was finished recounting what happened to him, Rossi looked at Spencer.

"I'm sorry what happened to you, but it does take someone strong like you to combat post-traumatic stress disorder and still work this job," said Rossi.

"Despite having to deal with my severe PTSD during her pregnancy, Clarissa stood by my side the entire time," said Spencer.

"When Clarissa first told me about you, I was able to hear in her voice that she loves you so much," said Rossi.

"Clarissa and I both know that we saved each other since I lost my adoptive parents two days before meeting her while she was still grieving over the death of her mother causing her to bury herself in her school work," said Spencer before looking into his messenger bag and chuckled when he saw a Ziploc bag that contained dried apples and banana, "Lucy's at it again," said Spencer.

"What did my cousin do?" asked Rossi.

"Your cousin has a habit of slipping baked goods, fresh fruit, or dried fruit into my messenger bag since she knows that working this job might cause me to skip a meal, and this time she slipped a Ziploc bag that contained dried apples and bananas," said Spencer.

"That is so Lucy since she sent baked goods that she baked herself to her husband and me in Vietnam," said Rossi.

"Diana has a habit of slipping a Rubik cube into my messenger bag," said Spencer before he burst out laughing when he found a Rubik cube, "She did it again," said Spencer.

"Are you sad about Diana turning four next month?" asked Rossi.

"I'm sad that my oldest daughter is turning four and Bridget turned three-months-old this morning, but I'm glad that my little girls are happy and healthy," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was sitting on the edge of a desk as he watched the movies that he and Rossi found with Emily and Rossi.

"An earthly kingdom... Cannot exist without the inequality of persons. Martin Luther understood the weak will always serve the strong. Like me. He had dreams. And ideas," said Francis as he got up.

"It's funny, he uses the chair like it's a throne And he's framing himself intentionally with a low angle to give him power and dominance in the frame," said Spencer as he watched Francis sit down in the video again.

"In feudal times, the lord lived on high ground to spot the invader. He had serfs to serve his kingdom. The lord never had to leave his castle. The serfs would bring him everything. They were the appendages of his will," said Francis.

Emily looked at Spencer and Rossi.

"There's 11 more tapes of this?" asked Emily.

"It's his manifesto," said Spencer.

"First, I will build a compound, a kingdom. Second, I will arm, protect and fortify my kingdom. Third, I will keep women as serfs to serve my every need. This is my right. As a man with free will in America, I will make my kingdom a reality," said Francis.

"Well, we know he's moved out of his house. My guess is that kingdom is the reality now," said Rossi.

"Hey, he talks about keeping women to serve him. It's possible all these women are still alive," said Emily just as JJ approached them.

"Excuse me. Goehring's wife is here," said JJ.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting on a low bookshelf with his topographical map on his lap.

"Thank you for coming to speak with us, Mrs. Goehring," said Emily.

"Did I have a choice?" asked Mrs. Goehring.

"We need your help," said Emily.

"If I don't have to be here, good-bye," said Mrs. Goehring as she tried to get up.

Emily quickly picked up an old photo of Diane Goehring with her ex-husband.

"Um, is this you? That is you, isn't it?" asked Emily.

Diane looked at the photo.

"Where did you get this?" asked Diane.

Emily held up a picture of Angela Miller.

"Um, have you seen this woman?" asked Emily.

Diane looked at the picture.

"Today on the news," answered Diane.

Emily laid out more pictures

"Well, you probably saw these three women on the news as well and we think they all share one thing in common," said Emily.

"What?" asked Diane.

"They all look like you. A pattern, a type. You and all of these women fit a type. When was the last time you saw your husband?" asked Emily.

"I... I haven't seen him since we threw him out," said Diane.

"We?" asked Emily.

"The militia. They saw what... What he did to me, and threw him out," said a shaky Diane.

"What he did to you?" asked Emily.

Diane refused to allow tears from falling down her face as she shook her head.

"Francis killed himself yesterday," said Hotch gently.

"He's... He's dead?" asked Diane.

"After being caught driving Angela Miller's car," said Rossi.

"Can you think of anywhere that he would have taken these women?" asked Emily.

Diane shook her head while Rossi walked closer to Diane.

"Your husband was sadistic. He hurt you, made you do horrible things. He treated you like a slave. Did what he wanted, whenever he wanted. He did the same thing to those other women, except they didn't have the militia to save them," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at Diane.

"Francis said that his dream started with nine acres. What's he talking about?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at his map as he knew that Hotch was going to summon him soon.

"My parents' land. When... When... When they died, he made me give it to him," said Diane.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law and motioned him to come over.

"Where is it?" asked Hotch.

Diane looked at Spencer's topographical map and pointed at the area where Spencer already had boxed in.

xxxxxx

Spencer, JJ, and Emily approached Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, and Sheriff Williams.

"Angela's been dead for no more than half an hour. The partner was just here," said Hotch.

"He can't have gotten far. We set up roadblocks within a 40-mile radius," said Sheriff Williams as he gestured at a map.

"Sheriff, somebody around here must know who Goehring's partner is," said Hotch.

Spencer removed his sunglasses and attached them to his shirt collar.

"We should try Goehring's pals, the militia. Maybe they can help," said Rossi.

"Militia leader is Harris Townsend. He owns a bar called the Horse Post," said Sheriff Williams.

"I'd suggest sending Morgan," said Rossi.

"What? All due respect, Rossi, but you've got an entire team to pick from. You're choosing me? Are you serious?" asked Morgan.

Sheriff Williams looked at Rossi.

"No offense, but do you really want to do that?" asked Sheriff Williams.

"Take JJ with you," said Hotch.

Rossi looked at Morgan.

"They know we're here. But you're the last face they expect," said Rossi.

Morgan looked at JJ.

"Let's do it, JJ," said Morgan.

A few seconds later Morgan and JJ were heading to an SUV.

"Sheriff, we need to get into the house," said Hotch.

"Not until I get the all clear. Goehring blew himself up. God knows what else he's got in there," said Sheriff Williams.

Hotch looked at Spencer and Rossi.

"Search what you can until we get in. Anything to build a workable profile," said Hotch.

A few seconds later Spencer was following Rossi towards a work shed, and a minute later they were looking around the shed.

"Keeps everything neat," said Rossi.

"Obsessively so. His trailer was organized, but this is different," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Rossi was opening up a gun cabinet causing both men to see cartridges but no guns.

"Uh-Oh," said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer held up a box to Sheriff Williams as he and Rossi were walking quickly.

"We found some cartridges and different casings," said Spencer.

"The gun racks were empty. He took his entire arsenal with him," said Rossi.

Sheriff Williams looked at the box that Spencer was holding.

"7.62 millimeter. He's got an assault rifle," said Sheriff Williams as Hotch approached them.

"And I found two sets of men's shoes of different sizes," said Hotch.

"We found fresh tire tracks. Small pick-up truck," said Sheriff Williams.

"I know it doesn't narrow it down much, but let the troopers know they're looking for a man in a pick-up," said Hotch.

"If he's as prepared as Goehring, he'll have a police scanner and a 2-way radio," said Rossi.

"We can tune into the state geological survey frequency. Nobody ever listens to that," said Sheriff Williams.

At that moment Emily who was looking at the garden called everyone over.

"Hey, guys?" asked Emily.

Less than a minute later Emily was pointing out the rose bushes causing Spencer to think about the rose bushes that he and  
Clarissa planted in their front yard.

"There are three sections of roses, different heights, different levels of maturity," said Emily.

"3 different women," said Hotch.

Emily pointed at a bush of roses.

"These appear to be the most recently planted. The tags are still on them," said Emily as she and Spencer both crouched down to look at the dirt  
only to see some bug, "Guys...," said Emily.

Spencer quickly identified the beetles that he was seeing.

"Carrion beetles," said Spencer.

"Like in a cemetery," said Emily.

Everyone instantly knew that all the other missing women were dead causing Hotch to look at Sheriff Williams.

"Sheriff, let's get some shovels. We need to start digging," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, at Children's National, Clarissa was snacking on some saltine crackers as she added some ginger and lemon to her tea when a smirking Nurse Carter approached her.

"I assume that you have another bun in the oven since your eating saltines while adding ginger and lemon to your tea," whispered Nurse Carter.

Clarissa blushed a bit.

"Found out two nights ago, and I'm already planning on telling my doctor that I'm five-weeks pregnant when I take Bridget to her three-month checkup and my three-month post-pregnancy check-up tomorrow morning," said Clarissa quietly.

Nurse Carter looked around before she hugged Clarissa.

"Congratulations," said Nurse Carter.

"Thank you," said Clarissa.

"Does Spencer know?" asked Nurse Carter quietly.

Clarissa blushed a bit.

"He knows, and we already celebrated," said Clarissa.

"I figured that since I see that you have a love bite since you don't leave your hair down unless you have a love bite," smirked Nurse Carter.

Clarissa's face turned beet red before Nurse Carter chuckled.

"I'll keep your latest pregnancy a secret until you get it confirmed by your doctor, but please tell Spencer that I said congratulations," said Nurse Carter.

"I will," said Clarissa before she took a sip of her tea.

xxxxxxx

Meanwhile, in Montana, Spencer followed Sheriff Williams, Hotch, Rossi, and Emily into a house.

"We didn't find any explosives, nothing rigged, but be careful," said Sheriff Williams.

Rossi looked around the house and noticed how tidy it was.

"Odd. Goehring kept his house almost cozy," said Rossi.

A minute later Spencer was in the kitchen with Emily where they noticed a manifesto on the wall.

"One, all actions must serve to please the master. Two, insubordination will result in punishment... This is his new manifesto," said Emily.

Spencer examined the handwriting as he snapped on some gloves.

"Notice the "master" is singular and capitalized, emphasizing there's only one dominant partner," said Spencer as he removed a photo from the fridge.

"So his partner is more of a servant," said Emily.

Spencer thought about the term he heard earlier.

"Or a serf. Watching the house, minding the lawn, helping him abduct women...," said Spencer.

Emily took the photo from Spencer while Rossi came through a door.

"OK, so if his partner is a serf, what are the female slaves for?" asked Emily.

"Oh, I think I can answer that," said Rossi.

A minute later Spencer and Emily were looking at a chair that had leather straps around the arms.

"Now we know why the victims were taken so far apart. They tortured them. It took time for them to die," said Spencer.

Hotch who was looking through a closet looked at Spencer, Emily, and Sheriff Williams.

"This is where he kept them. The blood's fresh," said Hotch.

Emily who was fiddling with a metal contraption held it up.

"What the hell is this?" asked Emily.

Spencer made a disgusted face as he looked at Emily.

"The pear of anguish," said a disgusted Spencer.

Emily's eyes went wide as she quickly dropped the contraption that she was holding while Rossi lifted up the fold out bed.

"I've got something here. Homemade torture tools," said Rossi as he noticed the matching horrified expressions on Spencer's and Hotch's faces, "They covered the floor in something. The bodies are probably wrapped in whatever it was. They must have kept these women in that box for months, judging by these tools, there will be a considerable amount of mutilation. We need to do what we can to help their families give a proper burial," said Rossi.

xxxxxxxxx

"Goehring's partner is early to mid-twenties. 5'8". Slight build. Shy and retiring, but groomed by a separatist armed with assault weaponry. Like Goehring, he's unlikely to surrender if he's cornered," said Hotch.

"His obsession with cleanliness and order is deeply ingrained. This will be reflected in his home and his vehicle," said Emily.

Spencer looked at all the officers who came to listen to their profile.

"We've located hair samples in the cabin we believe are his, medium-short length and blonde," said Spencer.

"He's the submissive partner but having just lost Goehring... The man he was dedicated to and heavily dependent upon... He's in crisis," said Rossi.

ccccc

Spencer and Emily watched the videos while Garcia video conferenced in with them.

"That's it. The whole tamale. Every horrific frame. I'm done," said a tired Garcia.

"No luck seeing the partner?" asked Emily.

"No. He... I scanned every frame. He's holding the camera," said Garcia.

"You OK?" asked Emily.

"No," said Garcia tiredly.

"I'm sorry," said Emily before Garcia signed off.

Emily decided to play the next video.

"This is Jennifer Hillbridge, the second woman abducted," said Emily.

After watching the video play for a bit, Spencer looked at Emily.

"The cameraman frames Goehring, but never her. Watch. He never stays on her that long," said Spencer.

Emily realized what Spencer was saying.

"He's more interested in Goehring than the torture. He's lingering on his biceps like he's caressing Goehring's body," said Emily.

"Why the hell?" asked Sheriff Williams.

"The unspooled tapes... That wasn't to destroy evidence. It was from jealousy," said Emily

"What?" asked Sheriff Williams.

"He's in love with Goehring," said Emily.

Spencer listened to Francis talk.

"He's teaching him how to tie the perfect knot," said Spencer.

"So he can be the perfect serf," said Emily.

"It would be part of his servitude to clean his house, help abduct girls, bury the bodies, get supplies, plant the roses," said Spencer.

Emily perked up.

"He had to buy roses and a lot of them," said Emily.

"Someone must have seen him," said Sheriff Williams.

"Let's get to the nurseries," said Emily as she and Spencer got up.

xxxxxx

Spencer opened up a grill to find pictures that had Henry's head burnt out before he joined his team in the trailer.

"He's destroyed everything he owns," said Hotch.

"He has no identity. He burned his face off his pictures," said Spencer as he showed the pictures he found.

Hotch sat down on the arm of a couch.

"Why?" asked Hotch.

"A submissive depends upon a dominant partner not only for instruction, but for purpose and meaning," said Spencer.

"So he's starting over, wiping the slate clean," said Hotch.

"Yeah, but as what?" asked Emily.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was going through books with Emily when Hotch, Rossi, and Sheriff Williams entered the room.

"Sheriff, he's taken on Goehring's persona. We have to assume he's going to behave the same way. He's heavily armed, and he's committed to his cause," said Hotch.

"If he's caught, he's not only willing to die, but to take as many of us with him as possible," said Rossi.

"He's got a hostage, which means I'm going to need the best sharpshooter you've got," said Hotch.

"That's fine. But we don't even know where this guy's headed," said Sheriff Williams.

"The team's been working the profile, and we think we've got something," said Hotch.

A few seconds later Spencer, Emily, and Morgan were standing in front of their superiors and Sheriff Williams.

"In the tapes, Goehring makes several mentions of "ideal land"," said Emily.

"He also said that "lords live on higher ground to better surveil the land and spot invaders"," said Spencer.

Morgan held up the book he was paging through.

"He studied medieval defense strategies, so he'll probably go to a place where he can protect himself," said Morgan.

Emily walked over to the bulletin board.

"High ground, easily defendable. This picture was on Goehring's fridge. Do you know where that is?" asked Emily as she showed the picture that  
she and Spencer found.

"That's Black Eagle Peak. Militia groups used to use it for training drills till the state stopped them," said Sheriff Williams.

Spencer quickly grabbed his topographical map and passed it to Sheriff Williams who pointed out that Black Eagle Peak was in the area that  
Spencer shaded in.

"Ideal land," said Hotch before looking at Spencer, "You and JJ stay here, and you can use this time to call Clarissa," said Hotch.

"OK," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer had Clarissa on the phone.

"Are you coming home yet?" asked Clarissa.

"Your brother and a few others have left to arrest the unsub, so I'm using this time to tell you that I'll be home tonight," said Spencer.

"That's great," said Clarissa.

"The great news is that I won't be missing Bridget's three-month checkup tomorrow," said Spencer.

"Don't forget that I have my last exam tomorrow too and we can tell Dr. Larson that I'm pregnant again," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked around.

"How are you feeling?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa chuckled a little bit.

"Nurse Carter knows that I'm pregnant since she caught me putting lemon and ginger into my tea while snacking on saltine crackers, so after teasing me about the love bite you gave me, she told me to extend her congratulations to you," said Clarissa as she changed breasts with  
Bridget, "Should I tell Diana that your coming home?" asked Clarissa.

"I want to surprise her tomorrow morning, but where is she right now?" asked Spencer.

"Lucy is giving her a bath while I feed Bridget who is happily listening to your voice since I have you on speaker," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled.

"Hello, Bridget," said Spencer.

Spencer smiled when he heard grunting over the phone.

"Were you a good girl for Lucy today while mommy was at work?" asked Spencer.

Bridget grunted again before Clarissa spoke up.

"I have to go so I can burp Bridget, and I can't wait to have you in bed with me," said Clarissa.

"I'll work on my paperwork during the flight home so I can come straight home," said Spencer.

"Don't forget to take a nap too since I have plans for you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I love you girls," said Spencer.

"Bridget and I love you too," said Clarissa before hanging up.

xxxxxxx

Later on the night, Spencer quietly crept into Diana's bedroom and smiled as he watched his oldest daughter sleep for a few minutes before he gave Diana a gentle kiss.

"Daddy loves you," said Spencer before he quietly left the room.

A few seconds later Spencer entered Bridget's nursery and smiled as he watched his youngest daughter sleep peacefully in her crib, and a few minutes later he entered the master bedroom and smiled at the sight of his sleeping wife.

A minute later Spencer turned on the shower and was stripping himself just as Clarissa entered the bathroom.

"Room for one more, farm boy?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smirked at his wife's "The Princess Bride" reference.

"Always, buttercup," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer and Clarissa were heatedly making out in the shower.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was gently shaking his daughter awake, and as soon as Diana had her glasses on her face broke into a huge grin when she saw her daddy.

"When did you come home, daddy?" asked Diana.

"I got home after midnight, and I came in here to give you a goodnight kiss," said Spencer.

"Do you have to go to work today?" asked Diana.

"I don't have to go in until 10:30 AM, but you still have to go to preschool," said Spencer.

"OK," sighed Diana.

"Let's get you dressed for preschool since we're going out for breakfast," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

xxxxxxxxxxx

An hour and a half later, Dr. Larson looked at the computer monitor and shook his head as he looked at one of his favorite couples.

"I see that you two didn't bother waiting on conceiving baby number three as soon as you got the all clear since your definitely pregnant, Clarissa," said Dr. Larson.

Clarissa laughed while Spencer who had Bridget in his arms blushed.

"My husband and I must be very fertile since we're both healthy adults in our mid-twenties," smiled Clarissa before becoming serious, "Even though I made an estimate on my due date based on my last period, do you have an idea on my due date?" asked Clarissa.

"Your due date will be July 14th, so I want you to start maternity leave at 37-weeks just in case you go into labor at 38-weeks again," said Dr. Larson.

"Yes, sir," said Clarissa before looking at her husband and saw that the wheels in his brain were turning, "What are you thinking about?" asked Clarissa.

"Next year's Father's Day is a month away from your due date," said Spencer.

A smiling Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Then I'm going to pray that this little one ends up being your Father's Day gift next year, but if this little one is born after Father's day, he or she will be my belated Father's Day gift to you," said Clarissa.


	21. Lucky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I didn't have Somebody's Watching happen in the prequel (I wouldn't have that episode happen when Spencer's marriage was a secret), I'm planning that Somebody's Watching will happen in an upcoming chapter (Rossi will be written in instead of Gideon), but Lila Archer won't try to make a move on Spencer because I already plotted some ideas that my grandma already approves for Somebody's Watching.
> 
> Clarissa is six-weeks pregnant in this chapter.

Spencer was laying on his stomach on the floor face to face with Bridget who was having tummy time when Bridget gave her daddy a big grin.

"I see that your enjoying tummy time," said Spencer as he quickly grabbed a small blanket and started playing peek a boo as he covered his head with the blanket, "Where's daddy?" asked Spencer.

A wide eyed Bridget stared at her daddy before Spencer uncovered his head.

"Here he is," said Spencer as he made a funny face.

Bridget laughed causing Spencer's eyes to go wide before he looked at his youngest daughter who was still laughing.

"Was that your first laugh, Bridget Mackenzie?" asked Spencer.

Bridget grinned at her daddy at the mention of her name.

"Yes your name is Bridget Mackenzie Reid," said Spencer as he pulled another funny face off causing Bridget to laugh causing him to laugh along just as he heard a shudder of a camera only to see Clarissa who had a few tears falling down her face, "Bridget just laughed for the second time," said Spencer.

"I know since I heard you two through the baby monitor while I was playing with Diana upstairs," said Clarissa as she pointed at the baby monitor that was on the coffee table.

Spencer blushed while Clarissa joined her husband and youngest daughter on the floor.

"No need to be embarrassed over me listening to you talk with our daughters, Spencer," said Clarissa as she reached over and scooped up Bridget, "Are you having fun with daddy?" asked Clarissa.

Bridget grinned at her mother causing Spencer and Clarissa to smile at each other.

"Even though Bridget's mostly a mellow and quiet baby, at least she's a happy one too," smiled Spencer.

"Seems like Bridget will be having your personality," said Clarissa.

"I think so too since Diana has your free spirited personality," grinned Spencer.

Clarissa playfully slapped her husband's shoulder causing Bridget to laugh at her parents antics.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer woke up to Clarissa getting out of bed and running to the toilet, and 10 seconds later Spencer was holding Clarissa's hair back as Clarissa vomited into the toilet. A few minutes later Spencer looked at his wife who was brushing her teeth.

"How are you feeling?" asked Spencer.

"Much better, and I don't think that I can't eat anything but toast with peanut butter this morning," said Clarissa.

"That's OK as long as you eat some fruit," said Spencer firmly.

"Yes, daddy," snarked Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head as he realized that his wife's hormones were already in full swing just as Bridget started crying through the baby monitor.

"How about you get ready for work before you wake Diana up for preschool while I take care of Bridget," said Clarissa.

"Yes, ma'am," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

20 minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy were eating breakfast while Bridget was being rocked in her baby swing when Lucy looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Have you two decided what we should do for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year?" asked Lucy.

"As much as I would like to go to New Haven for Thanksgiving, I feel like that we should stay home this year," said Spencer.

"Its OK, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Garcia insisted that she throws us an anniversary party, so I know that we need to celebrate our five-year wedding anniversary here in DC," said Spencer.

"What about Christmas?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled at Diana.

"We're already planning on celebrating your birthday and Christmas here in DC, but what do you say about spending a few days in Las Vegas after Christmas so we can see aunt Elena?" asked Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

xxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer was sitting at the conference room table.

"Bridgewater, Florida. Local girl, Abbey Kelton, 19, left her parents' home to go to the local junior college. She never came home. Three days later, joggers found her- part of her- in a nearby park," said JJ as she showed a picture of Abbey.

Emily looked at the picture.

"What did that to her?" asked Emily.

"Bridgewater's off of I-75, which is often referred to as alligator alley for reasons that are now apparent. Everything below the waist had been eaten," said JJ.

"Ah, the circle of life," said Rossi.

"Suddenly I don't feel so guilty about my alligator wallet," deadpanned Emily.

"Alligators didn't cut off her fingers, slit her throat, or carve this into her chest," said Hotch as he slid a picture he was looking at onto the table.

Morgan grabbed the picture.

"An inverted pentagram," said Morgan.

"Locals believe the killing was committed by a satanic cult," said JJ.

"Some things never change," said Rossi.

"Killer satanic cults don't exist. They were debunked as a suburban myth," said Emily.

Rossi nodded as he stared at Emily.

"What?" asked Emily.

"Rossi's the one that debunked them," said Spencer.

Rossi gave Spencer a slight smile before smiling at Emily.

"Oh, right. Thanks," said Emily.

Rossi looked at the picture that was on the monitor.

"Cult or not, the killing was ritualized. This will turn serial if it hasn't already," said Rossi.

"So killer satanic cults don't exist, but satanic serial killers do?" asked JJ.

"Lasciate ogni speranza ch'entrate," said Rossi as he got up and clapped his file against the table before leaving the room.

Emily nodded as she understood what Rossi said while JJ looked confused.

"Oh. Thanks for clearing that up," said JJ.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"Uh, it's from "Dante's Inferno". Uh, "abandon hope, all ye who enter here."," said Spencer.

"So that was a yes?" asked JJ.

"A big yes," said Hotch before he gave a departure time.

A minute later Spencer was at his desk typing a text message to Clarissa.

I'M HEADING TO BRIDGEWATER, FLORIDA. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU, DIANA, AND BRIDGET. ~ SR

xxxxxxx

As they were flying to Florida, Rossi looked at his teammates.

"We never found any evidence of a killer satanic cult. In reality, there are only two types of violent satanic criminals," said Rossi.

Spencer used his eidetic memory to recall one of Rossi's books.

"Uh, type one- Teen satanists Assume the satanic identity to rebel. Minor crimes, theft and vandalism to churches, schools, symbols of authority. When combined with drugs and alcohol, They may turn violent," said Spencer.

"Yes, in extreme cases, deadly," said Rossi as he looked at Spencer, "Even though I learned about your eidetic memory on your wedding day, your memory scares me since you just recited word to word from my book," said Rossi.

"Join the club," said Morgan.

Spencer noticed his brother-in-law smiling a little bit.

"Uh, killings are accidental, usually resulting from their hobby getting out of control. Killings won't turn serial," recited Spencer just as Morgan looked at him.

"Hey, Reid," said Morgan as he gestured Spencer to stop.

"Sorry," said Spencer meekly.

"OK. So that's one type. What's type two?" asked Emily.

"The adaptive satanist is the one you have to worry about. The typical serial killer rationalizing his fantasies by blaming them on outside forces," said Rossi.

"Like Satan," said JJ.

"Yes. He adapts satanic beliefs To fit his specific homicidal drives. He doesn't kill because he believes in Satan. He believes in Satan because he kills," said Rossi.

"Well, let's hope it's the teenagers. Whether you're religious or not, the presence of satanic elements can affect even the most experienced investigators. And we're not immune, so keep an eye on the locals and keep an eye on each other," warned Hotch.

"I-I hear you. I saw "The Exorcist""," said JJ.

Morgan looked at his teammates.

"My mother took us to church every Sunday until I moved out. This whole devil thing doesn't spook me at all," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Maybe that's because you never truly bought the God part either," said Spencer.

After a few seconds of silence, Morgan looked at Spencer.

"No offense, kid, but you don't know what I believe," said Morgan.

"Well, I mean, logic dictates that if you believe in the one, you have to reconcile ile existence of the other," said Spencer.

"People's reaction to Satan is what gives it appeal to these offenders. It has power, and it would be a mistake to underestimate it," said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer was fixing himself some coffee when Rossi joined him.

"I know about your Asperger's syndrome," said Rossi quietly.

"My Asperger's syndrome is a huge reason why I occasionally miss social cues," said Spencer softly.

"I know," said Rossi.

xxxxxx

Detective Jordan looked at Spencer, Hotch, and Emily.

"We found Abbey's car at a gas station near her home. No sign of foul play. Dr. Fulton?" asked Detective Jordan.

"The gators got to her sometime during the night. Her nose was broken at least 48 hours prior," said Dr. Fulton.

"About the time of the abduction," said Emily.

"Blitz attack," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Dr. Fulton.

"What was the cause of death?" asked Spencer.

"Her throat. It was cut roughly eight hours prior to the discovery of the body," said Dr. Fulton.

"Sexual assault?" asked Emily.

"State of the body makes that impossible to determine," said Dr. Fulton.

"The pentagram?" asked Hotch.

"That was done postmortem," said Dr. Fulton.

"And the fingers?" asked Hotch.

"All severed at the first knuckle.

"When?" asked Hotch.

"I was unsure when the fingers were removed until I found this...," said Dr. Fulton as he grabbed a metal bowl to show the contents, "The contents   
of her stomach. The condition indicates they were fed to her just prior to her death," said Dr. Fulton.

Spencer looked at the bowl as he composed himself.

"All 10 fingers," said Spencer softly.

xxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was just about to head outside so he could call Clarissa just as Emily joined him.

"May I go outside with you?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded, and 30 seconds later Spencer and Emily were sitting on a bench.

"Everything OK?" asked Spencer.

Emily looked at Spencer and saw the concern that was showing in Spencer's eyes through his glasses.

"I'm irritated with Morgan," said Emily.

"Why?" asked Spencer.

"Morgan is never going to settle down with a girl if he doesn't learn how to listen when a woman talks about her feelings instead of trying to fix her," said Emily as she told him what Garcia said to her.

Spencer nodded along as he listened to Emily, and when Emily was finished she looked at Spencer.

"Garcia said that she wishes that Morgan could be more like you since you choose to listen before offering to help," said Emily.

Spencer blushed a bit.

"Clarissa and I promised each other that we would always listen to each other when either of us is feeling down before we talk about what we should do," said Spencer.

"And that's why I chose to complain to you about Morgan," said Emily just as Spencer's cell phone rang causing the 26-year-old genius to smile when he saw Clarissa's name and picture on his phone.

"I was just about to call you," said Spencer.

"How is it going in Florida?" asked Clarissa.

"I hate Florida because its hot, humid, and some of the worst unsubs come from Florida. So I wish that I never have to return to Florida again,"   
said Spencer.

Clarissa laughed before deciding to tease her husband.

"So you don't want to return to Florida so we can take Diana, Bridget, and Baby Reid to Disney World in a few years since we've been talking about taking the kids to Disney World in a few years?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head as he realized that his wife was teasing him.

"I'm willing to return to Florida so we can take the kids to Disney World," said Spencer.

"I will let you get back to work since I need to get back to work so I can get home to our girls," said Clarissa.

"I promise to stay safe, and please give them a kiss for me and I'll give you one when I get home," said Spencer.

"You better, and I love you," said Clarissa.

"Love you too," said Spencer before hanging up.

xxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was sitting at a table with his teammates when Emily entered the room.

"Dr. Fulton confirmed it. Maria Lopez was frozen shortly after her death," said Emily.

"Well, that explains why we haven't been able to find the other victims. He's keeping'," said Morgan.

"How you get the cannibalism?" asked Emily.

"He didn't take them for sex, and he took their legs. He was trying to tell us by feeding the fingers to Abbey Kelton. Fingers were a message. "I've   
killed before" was only part of it. "I'm eating them" was the other," said Hotch.

"Cannibalism, the greatest taboo. That explains his drive to blame his appetite on an outside force," said Rossi.

JJ shook her head.

"Why would anyone want to eat human flesh?" asked JJ.

"It's like a sexual urge, a cross-wiring of the two most basic human drives- sustenance and sex," said Spencer.

"It all fits," said Morgan just as Emily's cell phone rang.

"Hey. Garcia, I'm putting you on speaker," said Emily as she put her phone on speaker.

"So I can't find any patients in Florida who have the charming cocktail of being both a Satanist and a cannibal. However, Hazelwood Mental Institution is the place to go when looking for Florida's most dangerous kinds of wackos, and they had a fire in 1998 that destroyed all their records," said Garcia.

"How far away is Hazelwood?" asked Hotch.

Spencer thought about the research he did.

"70 miles," answered Spencer.

"Uh, JJ, tell 'em we're on our way," said Hotch before he looked at his brother-in-law, "Uh, Reid," said Hotch as he got up.

"Let's go," said Spencer as he stood up.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the front passenger seat of an SUV he pulled out his phone and called Clarissa.

"I was just about to call you so you can say goodnight to the girls," said Clarissa.

"I'm about to put you on speaker since your brother is with me," said Spencer as he put his phone on speaker, "Your now on speaker," said Spencer.

"Hi Aaron," said Clarissa.

"How's it going, Clarissa?" asked Hotch.

"I'm doing great, but missing my husband," said Clarissa just before Bridget started to laugh, "Are Daisy and Merton making you laugh?" asked   
Clarissa.

"Is my youngest niece finally laughing?" asked Hotch.

Spencer gave his brother-in-law a smile.

"She laughed for the first time a few days ago when I played peek-a-boo with her," said Spencer before frowning at the lack of Diana's voice, "Where's Diana?" asked Spencer.

"She went to use the bathroom," said Clarissa just as she heard running, "Here she comes," said Clarissa.

"Hello Diana," said Spencer.

"Hi daddy," chirped Diana.

"No greeting for me?" asked Hotch.

"Hi uncle Aaron," said Diana.

"How was preschool today?" asked Spencer.

"I draw a turkey for Thanksgiving," said Diana.

"It's drew. Not draw, Diana," said Spencer.

"Sorry, daddy," said Diana.

"Its OK that you aren't using perfect grammar yet," said Spencer.

"Well Bridget's asleep, so let's say goodnight to daddy and uncle Aaron so they can get back to work," said Clarissa.

"Good night, daddy. Good night, uncle Aaron," said Diana.

"Good night, Diana," said Hotch.

"Good night, bumble bee," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was hanging up.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer and Hotch followed Dr. Nash into Dr. Nash's office.

"As I told Agent Jareau on the phone, we have no existing record of that patient you described," said Dr. Nash.

"But your records only go back as far as 1998. We were hoping that perhaps you would remember him?" asked Hotch.

"I'm sorry. I don't. Jim Lorenz was in charge of the adolescents," explained Dr. Nash.

"Adolescents?" asked Spencer as he sat down.

"Only reason we release a patient disturbed is if he had been admitted as a minor and turned 18," said Dr. Nash.

"Could we speak to Dr. Lorenz?" asked Hotch.

Dr. Nash looked at Spencer and Hotch sadly.

"He died in the fire. He was leaving when he heard the alarm. He came back inside... And became trapped," said Dr. Nash.

"Why would he come back?" asked Hotch.

"He was a very dedicated man," said Dr. Nash.

"Could it be because there was something in his office that he felt was worth risking his life for?" asked Spencer.

Dr. Nash stayed silent for a moment causing Hotch to look at Dr. Nash.

"Dr. Nash?" asked Hotch.

"There is something. The grounds people found it in a tree just below his office," said Dr. Nash as he opened up a drawer so he could grab a   
journal, "Jim, uh, must have thrown it out of his window just before he... I started reading. I had to s-stop," said a disturbed Dr. Nash as Spencer opened up the journal.

Spencer quickly read a page of the journal.

"The-" Uh, "the patient's symptoms "Go far beyond normal psychosexual, oral biting fixation of a typical seven-year-old boy." read Spencer as   
Hotch got Rossi on the phone.

"Rossi, we've got something. I need a name, Reid," said Hotch.

Spencer continued to read the journal.

"Admitted after biting a large piece of flesh out of his nine-month-old sist," said Spencer as he looked at his brother-in-law.

"A name," said Hotch.

"Believes he is possessed by a flesh-eating demon," read Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Reid," said Hotch.

"Floyd Feylinn Ferrel," answered Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer held one of the photos that Floyd had as he recognized the artwork.

"Francisco Goya, known the black paintings. Lorenz's notes say that Feylinn was exposed to them as part of his therapeutic art therapy," said Spencer.

"I don't think it worked," deadpanned Emily.

"He kills them after 72 hours. Tracey's been gone for 24," said Hotch as he passed a journal to Morgan, "See if you can find out where she is," said Hotch.

"Do what I can," said Morgan as he entered the interrogation room.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer entered his and Clarissa's bedroom and smiled when he saw Clarissa exiting the bathroom.

"Hey," said Spencer.

Clarissa's face broke into a huge grin as she ran to her husband.

"You didn't even tell me that you were coming home," said Clarissa as she pulled her husband into a kiss.

As soon as they broke out of their kiss, Spencer looked at his wife.

"We arrested the unsub and I asked Hotch for today off so I can spend time with Bridget," said Spencer before he looked into his wife's blue eyes, "I don't think I can ever eat chili again," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Clarissa.

"We dealt with a cannibal serial killer who fed volunteers who helped out at the search party the chili he made with his victims' body parts. I didn't eat the chili, but I'm glad I didn't," said Spencer.

Clarissa put her hand over her mouth and rushed to the bathroom, and a few seconds later Spencer was holding Clarissa's hair back as he rubbed her back with his spare hand.

"I'm sorry that I told you," said Spencer.

Clarissa stopped vomiting wiped her mouth with the wet washcloth that her husband prepared.

"Its OK since I don't want to deal with you getting sick the next time Lucy or I make chili," said Clarissa before making a decision, "I'm going to call in sick today too and Diana had three asthma attacks last night so she's staying home from preschool today," said Clarissa.

"Is Diana OK?" asked Spencer.

"She will be when she finds out that your home," said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "Go take a shower and get into your pajamas," said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

A half hour later Lucy looked at Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana who were all in their pajamas.

"Why aren't you three dressed for work or school?" asked Lucy.

"I took the day off," said Spencer.

"I'm taking a sick day due to the case that Spence came home from and Diana had over three asthma attacks last night so she's staying home from preschool," said Clarissa.

"So you guys are locking yourselves in the house today?" asked Lucy.

"We're planning on it, and I've been thinking that we can make homemade pizza for lunch and supper today," said Clarissa.

A grinning Diana looked at her parents.

"Can we build a fort in the living room and watch movies?" asked Diana.

"We sure can, and I'll even light a fire in the fireplace so we can make s'mores," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

xxxxxxx

A half hour later Spencer and Diana were working together on building a blanket fort that was big enough for him, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget while including a lot of padding before Spencer and Clarissa were cuddling in their blanket fort with Diana and Bridget as they watched "Meet the Robinsons".

xxxxxxxxxx

Later on that night at 9 PM, Spencer and Clarissa were about to undress each other just as Spencer's work phone rang, and a few seconds later he was answering his phone.

"Do we have a case?" asked Spencer.

"Garcia's been shot, so please hurry to Georgetown University Hospital," said JJ before hanging up.

A few seconds later Clarissa looked at her husband.

"What's going on?" asked Clarissa.

"Please sit down and stay calm for the baby and yourself," said Spencer.

Clarissa sat down.

"What's going on, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Garcia's been shot, so I have to get to Georgetown University Hospital as soon as possible" said Spencer.

"Let's get Lucy up so we can head to the hospital because there's no way that I'm leaving you and your teammates alone since I know nurses at the hospital who can help me get information," said Clarissa firmly.

A few minutes later Spencer was driving Clarissa and himself to the hospital.


	22. Penelope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Barry appeared in chapter 6 and they have two children a six-year-old son named Darren and a three-year-old daughter named Courtney.

Previously in chapter 21

Later on that night at 9 PM, Spencer and Clarissa were about to undress each other just as Spencer's work phone rang, and a few seconds later he was answering his phone.

"Do we have a case?" asked Spencer.

"Garcia's been shot, so please hurry to Georgetown University Hospital," said JJ before hanging up.

A few seconds later Clarissa looked at her husband.

"What's going on?" asked Clarissa.

"Please sit down and stay calm for the baby and yourself," said Spencer.

Clarissa sat down.

"What's going on, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Garcia's been shot, so I have to get to Georgetown University Hospital as soon as possible" said Spencer.

"Let's get Lucy up so we can head to the hospital because there's no way that I'm leaving you and your teammates alone since I know nurses at the hospital who can help me get information," said Clarissa firmly.

A few minutes later Spencer was driving Clarissa and himself to the hospital

xxxxxxx

Chapter 22

Spencer and Clarissa ran hand in hand over to JJ.

"She's in surgery. There's no word," said JJ softly.

Spencer tightened his grip on his wife's hand.

"This is crazy," said Spencer.

Clarissa hugged her husband before she let go and ran to her brother and hugged him.

"I've been praying for Penelope while Spence drove us here," said Clarissa.

Hotch hugged his sister tightly.

"You didn't have to come here," said Hotch.

"Penelope ended up becoming one of my best friends since the team found out about Spence and me, and I know a few nurses and doctors here who can probably give me information," said Clarissa firmly.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"I tried to argue with Clarissa about staying home with the kids, but she wouldn't take no for an answer," said Spencer.

A minute later Emily and Rossi joined them, and a few seconds later Clarissa was hugging Emily and Rossi before she curled herself into Spencer's arms.

"What do we know?" asked Rossi.

"Police think it was a botched robbery," said Hotch.

"Where's Morgan?" asked Emily.

"He's not answering his cell," said JJ.

"I'll call him again," said Spencer as he grabbed Clarissa's hand and motioned her to come with him.

A few seconds later he had Morgan's voicemail.

"Morgan, its Spencer. Garcia got shot and is currently in surgery at Georgetown University Hospital," said Spencer before trying a few more times before he headed back to Rossi, Morgan, and Emily.

"They can't give me an update," said JJ.

"Morgan's phone just keeps going straight to voicemail," said Spencer.

"Where the hell is he?" asked Emily.

Clarissa looked at her husband, brother, Rossi, JJ, and Emily.

"Let me see if I can find out anything since I know a few nurses here who owes me a favor, but they most likely won't give me any information due to the HIPPA laws," said Clarissa firmly before she stormed off.

10 minutes later Clarissa came back and looked at her husband, brother, Rossi, JJ, and Emily.

"They could only tell me that Penelope is still in surgery and she's still alive," said Clarissa before she led her husband to a couch and curled up together.

A few minutes later Rossi was smiling slightly at the sight of Spencer and Clarissa cuddling together on the couch as they whispered to each other before he noticed that the young couple were resting their hands on Clarissa's stomach while noticing that Clarissa was practically glowing.

xxxxxx

An hour later Clarissa yawned, causing Spencer to look at his wife.

"You should head home," said Spencer.

"I want to stay here," said Clarissa.

"I know," said Spencer before whispering in Clarissa's ear, "Don't forget that your six-weeks pregnant and you need your rest," whispered Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"You win," said Clarissa.

"I'll walk you to our car, and I promise to keep you updated," said Spencer.

"You better or you'll be sleeping on the couch," said Clarissa causing some chuckles.

"Yes ma'am," said Spencer.

Clarissa walked over to her brother and hugged him before Spencer and Clarissa walked away.

10 minutes later Spencer was giving his wife a kiss.

"Please get some sleep," said Spencer.

"I will," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer was kissing his wife's six-week pregnant belly before he headed back to the hospital to see Rossi waiting by the doors.

"I believe that a congratulations is in order for you and Clarissa," said Rossi.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"Clarissa's glowing and I saw you two resting your hands on Clarissa's stomach. I also saw you kiss Clarissa's stomach before she got into her SUV.  
So my profiling skills told me that you two are expecting baby number three," said Rossi.

Spencer shook his head.

"Clarissa's only six weeks pregnant, and we're waiting until our anniversary dinner to tell everyone about the baby since she'll be almost nine-weeks pregnant by then," said Spencer.

"Your secret is safe with me," said Rossi before looking at Spencer, "Even though most relationships outside of the BAU ends up in a divorce or breakups, finding out that you and Clarissa are expecting your third child proves that you two are going strong," said Rossi.

xxxxx

Two hours later Morgan entered the waiting room causing JJ to stand up.

"She's been in surgery a couple hours," said JJ.

"I was at church. My phone was off," said Morgan.

Spencer looked up at Morgan.

"There's nothing you could have been doing here," said Spencer.

"The police got any leads?" asked an angry Morgan.

"I spoke to the lead detective. He doesn't think we'll get anything from the scene," said Hotch.

At that moment a surgeon in scrubs approached them.

"Penelope Garcia?" asked the surgeon.

"Yes," said Hotch.

"Yes," said Emily.

Spencer stood up.

"The bullet went in her chest and ricocheted into her abdomen. She lost a lot of blood. It was touch-and-go for a while, but we were able to repair the injuries," said the surgeon.

"So what are you saying?" asked JJ.

"One centimeter over and it would have torn right through her heart. Instead, she could actually walk out of here in a couple of days. And I'd say  
that's a minor miracle," said the surgeon before he saw everyone smile in relief, "She needs her rest. You can see her in the morning," said the surgeon before he walked away.

"Thank you," said JJ.

"Thank you," said Emily.

Hotch looked at Rossi.

"David and I will go to the scene," said Hotch before looking at Spencer, JJ, Emily, and Morgan, "I think the rest of you should be here when she wakes up. I don't care about protocol. I don't care whether we're working this officially or not. We don't touch any new cases until we find out who did this," said Hotch firmly before he walked away with Rossi.

xxxxxx

Spencer smiled at Garcia as he followed JJ, Emily, and Morgan into Garcia's hospital room, and a few seconds later JJ gave Garcia a kiss on the cheek before she rested a hand on Garcia's arm.

"Hi. No tears. I'm afraid if I start crying I'll come unstapled," said Garcia tiredly.

"How are you feeling?" asked Morgan as he rested a hand on one of Garcia's arms.

Garcia looked at Morgan.

"Oh... Confused... Stupid, and... In pain," said Garcia.

"Are you up for some questions?" asked JJ.

"I never saw it coming. He seemed... Deliciously normal," said a tired Garcia.

"You know him?" asked Spencer.

Garcia looked at Morgan.

"You were right. I should have trusted it," said Garcia.

"What are you talking about?" asked Morgan.

"It's that guy I told you about. The one I met at the coffee shop. I wanted to believe he was interested in me," said Garcia.

"Forget that," said Morgan.

"I let my guard down," said Garcia.

"Do you have any idea why he would have done this?" asked Emily.

"Did he threaten you? Did he want something?" asked Spencer.

"I just thought he liked me," cried Garcia.

JJ looked at Spencer, Morgan, and Emily.

"OK. um... We're gonna- we're gonna come back in a little while," said JJ.

"We need a name," said Emily.

"James Colby Baylor," said Garcia.

Emily wrote down the name and left the room while Garcia looked at JJ as Spencer and Morgan started to leave the room.

"JJ, can you stay for a sec?" asked Garcia.

A minute later Spencer was following Morgan who punched a whiteboard.

"We need to stay calm," said Spencer firmly.

"Don't tell me what to be. I know that you would be extremely pissed off if it was Clarissa," snapped Morgan.

Spencer looked towards Garcia's hospital room before making eye contact with Morgan.

"Do you remember anything she said about him?" asked Spencer.

"No," said Morgan.

Emily joined them.

"I just talked to Hotch. They think he used a revolver," said Emily.

Spencer crossed his arms.

"Who the hell uses a revolver?" asked Morgan.

"Somebody who doesn't want to leave shell casings behind as evidence," said Spencer.

"What about witnesses?" asked Morgan.

"None so far. And he staged it to look like a robbery," said Emily.

"Which means if he's smart enough to use forensic countermeasures, odds are the name he gave Garcia is probably bogus," said Spencer before he  
saw JJ approach them, "What did she say?" asked Spencer.

"She made me promise not to talk about her like a victim," said JJ.

Spencer, JJ, Emily, and Morgan looked towards Garcia's hospital room just as Spencer smiled at a familiar face.

"Agent Morgan, please respect hospital property or I will be letting Agent Hotchner know that your causing damage here," said Sarah as she started to fix the writing on the board.

"How do you know my name?" asked Morgan.

Sarah finished the writing before she pulled Spencer into a hug.

"Clarissa told me what happened, Spencer. I'm glad that Penelope is going to be OK," said Sarah.

"Me too, Sarah" said Spencer.

"Well I have to get back to my rounds, and hopefully I'll see you in church on Sunday," said Sarah as she squeezed Spencer's shoulder.

"Hopefully I'll see you too since I can't wait to show Darren and Courtney some more magic tricks during fellowship hour," said Spencer.

A laughing Sarah rested her hands on her growing stomach.

"Don't forget that Baby Boy Barry will also enjoy your magic tricks too," said Sarah before she walked away.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"Know her from church?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded.

"Sarah has a daughter who's Diana's age, so there are a lot of play dates after church. Her husband is a psychologist, so Peter has been very helpful to me after Hankel," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

Spencer and Morgan watched a nurse take care of Garcia's vitals.

"I asked her to go out last night. But she was pissed at me. She blew me off," said Morgan before he walked away a bit.

Spencer turned around and leaned against the wall.

"So you ended up in church?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah," said Morgan as he looked at his little brother who was happily married and a father, "What does it mean? On one hand, if she'd gone out with me, she would have never got shot. On the other hand... What are the odds that the first time I pray in 20 years, she's on the table?" asked Morgan.

Spencer stayed silent as a nurse approached them.

"She's asking for you," said the nurse.

A minute later Spencer and Morgan were on either side of Garcia as Spencer stood with his arms crossed while Morgan rested a hand on Garcia's hand.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" asked Morgan.

"Good news, bad news. The morphine's wearing off," said Garcia before looking at Spencer, "When I was in the ambulance, I could hear the song "Heroes" playing in my head. I kept flashing in and out of consciousness. Everything was really bright. And I remember thinking, wait... Is  
David Bowie really God?" asked Garcia.

Spencer and Morgan both chuckled before Spencer looked at Garcia.

"We have a, uh... We have a sketch artist coming in," said Spencer gently.

"I'm still a little hazy," said Garcia tiredly.

"It's OK. Anything you tell us will help," said Morgan gently.

"Yeah," said Garcia.

"This guy say what he did for a living?" asked Morgan.

"He said he was a lawyer," said Garcia.

"Did...did people know him where you went?" asked Spencer.

"He said he wanted to show me a place. It was half an hour away," said Garcia.

"You drove together?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah," said Garcia.

"What kind of car?" asked Morgan.

"White. 4-door sedan. American. It smelled new," said Garcia.

"Rental car maybe?" asked Spencer.

"Maybe. I don't know. I don't look at things like you guys do. I don't see danger-," said Garcia as she started to breathe heavily.

"OK. Take it easy. Take it easy. What else can you remember?" asked Morgan.

"He smelled good," said Garcia.

Spencer thought about the nervousness he felt when he and Clarissa had their first official date.

"He seem nervous?" asked Spencer.

A tear started to fall down Garcia's face.

"I thought he was just afraid to kiss me good night," said Garcia.

Morgan reached out and wiped the tear that was falling.

"Hey. You sure you're up for this?" asked Morgan.

Garcia nodded as she flashbacked to the time that her date shot her.

"I could hear him walking. He leaned over me and I held my breath so he'd think I was dead," said Garcia.

Spencer looked at Garcia.

"You did what you needed to do to survive," said Spencer before he smiled sadly, "Even though your physical wounds will heal faster than your mental wounds, I know if you accept help from family and friends, you'll eventually be the Penelope Garcia that everyone loves again," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"I know that if it wasn't for Clarissa, little Diana, and Bridget you most likely wouldn't have recovered the way you did," said Morgan.

Spencer nodded.

"When Elle returned to work after Randal Gardner, Clarissa told me that I better accept help if anything traumatic happens to me in the field," said Spencer.

"I wonder what she's doing these days," said Garcia.

"Can you two keep a secret?" asked Spencer.

Garcia and Morgan nodded before Spencer pulled out his wallet and grabbed a photo of him, Clarissa, Diana, a newborn Bridget, and Elle together in Spencer's house.

"When did Elle find out about Clarissa and your daughters? Why did Elle choose to stay in contact with you?" asked Garcia.

"I ended up telling Elle about Clarissa and Diana shortly after my 24th birthday causing Elle to meet Clarissa and Diana after the Vincent Shyer case since I invited her over for dinner. When Elle resigned, she knew that she had to stay in contact with me because of Diana," said Spencer.

"How is she doing?" asked Garcia.

"She's been going to therapy while going back to school to become a therapist," said Spencer before smiling a little bit, "She actually met someone eight months ago and she's expecting their first child," said Spencer.

"That's great," said Morgan.

"The next time you talk to her or see her, can you please ask her to email me?" asked Garcia.

"I'll ask her," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

Four days later Spencer smiled at the 'get well soon' card that Diana made for Garcia before he focused on Garcia.

"Penelope, I know it's gotta be hard to keep reliving this," said Morgan.

"I just don't know what else there is to remember," said Garcia.

"Let's start with the behavior. That's all – that's all profiling really is, just noticing behavior," said Spencer.

Morgan walked closer to Garcia.

"Sweetheart, any details you can remember will tell us who he is. OK?" asked Morgan.

"Mm-hmm," nodded Garcia.

"All right, so let's go back to when you first arrived at that restaurant," said Morgan as Spencer leaned forward a bit so he could watch Garcia's  
facial tics, "Was he nervous?" asked Morgan.

"No. The opposite, actually," said Garcia.

"So he was trying to impress you by showing you how he can take charge," said Morgan.

"I guess so," said Garcia.

"Tell me about his watch," said Spencer.

"It's a fake Rolex," said Garcia.

"You sure about that?" asked Morgan.

"I know my knockoffs," answered Garcia.

"Clearly he was playing with it, though, 'cause he wanted you to notice. I mean, he wanted you to think that it was real," said Spencer.

Garcia started getting overwhelmed.

"Garcia, are you OK?" asked Morgan.

"I'm feeling really exposed," confessed Garcia.

"You're doing just fine. Just fine," said Morgan.

Garcia started to replay her conversation with her attacker before Spencer looked at Morgan and Garcia as he thought about his late father and  
what he knows about his late father-in-law.

"City attorneys don't try murder cases," said Spencer.

"What?" asked Garcia.

xxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer and Morgan were back at the BAU so Spencer could explain to the rest of the team.

"He knows enough to use legal terminology, but he's not actually a working lawyer," said Spencer as he sat down.

"I think we're looking at someone who failed out of law school or didn't pass the bar," said Morgan as he grabbed a file.

"Did Garcia say if he gave any details about the cases he was supposedly working?" asked JJ.

Spencer shook his head.

"No specifics," said Spencer.

"If he failed out of the system, it could explain why he's got a working vocabulary and not much more," said Hotch.

"It could also explain his anger. Even in his lie, he rails against other people's incompetence," said Emily.

"Well, he's clearly a narcissist. The clothes, the watch, the subtle hints at where he went to school. He's faking humility when he's saying New Haven and Cambridge instead of Yale and Harvard," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at JJ.

"JJ, we need an analyst who can, uh, put our information through the legal databases," said Hotch.

"I'm on it," said JJ before she left the room.

xxxxxx

Morgan was holding up a mirror while Garcia was applying lip gloss when Hotch entered Garcia's hospital room.

"Hey," said Garcia.

Hotch looked at the nightstand and noticed a picture and a get well soon card from Diana before focusing on Garcia.

"How are you feeling?" asked Hotch.

"You know, I've had better dates," said Garcia.

"What's going on?" asked Morgan.

"We found an encrypted file on your computer," said Hotch while Spencer and Morgan both looked at Hotch, "Are you involved in something that I need to know about?" asked Hotch.

"No," said Garcia.

"Hotch, what's going on?" asked Morgan.

"Could this be connected in any way to whoever shot you?" asked Hotch.

"I don't think so," said Garcia.

"I need the password," said Hotch.

"Is this really necessary?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked up at his brother-in-law while Hotch looked at Morgan.

"Yes," said Hotch before he looked at Garcia again, "The password," said Hotch.

"Gilman Street," said Garcia.

"Thank you," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"They don't honestly think Garcia's a security risk, do they?" asked Spencer.

Hotch shook his head.

"I don't know. We've been ordered by Internal Affairs to stop working the case," said Hotch.

"What?" asked an angry Morgan.

"And until this is cleared up...," said Hotch before looking at Garcia, "You've been suspended. I'm sorry," said Hotch.

"Right," said Garcia.

As soon as Hotch left the room, Garcia started removing the pads that were connected to her heart monitor.

"What are you doing?" asked Spencer.

"I need to get out of here," said Garcia.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," said Morgan as he gently pushed Garcia back into bed, "Please, baby, listen to me. We're gonna get it straightened out. I'm gonna find out who did this to you. Okay? I don't give a damn what IA wants me to do or doesn't want me to do, but right now you need to rest," said Morgan firmly.

"But...one of the last things I said before he shot me was, "everything happens for a reason." Derek, if I lose faith in that, then nothing in my life  
makes sense," said Garcia.

"I get that," said Morgan.

"No, you don't," said Garcia.

Spencer looked at Garcia.

"I doubt that I would have met Clarissa when I did if my aunt and uncle weren't killed," said Spencer.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"Exactly," said Garcia.

A few minutes later Garcia was pacing in her hospital room.

"After my parents died, I... Kind of went off the rails for a while. I dropped out of Cal-tech. I lived underground, basically. But I kept teaching myself code. It was the one thing that kept me together," said Garcia.

"Meeting Clarissa was a huge reason why I was able to survive the deaths of my aunt and uncle while my academic adviser forced me to attend grief counseling," said Spencer.

"Well I got caught by you guys, and you two know that Hotch offered me a job so I could avoid prison," said Garcia.

"Mm-hmm. Like Frank Abagnale. The Bureau figured if you can't beat 'em, hire 'em," said Spencer.

"Yeah. Something like that," said Garcia.

"Garcia, what's in the encrypted file?" asked Morgan.

Garcia looked at Spencer and Morgan.

"I'm required to keep a record of everything the team does. And after my system got hacked and Elle got shot, I just didn't want anyone else to be able to get at you," said Garcia.

Spencer sighed.

"We'll talk to the doctor, see if he'll clear you to leave," said Spencer before he left the room.

xxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer entered his house and smiled at the sight of Clarissa curled up on the couch as he armed the security system and checked windows.

"I thought that Garcia agreed to stay with us so I can keep an eye on her incisions?" asked Clarissa.

"Since her attacker is still on the loose, Garcia refused to come here so you can take care of her since she doesn't want to put Diana and Bridget in  
danger. So Morgan is going to protect Garcia at her apartment," said Spencer.

"Its OK, Spence," said Clarissa before becoming serious, "I ended up getting a call from Diana's school today," said Clarissa.

"Is Diana in trouble?" asked Spencer.

"No, but they're hoping that I can be their school nurse starting January 2nd of next year to December 19th since their current nurse is seven weeks away from giving birth to twins. So if I take this job, I will be on maternity leave from the first day of summer vacation to the first day of the 2008 to 2009 school year since Nurse Shelly wants to bond with the twins for a year," said Clarissa.

Spencer noticed the excitement that was showing in his wife's sparkling blue eyes.

"Are you thinking about taking that job offer?" asked Spencer.

"When I told my boss about the job offer, she told me that Children's National will welcome me back when this year-long stint is over," said Clarissa.

Spencer gently hugged his wife.

"I'll support whatever decision you make," said Spencer.

Clarissa smiled at her husband.

"Tomorrow I'll let my boss and Diana's school know that starting January 2nd, it will be take my daughter to work day every day five days a week for me," grinned Clarissa.

Spencer laughed as he kissed his wife, and as soon as they broke out of their kiss, Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Let's go check on our sleeping daughters before we celebrate my secondment," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were in their bedroom quickly removing their clothing before they ended up making out.

xxxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer woke up to his cell phone ringing, and a few seconds later Spencer was answering his phone.

"Is there another case?" asked Spencer groggily.

"No, but Garcia's attacker returned. So hurry to Garcia's apartment," said Morgan before he hung up.

A few seconds later Spencer quickly got out of bed causing Clarissa to wake up to watch her husband quickly pull on clothes.

"Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Garcia's attacker returned, so I'm heading to Garcia's apartment," said Spencer.

"Please stay safe," said Clarissa.

"I promise," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer followed JJ into Garcia's apartment.

"What's going on?" asked JJ as she knelt down in front of Garcia

"I don't know. this guy's getting seriously bold, and I can guarantee it's not over," Morgan.

"You OK?" asked JJ.

"I don't know what he wants from me," said Garcia.

Spencer sat down.

"Could you know something about him?" asked Spencer.

"I don't know," said Garcia.

"Maybe you have something he wants?" asked Spencer.

"I don't know who he is. I'm so scared," Garcia.

"I know," said JJ.

A few minutes later Hotch, Rossi, and Emily entered Garcia's apartment.

"Hey. did you get a look at him?" asked Emily.

"Nothing solid," answered Garcia.

"Garcia, we need to get you back to the hospital," said Hotch.

Emily rested her hands on Garcia's shoulders.

"No," said Garcia.

"You know what? You should still be there. We need her someplace safe," said JJ.

"I feel safe with all of you," said Garcia.

"We can take you to the BAU," said Hotch

JJ stood up while Garcia started to space out.

"Garcia?" asked JJ.

Spencer recognized the same face he had whenever he had a flashback.

"OK?" asked Spencer.

"When we were at dinner... They wanted to seat us by a window, but he insisted on sitting at the worst table in the place. And he sat with his back to the corner," said Garcia.

Detective Walker entered the room with another officer causing Hotch to look at the detective.

"Detective. Can you clear the room for just a minute?" asked Hotch.

"I got a dead cop downstairs. I consider this part of the crime scene," said Detective Walker.

"I know. Just a couple of minutes," said Hotch.

"Do what you gotta do," said Detective Walker.

"Thank you," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Garcia and thought about what Garcia revealed earlier.

"Tell us about the car," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Garcia.

"Just go with him," said Morgan.

"You said it was white, 4-door, American. what else?" asked Spencer.

"That's it. It was just a car," said Garcia.

"No, come on, think. Anything. Go back," said Morgan.

Garcia flashed back to getting into her attacker's car.

"The seat belt was buckled behind his back," said Garcia before noticing that everyone was exchanging glances, "Why does that matter?" asked Garcia.

"It wasn't a rental. It was for surveillance," said Morgan.

"Agents don't wear seatbelts. They need to get out in a hurry," said Emily.

At that moment Rossi had enough.

"All right, let's cut the crap. You need to be straight with us. Right now," said Rossi as he sat down in front of Garcia while noticing that Garcia was  
looking at her other teammates, "Look at me, not them," ordered Rossi.

"I'm not hiding anything," said Garcia.

"You got shot. Most people get shot for a reason," yelled Rossi as Garcia looked at Morgan, "Eyes here!" ordered Rossi as he pointed at his eyes.

"Ease up, Rossi," yelled Morgan.

Rossi held up a hand as he focused on Garcia.

"You got a roomful of people here willing to believe that an FBI agent has tried to kill you. We need to know everything you do on company time  
that we don't know about," said Rossi.

Garcia stayed silent for a moment.

"What?" asked Rossi.

"Come on, man," pleaded Morgan.

"It's nothing bad," said Garcia.

"Spit it out!" demanded Rossi.

"It's ju- I counsel victims' families and they know where I work, so sometimes they ask me to look into cases for them," said Garcia.

"What does that mean?" asked Rossi.

"It just means that the cases, the unsolved ones, I tag them, so whoever's investigating them knows that the FBI considers them a priority," said Garcia.

Hotch looked at Garcia and thought about how she keeps her heart on her sleeve.

"You're not authorized to do that," scolded Hotch.

"I know. I was just trying to help," said Garcia.

"But whoever's working those cases thinks you're watching them," said Emily.

"I just wanted to put pressure on them so that they don't slide," said Garcia.

"How many cases are we talking about?" asked Hotch.

"I don't know. Seven, eight maybe. I need to get into my system," said Garcia.

Hotch stopped pacing and looked at Garcia.

"You can't. You're suspended," said Hotch.

"Wait a minute, Garcia. On your date, you said this guy was pressing you to find out if you were working murder cases," said Morgan while Garcia nodded causing him to look at Hotch, "Hotch, we gotta look at those files," said Morgan.

Hotch sighed before looking at Rossi.

"I told you, I'm sick of this jagoff being in front of us," Rossi.

"Dave's right. We'll go back to the BAU," said Hotch before looking at Spencer, Morgan, and Emily, "Morgan, Reid, Prentiss, you stay here and make  
sure no one forgets to log out of the system. Garcia should not have access," ordered Hotch.

"Understood," said Morgan.

 

xxxxxx

Over an hour later Morgan looked towards Garcia's bedroom.

"What is she doing in there?" asked Morgan.

Emily continued reading the comic book that she had in her hands.

"Do you really want to know?" asked Emily.

A few minutes later Morgan was pulling papers out of the printer.

"Those are all the cases I flagged," said Garcia.

"OK," said Morgan as he passed out papers to Spencer and Emily, "Everybody take a copy. We need to see if any of the agents overlap in all of the  
cases," said Morgan.

A few minutes later Emily made a connection.

"There aren't any agents working on these cases. But the same deputy was a first responder in three," said Emily.

"What's the name?" asked Morgan.

Emily looked at the name.

"Jason Clark Battle," said Emily.

"What are the cases?" asked Spencer.

"Uh, all three were drive-bys, at close range, shot with a revolver.," said Emily,

Garcia did some typing on her keyboard before she pulled up a photo on her TV and recognized her attacker.

"Is that him?" asked Emily.

"Yeah," said Garcia quietly.

"He's been honored twice as a hero," said Emily

"So why is he stuck at deputy?" asked Garcia.

Morgan looked at the information they had.

"Because even to his superiors, something was off about him," said Morgan.

"Makes sense. The showy clothes, the subtle bragging. He presents himself as a prominent attorney when he's actually just a deputy sheriff," said Spencer.

"Underappreciated in the world and over-appreciated in his own mind," said Morgan.

Garcia looked at Morgan.

"I don't understand," said Garcia.

Morgan looked at Garcia.

"I think you may have stumbled upon an angel of death," said Morgan.

"I thought those are nurses who put people out of their misery," said Garcia.

Spencer thought about Clarissa being a pediatric nurse while thinking about how he had to shoot angel of death Phillip Dowd.

"Yeah, that's one model. The other is someone who puts people at risk in order to save them," said Spencer.

A shocked Garcia looked at Spencer, Morgan, and Emily.

"So he shot them so that he could save them?" asked Garcia.

"Yeah. and when he couldn't, he made it look like a random murder. It's how he was able to be the first responder," said Emily.

"It's called hero homicide complex. It's most commonly found in firemen who set fires in order to save the day," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Garcia.

"Garcia. You flagged these cases. He thought you were onto him," said Morgan.

"I wasn't," said Garcia.

"But you're the only person in the world who was gonna make the connection. In his mind, he had to eliminate you," said Emily.

A minute later Morgan was calling Deputy Battle's boss causing Spencer, Emily, and Garcia to listen to Morgan's side of the conversation before he hung up.

"Deputy battle, please. OK, what time is his shift over? No, no message. Thank you," said Morgan before he hung up, "OK, he didn't sign out to a location. His shift is over at midnight. Until then, I do not want this guy knowing that we are onto him," said Morgan firmly.

"Why? What's the profile say?" asked Garcia.

"He'll keep getting bolder trying to cover his tracks. And if that doesn't work, he'll die shooting," said Spencer.

A few minutes later something popped up on Garcia's computer.

"OK, that's funky," said Garcia.

"What's going on?" asked Spencer.

"He just logged in to my system. There's a link up on my screen," said Garcia.

"Maybe it's a mistake," said Emily.

"No. he's good. He's not careless," said Garcia before she focused on her keyboard.

"Could he be trying to show you something?" asked Spencer.

"He could be baiting me," said Garcia.

"What do you mean?" asked Emily.

"If he's with internal affairs, and I follow his lead, whosever login I use could lose their job," said Garcia.

"What's your gut say?" asked Morgan.

"He's a hacker. We have a code," said Garcia.

"You trust it?" asked Morgan.

"I have to," said Garcia.

"Do it. Make contact," said Morgan.

A few seconds later Spencer, Morgan, Emily, and Garcia were watching live feed footage of the BAU bullpen.

"It's the BAU," said Emily.

"God, that's him," said Garcia.

30 seconds later Morgan had Hotch on the phone.

"Hotch, it's Morgan. He's in the BAU. Deputy sheriff, mid-bullpen, just past my desk. Got him?" asked Morgan before he listened to Hotch, "Don't  
let him know we're onto him. He's a classic narcissist with a hero homicide complex, and he's spiraling. If you let him know we're onto him, he's gonna start shooting," said Morgan before he hung up.

A few minutes later Morgan brought up what Spencer and Emily were both thinking.

"We gotta slip somebody in behind him," said Morgan.

"Can you get us the cameras outside the bullpen?" asked Spencer.

Garcia followed Spencer's instructions before they saw JJ in her office.

"Oh, my girl," said Garcia.

A few seconds later Morgan was calling JJ.

"Come on, JJ, pick up the phone. Pick it up," said Morgan as everyone watched JJ pick up her phone, "JJ, it's Morgan. Listen to me. Listen to me very carefully," said Morgan.

A few minutes later Spencer, Emily, and Morgan realized that Jason knew what was going on.

"He knows they know," said Emily.

"This is crazy. We got to get over there," said Morgan.

Garcia tried to get up.

"I'm coming with you," said Garcia.

"No your not," said Morgan.

"I do not have time to argue," said Garcia.

xxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was standing by Jason Clark Battle's dead body as Morgan covered up the body.

"It's really over?" asked Garcia.

"Yeah. It's really over. Now can we please get you back to the hospital?" asked Morgan.

Garcia looked towards Hotch and Agent Fuchs.

"I...," said Garcia.

"Oh, don't worry about your reinstatement papers. He'll sign them as soon as his hand stops shaking," said Emily.

xxxxxxx

The next day Spencer looked at Diana on his hip as he walked towards Garcia's hospital room while Clarissa had Bridget strapped in a baby carrier across her chest.

"Just be careful around your auntie Penelope," said Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

A minute later Spencer's and Clarissa's eyes went wide when they saw Morgan and Garcia kissing each other on the lips causing Spencer to cover Diana's eyes before he cleared his throat. A few seconds later Morgan's and Garcia's eyes went wide when they saw Spencer and Clarissa.

"I see that you two finally confessed your feelings to each other," smirked Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I owe you $20 since you won our bet," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at Morgan and Garcia.

"Are you two going to get married and have babies like my mommy and daddy did?" asked Diana.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Morgan and Garcia are finally a couple!


	23. Thanksgiving & A Wedding Anniversary

Previously in chapter 22

The next day Spencer looked at Diana on his hip as he walked towards Garcia's hospital room while Clarissa had Bridget strapped in a baby carrier across her chest.

"Just be careful around your auntie Penelope," said Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

A minute later Spencer's and Clarissa's eyes went wide when they saw Morgan and Garcia kissing each other on the lips causing Spencer to cover Diana's eyes before he cleared his throat. A few seconds later Morgan's and Garcia's eyes went wide when they saw Spencer and Clarissa.

"I see that you two finally confessed your feelings to each other," smirked Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I owe you $20 since you won our bet," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at Morgan and Garcia.

"Are you two going to get married and have babies like my mommy and daddy did?" asked Diana.

xxxxxxxx

Chapter 23

Spencer and Clarissa burst out laughing at the shocked looks on Morgan's and Garcia's faces.

"We're dealing with an 'out of the mouth of babes' moment," laughed Clarissa.

"I know," laughed Spencer before smiling at a memory as he looked at his wife, "Remember one of the times we went to New Haven's Children's hospital so you could put on a magic show for the kids, and a few kids asked us if we were going to get married and have kids of our own?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," laughed Clarissa.

Spencer stopped laughing and looked at Morgan and Garcia.

"When did you two finally admit your feelings for each other?" asked Spencer.

"Two days ago," said Morgan.

"Everyone was rooting for you two to get together," said Spencer.

"Even Hotch?" asked Morgan.

"He gave Emily and me permission to lock you two in an interrogation room next Monday if you two didn't admit your feelings for each other," said Spencer.

Garcia looked at the nearly four-year-old girl who was now on her father's shoulders and the three-month-old baby girl who was in a sling across her mother's chest.

"I want to cuddle with those cutie pies right now," said Garcia.

"Bridget's sleeping right now," said Clarissa softly.

"Then please hand over Diana," said Garcia.

A few seconds later Diana was sitting next to Garcia in Garcia's hospital bed when Clarissa looked at Morgan and Garcia.

"Since Spence and I decided that we're staying in DC for Thanksgiving this year, do you two want to join Spence, Aaron, Lucy, Diana, Bridget, and me for Thanksgiving?" asked Clarissa.

"Not going to New Haven this year?" asked Morgan.

"We're going to Las Vegas after Christmas so aunt Elena can finally meet Bridget," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer looked at his wife as he helped his wife get off the floor.

"Feeling better?" asked Spencer.

"Yes. Even though I hate morning sickness, morning sickness tells us that my hormone levels are high," said Clarissa before smirking at her husband, "So hopefully we can find some time to sneak away from everyone so I can kiss the taste of coffee you drink out of your mouth," said Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head.

"Did Dr. Larson prescribe you any medication for nausea?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa started to brush her teeth to get rid of the taste of vomit.

"He did since he wants me to enjoy Thanksgiving today," said Clarissa.

"I better get downstairs and start prepping the turkey before I get started on making breakfast," said Spencer.

"What did you tell Lucy to allow you to get started on the turkey and breakfast?" asked Clarissa.

"I told her that she earned the chance to sleep in this morning, and I'm planning on using the recipe aunt Ethel taught me," said Spencer as he gave his wife a kiss.

"Let's just eat waffles, fruit, and cereal for breakfast," said Clarissa.

"OK," said Spencer before he left the bathroom.

xxxxxxxx

A half-hour later Diana looked at her parents as they ate their waffles, strawberries, blueberries, and oranges.

"Who is eating Thanksgiving dinner with us?" asked Diana.

"Uncle Aaron, uncle Derek, auntie Penelope, and auntie Emily," said Clarissa.

Diana pouted at her parents causing Spencer, Clarissa, and Lucy to laugh at the still pajama-clad Diana who had maple syrup all over her face.

"No Jack?" asked Diana.

"He'll be joining us during the next Thanksgiving, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"What about auntie JJ and Dave?" asked Diana.

"She went to Pennsylvania to spend Thanksgiving with her family and Rossi declined our invitation," said Spencer.

Lucy looked at Diana.

"As soon as your done eating your breakfast, I'll help you put on your pilgrim costume," said Lucy.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

xxxxxx

A few hours later Diana was hugging her uncle Aaron and auntie Emily who smiled at Diana's attire.

"That's a beautiful Pilgrim dress that you're wearing," said Emily.

Diana twirled around in her dress.

"Thank you. Lucy made me this dress for today," said Diana just as Spencer entered the room with Bridget.

"Look who's finally awake and wants to be held by her uncle Aaron," said Spencer.

Bridget grinned at her uncle Aaron while her daddy passed her to her favorite uncle.

"Hello Bridget," said Hotch as he kissed Bridget's forehead.

Bridget laughed at her uncle Aaron.

"I can't believe how big she's getting," said Emily.

"I know," said Spencer just as Clarissa and Lucy came into the living room.

"Hi Aaron," said Clarissa as she gave her oldest brother a kiss on the cheek.

"How are you doing, Clarissa?" asked Hotch.

"I'm doing great," said Clarissa.

"Is there anything I can do to help with cooking?" asked Emily.

Spencer, Clarissa, and Lucy shook their heads.

"Spence, Lucy, and I are the ones doing the cooking while you two are on Diana and Bridget duty, and when Penelope and Derek arrive they can   
help out with the girls," said Clarissa.

Spencer smirked.

"What?" asked Emily.

"I wonder if they'll show up late?" asked Spencer.

"Why?" asked Hotch.

Diana looked at her uncle and Emily.

"When mommy and daddy took Bridget and me to see auntie Penny in the hospital, I saw them kissing like mommy and daddy do before daddy   
put his hand over my eyes," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa instantly blushed while Emily laughed.

"It seems like there's no need to lock them in an interrogation room," said Emily.

"I know," said Spencer.

"When Garcia returns to work, I'll be sitting them down to sign certain paperwork while lecturing them about staying professional while telling them that I don't want human resources to increase their sexual harassment seminars for us," said Hotch.

Spencer and Emily laughed before Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Can you help me in the kitchen for a minute?" asked Clarissa.

"Sure," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was satisfied on how everything was cooking in the oven before Clarissa wrapped her arms around her husband.

"Hopefully we can have a few minutes alone here," said Clarissa as she pulled her husband into a kiss.

Spencer pulled himself back.

"Do you really want to make out while your brother is in the living room?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Clarissa as she pulled her husband into another kiss.

Over five minutes later they heard some giggles.

"Mommy and daddy sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g," sang Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa instantly broke apart causing them to find Diana grabbing an orange from the fruit bowl.

"When did you learn that song?" asked Clarissa.

"Recess," said Diana just as her stomach growled, "When will we be eating turkey?" asked Diana.

"Two hours," said Spencer.

"OK," said Diana before looking at her daddy, "Can you please peel my orange?" asked Diana.

"Sure, bumble bee," said Spencer as he grabbed a peeler that was specially made for oranges.

A minute later Spencer was cutting up the orange and set the slices on a plate before Diana grabbed one and passed it to her daddy.

"Thank you, daddy," said Diana before she left the kitchen with her plate of orange slices.

A few seconds later Clarissa smirked at her husband.

"Remember the time I had to teach you about that song since a few kids we were entertaining started to sing that song to us?" asked Clarissa.

"Yeah, but I'm glad that you're helping me learn certain rhymes that I didn't learn as a child," said Spencer.

"We should probably head into the living room before Aaron thinks we're doing something naughty because Diana probably told everyone that she   
caught us kissing," said Clarissa.

Spencer laughed as he and Clarissa exited the kitchen.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

90 minutes later the doorbell rang causing Hotch to look at his oldest niece.

"Let's go see who's here," said Hotch.

"OK, uncle Aaron," said Diana.

30 seconds later Diana grinned at Morgan and Garcia.

"Uncle Derek. Auntie Penny," said Diana.

Garcia smiled at the Pilgrim dress and bonnet that Diana was wearing.

"That pilgrim dress looks very pretty on you," said Garcia.

Diana twirled around in her dress.

"Lucy made me this dress for today," said Diana.

Hotch looked at his niece.

"What do you say?" asked Hotch.

"Thank you, Auntie Penny," said Diana.

"Where's Reid and Clarissa?" asked Morgan.

Emily who was having tummy time with Bridget looked up.

"They're in the kitchen," said Emily.

"I better go and help them," said Garcia.

Hotch shook his head.

"Clarissa ordered me to tell you that you're not going to do anything except sit on the couch and hold Bridget," said Hotch.

Garcia smiled at the wide-awake three-month-old baby girl who was grinning at her.

"If I can't help out with cooking, holding one of the cutest babies in the world is a good idea," said Garcia.

"Then let's get you sitting down," said Morgan.

A minute later Garcia was on the couch holding a babbling Bridget while Emily and Hotch played with Diana.

xxxxxxxx

Four days later Spencer and Clarissa smiled when they saw their third child on the monitor.

"Have you told your family and friends about the baby during Thanksgiving?" asked Dr. Larson.

"We're waiting until Friday since we're telling everyone during our anniversary dinner," said Clarissa.

"Congratulations for making it this long," said Dr. Larson.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her doctor.

"I won't be helping out at the maternity ward here next year," said Clarissa.

"Why?" asked Dr. Larson.

"Starting January 2nd I will be the substitute school nurse at Diana's school until June 7th since the current school nurse is taking a year off to bond with the twins she's currently pregnant with. So Diana's summer vacation will serve as my maternity leave because Washington International School will need me back from the first day of school of the 2008 and 2009 school year until winter break," said Clarissa.

"Is the school aware of you being pregnant?" asked Dr. Larson.

"The principal knows, so they're willing to accommodate when it comes to doctor appointments," said Clarissa.

"Will you be returning to Children's after your stint as a school nurse?" asked Dr. Larson.

"My boss told me that they'll welcome me back," said Clarissa.

xxxxxx

Four days later Spencer and Clarissa woke up to their alarm, and as soon as they both had their glasses on they smiled at each other.

"Happy anniversary, honey," said Clarissa.

"Happy anniversary, love," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer and Clarissa were locking their lips together, and a minute later they heard laughter.

"I should have known that we would be walking into a make-out session," laughed Lucy.

Spencer and Clarissa instantly broke apart and blushed as they saw Lucy with Bridget in a baby carrier across her chest while she covered Diana's eyes.

"Sorry," said Spencer.

"Its OK, Spencer," said Lucy as she uncovered Diana's eyes.

Diana quickly jumped onto her parent's bed and hugged and kissed her parents.

"Happy anniversary mommy and daddy," said Diana.

"Thank you, bumble bee," said Spencer.

Diana thought about the conversation she had with her parents about how long they knew each other.

"You two have been best friends for seven years and wear wedding rings for five years now?" asked Diana.

Spencer glanced down at his wedding band that was on his left ring finger before glancing at Clarissa's left hand and smiled at the sight of his mother's old engagement ring and Clarissa's wedding band.

"Yes," smiled Spencer.

"How long were you two married when I came out of your tummy, mommy?" asked Diana.

"Daddy and I were married for over a year when you became our early Christmas present," said Clarissa.

"Because my birthday is four days before Christmas?" asked Diana.

"Yes," said Clarissa.

At that moment Diana's stomach growled causing all three adults to laugh before Lucy looked at Diana.

"Let's head downstairs and start making those pancakes," said Lucy.

"OK," said Diana.

As soon as the bedroom door closed, Spencer looked at his wife.

"Before we eat breakfast, I need to show you something outside," said Spencer.

"OK, Spence," said Clarissa.

15 minutes later Spencer was using one of his ties as he covered Clarissa's eyes.

"Are you showing me something kinky, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Nope," said Spencer as he took his wife's hand and led her down the stairs before he led her out the front door.

Clarissa instantly felt the late November chill seeping through her hospital scrubs.

"Why are we outside, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Because of this," said Spencer as he removed his tie from Clarissa's head and turned his wife around.

Clarissa gasped when she saw a porch swing hanging from their porch.

"You got a porch swing as your five-year wedding anniversary gift for me?" asked Clarissa as tears fell down her face.

Spencer reached out and removed his wife's glasses so he could wipe his wife's tears before he slipped his wife's glasses back on.

"I made it myself, so that's why I ordered you to stay out of my wood working room," said Spencer.

Clarissa gently kissed her husband before thinking about the evening before.

"This wasn't here when you got home from work," said Clarissa.

"Remember when I told you to spend an hour in our bathroom to pamper yourself while listening to your favorite music?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"While you were in the bathroom, Aaron and Morgan came over to help me put it up," said Spencer.

"I should have known that my favorite magician couldn't pull off a trick like this without some assistants," teased Clarissa.

Spencer laughed.

"Let's try out the swing before we head inside for breakfast," said Spencer.

Clarissa made her way to the swing and sat on it.

"Its perfect, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer joined his wife on the swing.

"I'm glad you love it," said Spencer.

At that moment Clarissa pulled her husband into a kiss, and 45 seconds into the kiss their next door neighbor who was pulling out of his driveway honked their horn at them causing the young married couple to break apart as they blushed before they waved at their laughing neighbor who drove past their house.

"We're definitely revisiting that tonight," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded. A minute later Spencer and Clarissa were joining Lucy and Diana at the kitchen island for breakfast while Bridget sat in her baby seat.

"Mommy?" asked Diana.

"Yes, bug?" asked Clarissa.

"Do you have a baby in your tummy?" asked Diana.

Clarissa smiled at her nearly four-year-old daughter.

"I've been carrying your little brother or sister for eight weeks, so Bridget will no longer be the youngest child in about 31 weeks," said Clarissa.

Diana thought about her two-year-old cousin Jack.

"Can the baby be a boy like Jack?" asked Diana.

"We don't know if yours and Bridget's little brother or sister is a girl or a boy yet, but daddy and I will be happy no matter what the gender is   
because we just want your sibling to be born healthy," said Clarissa.

"Uncle Aaron know that he is an uncle again?" asked Diana.

"We're telling everyone including your uncle Aaron during our five-year wedding anniversary dinner tonight," said Spencer.

"I wish I could go," sighed Diana.

"This is an adult's only party, but daddy and I will take you out for ice cream after church on Sunday," said Clarissa.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

xxxxxx

Over two hours later Emily smiled at Spencer from her desk.

"Tonight's the big night for you and Clarissa," said Emily.

"I know, and I just can't believe that Clarissa and I have been best friends for seven years and my wife for five years," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"How did Clarissa love the porch swing you built?" asked Morgan.

"She loved the porch swing that I made her and the copper locket that I got her," said Spencer.

"You got her two gifts?" asked Emily.

"Since we met and got married on November 30th, we always celebrate the anniversary of the day we became friends when we celebrate our   
wedding anniversary," said Spencer.

"Now that's romantic," said Emily.

"I know," said Spencer.

"Did you get your anniversary gift from Clarissa yet?" asked Emily.

"I did and I have it with me," said Spencer.

"Let's see," said Emily.

Spencer reached into his messenger bag and pulled out a case and a few seconds later he was showing Morgan and Emily his new revolver.

"Since I refuse to touch uncle Gordon's revolver, Clarissa had this revolver custom made so it could feature both wood and copper," said Spencer.

"So are you going to be using this revolver as your primary instead of your Bureau issued Glock?" asked Morgan.

"I'm planning on it which is why I brought it here so I can get it registered as my primary," said Spencer just as Hotch exited his office and came down the stairs causing Spencer to look at his brother-in-law, "Do you have anything to do with the custom made revolver that Clarissa got me as my anniversary present?" asked Spencer.

"I did," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled at his brother-in-law.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

Later on that evening, Spencer looked at Clarissa.

"Are you ready for your first two nights away from Bridget?" asked Spencer.

"What?" asked Clarissa.

"I made reservations for us to spend tonight and tomorrow night at a bed and breakfast in Alexandra, Virginia since I thought that a weekend away from the kids to celebrate our anniversary would be a good idea," said Spencer as he pulled out his and Clarissa's bags that he already packed.

"Did you pack any of your favorites for me to wear?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer blushed a bit causing Clarissa to laugh.

"It's OK, Spence. If I was arranging a weekend getaway, I would have packed some of my favorite clothing of yours," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at the digital clock on his nightstand.

"We might as well get going so we're not late for our reservations," said Spencer as he picked up his and Clarissa's bags.

30 seconds later Diana looked at her mother who was wearing a new purple dress that showed off her figure and curves while her nearly black hair was pulled up into a sophisticated up-do.

"You look pretty, mommy," said Diana.

"Thank you, bug," said Clarissa.

Spencer who was wearing one of his best suits and a purple dress shirt to match Clarissa's dress looked at his oldest daughter.

"How do I look?" asked Spencer.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"You look handsome," said Diana.

Spencer crouched down and gave Diana a hug and a kiss.

"Thank you, bumble bee," said Spencer as he stood up to his full height.

Clarissa crouched down and gave Diana a hug and a kiss.

"Daddy and I will see you Sunday morning at church," said Clarissa.

"Are you going on a case with daddy and uncle Aaron?" asked Diana.

Clarissa shook her head.

"Daddy's taking me to Alexandria, Virginia for the weekend since Bridget's old enough for me to be away from her for a few nights," said Clarissa   
before looking at Lucy, "There should be enough milk in the freezer, but there's formula just in case," said Clarissa.

"Diana and Bridget will be fine with me, and if I need any help I can easily call Aaron," said Lucy.

Spencer and Clarissa both gave Bridget a quick kiss before they left the house together.

xxxxxxx

Nearly an hour later Hotch smiled at his sister and his brother-in-law as everyone held up a glass of wine for a toast.

"To Spencer and Clarissa, and may you two have many more happy years of marriage," said Hotch.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances before Spencer took a sip of his wine while Clarissa pretended to take a sip just as Hotch noticed his sister's actions causing him to look at his sister and noticed that she had a slight baby bump while she was glowing.

"Am I getting another niece or finally a nephew to spoil?" asked Hotch quietly.

Spencer and Clarissa both nodded before Hotch hugged his sister.

"I'm happy for you, Clarissa," whispered Hotch into Clarissa's ear.

"Thanks," said Clarissa.

"What's going on?" asked Garcia.

"I'm almost nine-weeks pregnant with baby number three," smiled Clarissa.

JJ, Garcia, and Emily all squealed as they got up and hugged Spencer and Clarissa, and as soon as the ladies were done congratulating Spencer and Clarissa, Morgan looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"You two are really wanting to repopulate the Earth with baby geniuses," said Morgan.

Spencer and Clarissa shook their heads.

"It sucked being an only child, so I want Diana and Bridget to have another sibling to play with due to the three and a half year age difference between Diana and Bridget," said Spencer.

"When it comes to having siblings, I wanted to have a house full of kids," said Clarissa.

Rossi looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Congratulations again," said Rossi.

"Thank you," said Spencer and Clarissa in unison.

Hotch, JJ, Emily, Morgan, and Garcia turned their heads to Rossi in shock.

"How long have you known?" asked Hotch.

"When Garcia was in surgery I noticed Spencer and Clarissa holding their hands over Clarissa's stomach causing me to notice that Clarissa's glowing," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law, JJ, and Emily.

"You guys were too worried over Garcia to see what Clarissa and I were doing, and Rossi confronted me at the hospital," said Spencer.

"So what are you two hoping for this time?" asked Hotch.

"Since we already have two daughters, we're hoping for a little boy like Jack," said Spencer.

"Getting tired of all that estrogen?" asked a smirking Morgan.

Spencer and Clarissa both looked at each other as they each grabbed a biscuit and threw it at Morgan's head causing everyone to laugh just as their food arrived.

xxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer and Clarissa were at a bed & breakfast undressing each other before they fell onto the bed in a heated make-out session.


	24. True Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts on December 8th of 2007, so Bridget's finally four-months-old.

Spencer and Clarissa stood in line with Diana as they waited for Diana to have her turn to sit on Santa's lap.

"What are you going to ask Santa for?" asked Spencer.

"A new bike. New ice skates. And new chapter books," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other as they thought about Diana's new bike, new ice skates, and new books that were already hidden in Spencer's locked office with many other presents for Diana, Bridget, and Jack.

"He'll most likely get you what you want as long as you continue being a good girl until Christmas Day," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Diana was climbing onto Santa's lap.

"Hi, Santa. My name is Diana Reid, and I will be four on the 21st," said Diana.

Santa chuckled as he looked at the nearly four-year-old little girl.

"Happy early birthday, Diana," said Santa.

"Thank you, Santa," said Diana.

"What do you want for Christmas, Diana?" asked Santa.

"I want the baby that's in my mommy's tummy right now to be a boy like my cousin Jack," said Diana as she pointed where her mommy and daddy were standing with her baby sister who was watching her, "For my baby sister Bridget, I want you to get her new toys," said Diana.

Santa looked in the direction that Diana was pointing at causing him to see a tall brown-haired man who was wearing glasses while holding hands with a young woman who had nearly black hair and wearing glasses before laying his eyes on a wide-awake baby girl sitting in a stroller between her parents.

"What else would you like for Christmas, Diana?" asked Santa.

"New ice skates, a new bike, and new chapter books," said Diana.

"Your turning four in two weeks and your already reading chapter books, Diana?" asked Santa.

Diana nodded.

"I am a genius like my daddy," beamed Diana.

Santa looked over at Spencer and Clarissa before smiling at the baby girl who was in her father's arms before looking at the line where other little boys and girls were waiting with their parents.

"Since you need to give other kids a turn to sit on my lap, I'll have your parents and little sister join us and we can all squeeze in for a family   
portrait," said Santa.

Diana nodded before Santa looked over at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Mr. and Mrs. Reid, why don't you two bring Bridget over and we can all squeeze in for a family portrait," said Santa.

"My daddy likes to be called Dr. Reid," corrected Diana.

"Sorry, Dr. Reid," chuckled Santa.

30 seconds later Santa had both Diana and a wide-awake Bridget on his lap before Clarissa pulled the latest ultrasound photo of her purse.

"Can you please hold this, Diana?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, mommy," said Diana.

Santa smiled at the ultrasound picture.

"Congratulations," said Santa before becoming serious, "You two can either stand behind of or kneel in front of me," said Santa.

30 seconds later a photographer was taking a picture of the Reid family with Santa before the Reid family went home so they could decorate the tree that they recently chopped down.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Clarissa was sitting on the couch with Diana and Bridget enjoying the sight of her husband's backside as her husband and oldest brother positioned the Christmas tree, and a few seconds later Spencer turned his head and looked at his wife.

"What do you think?" asked Spencer before noticing that his wife was staring at him causing him to realize what she was staring at, "Are you OK, Clarissa?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa quickly got her mind out of the gutter and looked at her husband and brother.

"Perfect," said Clarissa as she noticed that Bridget was asleep causing her to put Bridget into her playpen.

Spencer smirked at his wife before he stood up to his full height and walked over to his three girls just as Lucy came out with hot chocolate and cookies for everyone.

"I thought that we could all eat cookies and drink hot chocolate while we decorate the tree and living room for Christmas," said Lucy.

"Thank you," said Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Hotch in unison.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"Can you and mommy please sing while we make the tree pretty?" asked Diana.

"We sure can, and I want you to listen to us singing so you can continue memorizing the songs," said Spencer as he took a deep breath before he   
started to sing with his on key singing voice, "You better watch out, you better not cry. You better not pout, I'm telling you why. Santa Claus is coming to town," sang Spencer before Clarissa and Lucy joined in while Diana committed the lyrics to memory.

After finishing up the song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", Diana looked at her daddy.

"Did you pick "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" first to remind me that I need to be a good girl?" asked Diana.

Clarissa and Hotch chuckled while Spencer nodded at his oldest daughter.

"Only 16 more nights until Santa comes," said Spencer before looking at his wife, "How about you pick the next song," said Spencer.

Clarissa took a deep breath before she started to sing "I Want a Hippopotamus of Christmas" with her on key singing voice before Spencer and Lucy joined in while Diana committed the lyrics to memory.

As soon as everyone was done singing "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas", Diana looked at her uncle as she worked her eyes on her uncle while pouting.

"Please pick a song uncle Aaron," said Diana.

Hotch shook his head before he started to sing "Jingle Bells".

"Dashing through the snow," sang Hotch causing Spencer, Clarissa, and Lucy to join in while Diana sang lyrics that she knew.

20 minutes later Spencer looked at Diana as he unwrapped the angel that belonged to his parents while Clarissa changed Bridget's diaper.

"Want to help me put on the angel?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer was lifting up Diana who placed the angel on the top of the tree before Spencer straightened the angel. As soon as Diana was on the floor, she looked at the tree in awe.

"Pretty," said Diana.

"I know," said Clarissa.

Lucy looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"How about I take a picture of you two with the kids in front of the tree?" asked Lucy.

"That would be great," said Clarissa before looking at her brother, "Your joining us in the picture," said Clarissa firmly.

Hotch shook his head, and a minute Lucy was taking a picture of Spencer, Clarissa, Hotch, Diana, and Bridget in front of the tree.

xxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer walked towards his desk while humming "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" causing Emily to watch the young genius to sit down and pull out a framed photo out of his messenger bag.

"What new picture are you displaying now?" asked Emily.

"Clarissa and I took the girls to the mall on Saturday so Diana could tell Santa what she wants for Christmas, and when it was time for a picture to be taken, Santa insisted that Clarissa, Bridget, and I join him and Diana for a picture," said Spencer.

"Please let me see the picture," said Emily.

A few seconds later Emily was smiling at a picture of Diana who was holding the latest ultrasound photo, a wide-awake Bridget sitting on Santa's lap while Spencer and Clarissa were kneeling in front of Diana, Bridget, and Santa.

"That's a really nice family picture of you guys," said Emily as she handed the framed photo back to Spencer.

Spencer quickly found a place for the picture while smiling at the ultrasound photo that he had displayed on his desk as his way to tell everyone that he's becoming a father again.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

"What else did you do over the weekend?" asked Emily.

"Hotch came over to join in on decorating the tree that we picked up on Saturday," said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and showed Emily the picture of the tree that Lucy took.

"Beautiful," said Emily before thinking about Diana's upcoming birthday, "With Diana's birthday being four days before Christmas, she must love being spoiled around Christmas," said Emily.

Spencer nodded.

"She does, but in a few years, she'll be getting money on her birthday and her new toys and books on Christmas to reduce the possible jealousy that Bridget and the baby will deal with when they learn that Diana was born four days before Christmas. Even though Diana wasn't supposed to be born until December 30th, Clarissa and I both agreed that Diana is one of our most favorite Christmas presents," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Later on that night, Spencer was sitting at the round table with his glasses perched on his nose while JJ showed some pictures from a crime scene in LA.

"These are victims six and seven within a 2-week span," said JJ.

"All killed with a bladed weapon?" asked Emily.

"Yeah. The attacks are getting progressively worse," said JJ.

Spencer looked at the file he was given.

"The first five were lone victims," said Spencer.

"He's getting bolder," said Morgan.

"And more vicious," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his watch before looking at JJ.

"Tell LA we can be there by 9:30," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxx

The next morning at 7:30 AM DC time, Spencer's cell phone rang causing Spencer to see that it was Clarissa.

"What's up?" asked Spencer.

"Hi daddy," said Diana.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there when you woke up this morning, Diana. Right now I'm on the jet heading to Los Angeles, California," said Spencer.

"Will you be home for my birthday party on Saturday?" asked Diana.

"I'll do my best to make it home in time for yours and mommy's birthday party on Saturday," said Spencer.

"Thank you, daddy," said Diana.

"Please be a good girl since Santa is watching you. I have to get going, but I'll call you this evening to find out what you did at preschool today," said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy," said Diana.

"I love you too, Diana. Can you please put mommy on?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer smiled when he heard Clarissa's voice.

"I hope you didn't mind Diana and me calling you while you're on the jet," said Clarissa.

"Not at all," said Spencer.

"Bridget wants to hear your voice," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer's face broke into a huge grin when he heard Bridget babbling over the phone.

"Well hello, Bridget," said Spencer.

Spencer grinned when he heard Bridget squeal over the phone.

"You should see Bridget's smile right now, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I know she's happy to hear my voice," said Spencer before he focused on Bridget, "Daddy is on a plane to Los Angeles, California right now, so I'll hopefully see you in a few days, Bridget," said Spencer.

Bridget happily babbled.

"Daddy loves you and your mommy, but I have to get back to work," said Spencer.

"Please stay safe, and we love you," said Clarissa.

"I promise, and I love you girls," said Spencer before hanging up.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer got out of the front seat an SUV.

"Should have listened to me," said Spencer.

"It wouldn't have saved that much time, Reid. Let it go," said Morgan.

"The interchange between the 405 and the 101 freeways is consistently rated the worst interchange in the entire world," said Spencer.

A shocked Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Why do you know that?" asked Morgan.

"It's a government report," stated Spencer.

"So what?" asked Morgan as he started walking.

Spencer quickly followed Morgan.

"So you work for the government too. What, you don't read the reports?" asked Spencer.

Morgan and an officer both grabbed the crime scene tape and lifted it up so Spencer could go under.

"On traffic patterns in a city 2,500 miles from where I live?" asked Morgan.

Spencer stopped walking.

"2,295 miles," corrected Spencer.

Morgan held out a finger at Spencer.

"Don't make me smack you in front of all these people," said Morgan as he gestured to the bystanders just as a Detective Brady approached them.

"I'm Brady, LAPD," said Detective Brady.

Morgan shook hands with the detective.

"Derek Morgan," said Morgan before gesturing to Spencer, "Dr. Reid," said Morgan.

Spencer smiled and waved.

"The rest of the team's in an SUV behind us," said Morgan.

"Yeah, stuck in traffic," said Spencer.

Morgan gave Spencer a look before Spencer made eye contact with Detective Brady.

"Uh, so you had two more victims last night?" asked Spencer.

"They were discovered a little after 3:30 by a cleaning crew finishing up in the building," said Detective Brady.

"So that's seven victims over the past two weeks," said Morgan.

Detective Brady nodded.

"Bodies are in the alley. What's left of them," said Detective Brady.

"Same victimology?" asked Spencer.

"We don't have positive ID either one of them yet, but the clothing fits. You really think this is only one guy, huh?" asked Detective Brady.

Spencer thought about what was discussed on the jet.

"The level of overkill suggests an unsub in a psychotic break. Multiple unsubs in violent psychotic breaks operating in the exact same location is   
exceedingly unlikely," said Spencer.

Detective Brady looked at Morgan.

"Yeah, it's probably one guy," said Morgan before looking at Spencer as they walked to the crime scene, "Sometimes I wonder how Clarissa has been able to be married to someone like you for over five years, have two kids with you, while being pregnant with your third child," said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was fiddling with his latex free gloves when he looked at Detective Brady.

"Do you know that a domestic cat loose in a normal neighborhood is the equivalent of a small-scale ecological disaster?" asked Spencer as he thought about nearly five-year-old Merton.

Detective Brady crossed his arms and looked at the young genius.

"Excuse me?" asked Detective Brady.

"They'll kill anything they can- Bugs, rodents, birds, other cats, small dogs if possible. Anything," said Spencer as he thought about Daisy.

"That got something to do with this?" asked Detective Brady.

"An unsub in a violent psychotic break is worse," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was in the backseat of an SUV as he headed to the latest crime scene with his teammates while listening to Detective Brady brief them on the phone.

"Same type of victims?" asked Morgan.

"All gang-bangers," said Detective Brady.

"Good riddance, you ask me," said Detective Benson.

"Who's that?" asked Hotch.

"It's Benson. He's from the gang task-force," said Detective Brady.

"If anyone had a violent end coming…," said Detective Benson.

"What's the scene like?" asked Hotch.

"It's actually the gang leader's personal house. Guy named Glen Hill," said Detective Benson.

"Street name is Reaper. Guess why," said Detective Benson.

"Only Benson and me have been inside. I didn't do much. I kind of backed out the minute I saw him," said Detective Brady.

"How many?" asked Rossi.

"6 four inside, two outside," said Detective Brady.

"No survivors at all?" asked Morgan.

"Never thought I could feel sorry for these gang-banging sons of bitches," said Detective Brady.

"We'll be there in a few minutes," said Hotch before Morgan hung up.

"He actually went to the gang-bangers' house," said Morgan.

"The other victims were in alleys and dark corners. It could be the unsub was initially just defending himself," said Spencer.

"Like Bernie Goetz, riding the subways with a gun, waiting for someone to confront him," said Rossi.

"Except he's seeking them out now," said Hotch.

"Because psychotics in a break always devolve," said Spencer.

"Only a matter of time before he becomes dangerous to those closer to him," said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer was getting out of the back seat of the SUV and ducked under the crime scene tape before entering the house.

"T.S.K?" asked Hotch.

"Twenty-Third Street Killers," said Detective Brady.

Rossi held something up.

"Looks like they tried to fight back," said Rossi.

Spencer looked around the gruesome crime scene.

"They failed," said Spencer.

"Are sure this isn't some kind of gang retaliation kind of thing?" asked Detective Brady.

Rossi looked at Detective Benson.

"You're on the task-force. Ever see a street gang do something like this?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah, but... One guy?" asked Detective Benson.

"One guy with a weapon, psychotic rage, with a surprise on his side," said Morgan.

Spencer looked around the house.

"Yeah, just look at any school or workplace shooting," said Spencer.

Detective Brady looked at Hotch and Rossi.

"So what do we do now?" asked Detective Brady.

"Ready doing it," said Rossi.

"An unsub in a psychotic rage stands out," said Spencer.

"Agent Jareau's got the media playing the press conference every hour she's putting the profile out to the public. Someone in this man's world knows he's in crisis. Hopefully, they'll recognize the description," said Hotch.

At that moment Emily approached them.

"Hotch. You need to see this," said Emily.

Hotch quickly followed Emily.

xxxxx

Spencer walked towards Hotch and Rossi who were each carrying two boxes of evidence from Jonny McHale's apartment.

"That's a lot," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"There's more," said Hotch as he and Rossi set down the boxes.

"Did you find the murder weapon?" asked Spencer.

"Didn't need to," said Hotch.

Rossi opened up a box.

"Why is that?" asked Spencer.

"Mr. McHale is a very sick young man," said Rossi.

Spencer quickly pulled one of the drawings out of the box and realized that he was looking at drawings of the crime scene.

"This is exactly- -," said Spencer.

"Yeah," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at Emily.

"Can you go get the mug shot of Glen Hill?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah. Give me a minute," said Emily before she walked away.

10 minutes later Spencer was going through all the pictures with Morgan when Morgan's phone rang causing Spencer to listen to Morgan's conversation before he spoke up.

"Sometimes for an artist, the only difference between insanity and genius is success," said Spencer.

Morgan hung up and looked at Spencer.

"Please don't tell me that your a fan of this guy," said Morgan.

"I've read his comic books, and Clarissa loves his comic books too. So Clarissa's going to be disappointed when she finds out that we had to arrest Jonny McHale," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer reached into the box that was getting close to empty and found a phone and held it up to Morgan.

"Is this his phone?" asked Spencer.

"It on the floor when we took him down," said Morgan.

Spencer removed the flip phone out of the evidence bag and opened it before he quickly went through the list of calls that Jonny recently made.

"Looks like all the calls he makes in are to the same number," said Spencer.

"Dial it. Maybe it's somebody who can help us. Or at least help him," said Morgan.

Spencer quickly called the recently called number, and a few seconds later both men heard some ringing in one of the boxes causing Morgan to   
pull out a small box to find another phone.

"Hey, this is Vickie. I can't come to the phone right now 'cause I'm out living my life. Leave it at the beep," said Vickie over the phone.

"Vickie?" asked Spencer.

JJ quickly came over.

"Vickie. That was his girlfriend," said JJ.

Spencer looked at Jonny's phone.

"All these calls were made within the last two days," said Spencer.

JJ shook her head.

"Sometimes what an unsub does actually makes sense," said JJ before she walked away.

xxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer was reading one of Jonny McHale's comic books as his excitement of going home to Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget kept on growing as he listened to Morgan talk on the phone.

"Just leave it alone until I get there. Hard-head. Don't make me spank you when I get back," said Morgan.

"Don't listen to your boyfriend, Garcia. He's all talk," called out Spencer just as Morgan hit him on the head, "JJ, he just hit me," whined Spencer.

"You boys behave or I will ground you both," said JJ before she noticed what Spencer was reading, "Is that one of Jonny McHale's books?" asked JJ.

"Yeah, it's, uh, it's called "Blue". It's about a girl who thinks she's a real human being, right? But it turns out she's a robot that was built by her   
uncle," chuckled Spencer.

"So it's Pinocchio," said JJ.

"Yeah, it is like Pinocchio, only, uh, set in a high school in outer space," said Spencer.

"Oh, by the way, what happened to Vickie's phone?" asked JJ.

"Phone?" asked Spencer.

"The one that Jonny kept calling, with her message on it?" asked JJ.

"Oh, we gave them both back to him," said Spencer.

JJ thought about Will.

"You know, I couldn't imagine having nothing left of someone but a voice message. I think I'd never stop listening to it," said JJ.

"Yeah, it's sad. If I ever lost Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and the baby I know that I would be broken too. With all the tragedies that I dealt with in my life, I'm glad that I met Clarissa when I did," said Spencer.

"Even though I was a bit jealous of Clarissa at first, I'm glad that you have her, Spence," said JJ.

Spencer looked over where his brother-in-law was sitting.

"Are you excited about Diana's birthday party this Saturday?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, but I'm sad about my oldest niece turning four on the 21st," said Hotch.

"I'm sad about Diana turning four too," said Spencer before smiling a little bit, "One of the best things about Diana turning four is that there are more fun outings that I can take Diana on now," said Spencer.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"Since Clarissa can't ice skate this Saturday because of her pregnancy, are you going to get on the ice?" asked JJ.

"I can't say no to going ice skating with Diana since I've taken her ice skating during our monthly father/daughter dates," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Four hours later Clarissa looked at her husband as they got ready for bed.

"Are you OK?" asked Clarissa.

"The case I just worked on reminded me of how lucky I am," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer started explaining about him and his team having to arrest a famous comic book writer who lost his fiancee and unborn child in a violent attack that he was attacked in too. When he was finished, he looked at his wife.

"I know that if I lost you, Diana, Bridget, or the baby; I probably snap like Jonny did since I already lost so much in my life," said Spencer.

"I know, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Plus I know that I'm also lucky about being able to combat the severe post-traumatic stress disorder I had to deal with after Hankel," said Spencer.

Clarissa kissed her husband.

"Even though you changed over the past 10 months, I'm proud of you for accepting the help you were offered so you could recover properly," said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "How about I give you a massage before we fall asleep," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded, and 30 seconds later he was lying on his stomach in bed while Clarissa gave him a massage.


	25. Two Birthdays and Birthright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts on December 15th of 2007, and I hope that some of you readers can figure out which book/TV show characters that I named some of Diana's classmates after. I have it that after Rossi came out of retirement, Hotch ended up telling his teammates that he and Haley are in the process of getting a divorce.

Clarissa woke up to being given kisses by Diana and Bridget's constant babbling, and as soon as she had her glasses on she saw her husband holding a tray filled with breakfast while her daughters were in bed with her.

"Happy birthday, mommy," said Diana.

Spencer smiled at his 26-year-old wife.

"Happy birthday, love," said Spencer as he set the tray filled with pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon and two plates.

"Why are there only two plates?" asked Clarissa.

"We're sharing a plate," said Spencer.

Clarissa got out of bed.

"Before we eat, I have to use the bathroom," said Clarissa.

"I'll use the next couple of minutes to fix Diana her plate and bring up orange juice," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Diana was happily eating her breakfast in her parent's bed while Bridget who was on her mommy's lap enjoyed watching her daddy feed her mommy and himself some breakfast.

xxxxxxx

Later on that morning at 11:30 AM, Spencer grinned when he saw his nephew with Haley.

"Unca Spence," said Jack.

"There's my favorite nephew," grinned Spencer as he knelt down.

Jack ran to his uncle and hugged his legs while a laughing Haley looked at Spencer.

"He's your only nephew, Spencer," said Haley.

Spencer swooped up his nephew.

"I know, and its a shame that Sean couldn't make it today," said Spencer before looking at his nephew, "What has your mommy been feeding you? You have grown since the last time I saw you, Jack Attack," said Spencer as he blew a raspberry on his nephew's cheek.

Jack giggled.

"You silly, unca Spence," said Jack.

Clarissa giggled.

"With the magic show you have planned for today, Spence, a lot of kids will think your silly," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his nephew.

"Can you wish your auntie Clarissa a happy birthday?" asked Spencer.

Jack looked at his aunt.

"Happy birfday," said Jack as he blew a kiss at his aunt.

"Thank you, Jack," said Clarissa.

Haley looked at Clarissa who had Bridget in her arms.

"Happy birthday, Clarissa," said Haley.

Clarissa glared at her former sister-in-law as she thought about the anger she had at Haley for hurting her brother.

"Thank you," said Clarissa.

"Bridget's getting so big while looking more like you every day, Clarissa," said Haley.

"I know, but we both know that Bridget has her daddy's eyes and curly hair," said Clarissa.

Haley instantly noticed a noticeable baby bump before looking at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Congratulations on the upcoming addition," said Haley.

"Thank you," said Spencer and Clarissa in unison.

Jack who hadn't seen his favorite aunt and uncle in a couple of weeks looked at his favorite aunt.

"Baby?" asked Jack as he pointed at Clarissa's stomach.

"You're getting another cousin, Jack. Hopefully, auntie Clarissa and I have a little boy just like you," said Spencer.

At that moment Jack saw his daddy coming with his older cousin causing him to grin.

"Daddy!" cried Jack.

Spencer instantly set Jack down, and a few seconds later Hotch was scooping up his two-year-old son.

"Have you been a good boy for mommy?" asked Hotch.

Jack nodded while Haley looked at Diana.

"Are you going to teach Jack how to ice skate?" asked Haley.

"Yes," said Diana before looking at her mommy and daddy, "Are you two going to skate with me?" asked Diana.

Clarissa rested a hand on her nearly 11-week pregnant belly.

"My doctor told me that I can't ice skate due to your little brother or sister being in my tummy, so I'll spend time with Bridget while talking to a few other parents who aren't skating with your friends," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at Diana.

"I'll be skating with you, Diana," said Spencer.

"OK, daddy," said Diana.

xxxxxxx

Over an hour and a half later Spencer and Diana who were both wearing their winter jackets, hats, and gloves were ice skating while holding hands as Diana smiled at the sight of her classmates from preschool and Sunday school skating with their parents.

"Thank you for this party, daddy," said Diana.

"Your welcome, bumble bee," said Spencer just as Haley and Hotch who were each holding one of Jack's hands skated over to them causing Spencer to inwardly smile about Hotch and Haley willing to skate with their son together for the sake of their niece.

"Jack!" exclaimed Diana as she let go of her daddy's hand and gracefully skated over to her cousin.

Jack grinned at his cousin.

"Hi Iana," said Jack.

Hotch chuckled a bit.

"Eventually he'll be able to pronounce Diana," said Hotch.

"Its OK," said Spencer before looking at his nephew who was bundled up, "Are you having fun, Jack?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Jack.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"Can I please show off the jumps I learned in my classes?" asked Diana.

Spencer chuckled.

"Go ahead," said Spencer as he let go of his oldest daughter's hand.

A few seconds later Spencer, Hotch, and Haley were watching Diana do an axel jumps, lutzes, and a few other jumps causing Hotch to look at his  
brother-in-law while Diana's friends and their parents stopped skating to watch Diana skate.

"Diana is definitely a figure skating prodigy like her mother was," said Hotch.

"I know, and I wonder if she'll end up in the 2022 Winter Olympics," said Spencer just as Diana skated over to them.

"Did you see my jumps?" asked Diana.

"I sure did, and you definitely have better balance than I did when I was your age, Diana," said Spencer.

Diana giggled before she looked at her daddy.

"When are you going to do magic, daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at his watch.

"I'll be giving you and your friends a magic show in about a half-hour," said Spencer.

"OK daddy," said Diana as she quickly skated off causing Spencer to chase after his daughter.

xxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, Clarissa was sitting on the bleachers with a bundled up Bridget when JJ, Emily, and Garcia joined her.

"May I hold my goddaughter?" asked JJ.

"Sure," said Clarissa as she passed Bridget over to JJ before Garcia handed her a cup.

"Here's some hot chocolate," said Garcia.

"Thank you," said Clarissa before smiling at the sight of her laughing husband chasing after a giggling Diana on the ice.

"After what happened to him earlier this year, I'm glad to see him smiling and laughing again," said Garcia.

"Who knew that Reid could be good at ice skating," said Emily.

"Spence told me about the times that his aunt and uncle took him ice skating, and he explained that he applies ice skating to physics as his way to keep his balance," said Clarissa.

Emily, JJ, and Garcia laughed before Garcia watched Diana do a few jumps before she skated over to her daddy for a high five.

"Diana's really good at figure skating," said Garcia.

"I know, and I'm hoping that Diana ends up in the 2022 Winter Olympics," said Clarissa.

Emily looked at Clarissa.

"How are you feeling about Diana turning four next week Friday?" asked Emily.

Clarissa sighed sadly.

"I'm sad about my oldest turning four, but now Diana is old enough to go on more adventures that she wasn't old enough to go on before," said Clarissa before smiling down at Bridget and resting a hand on her small baby bump, "At least Spence and I will have a few years to enjoy Bridget and the baby being babies and toddlers before they start attending preschool like Diana," said Clarissa.

xxxxx

Spencer looked at his teammates, Diana's classmates from preschool and Sunday school, and the parents of the kids

"I'm now going to do one of my favorite tricks which I call physics magic, but I need everyone to close their eyes," said Spencer.

As soon as everyone closed their eyes, Spencer instantly got to work on getting a film canister ready for physics magic. As soon as he had the bottle rocket ready, he looked at everyone.

"Everyone can open their eyes," said Spencer.

Clarissa, Hotch, Haley, Morgan, Garcia, Emily, JJ, Rossi, Diana, Hannah, Aria, Emily, Spencer, Allison, Sammy, Courtney, Skylar, Tyler, Willie, Ian, Tony, Dewey, Dylan, and Gavin opened their eyes along with all the parents who came to the party.

Spencer Eliza Nichols who was sitting on her daddy's lap looked at Spencer.

"Nothing's happening," said Spencer.

"Just watch," said Spencer.

A few seconds later the bottle rocket shot up and flew across the room causing Morgan to catch it while all the children cheered.

"How did you do that, Mr. Spencer?" asked Sammy.

Diana looked at Sammy.

"Daddy says that a magician never reveals his secrets," said Diana.

Spencer beamed at Diana.

"That's correct, bumble bee," said Spencer before looking at Hannah, "Hannah, would you like to be my assistant for my next trick?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, Mr. Spencer," said Hannah.

A few seconds later Spencer was stumping Hannah with a card trick before he went around the room so he could stump every child before the pizza that was ordered arrived.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A half-hour later Spencer lit the candle that was the shape of the number 4 on Diana's birthday cake, and a few seconds later everyone started to start singing.

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Diana. Happy birthday to you," sang everyone.

Spencer and Clarissa who were standing on either side of Diana looked at their oldest daughter.

"Make a wish and blow out the candle, Diana," said Spencer.

Diana closed her eyes and blew out the lone candle before everyone clapped and cheered before Spencer and Clarissa started cutting the cake.

xxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer and Clarissa were settling down in the back of a movie theater as they waited for "Alvin and the Chipmunks" to start.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Four hours later Spencer and Clarissa entered their bedroom, and as soon as they locked their bedroom door they were undressing each other before they started a heated make-out session that caused them to fall into their bed.

xxxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer was sitting next to his brother-in-law at the round table when JJ entered the room.

"Everyone's here. Sorry I'm late," said JJ before she became serious, "Last night in Fredericksburg, a 20-year-old woman, Molly McCarthy, was abducted. She's the third to go missing in the last six weeks. All disappeared from public places. No one's seen them since," said JJ.

"Until now," said Rossi.

"A couple days ago, body parts with cigarette burns were recovered from a national park which was once the site of the Battle of Chancellorsville," said JJ.

"Were they able to make an ID?" asked Hotch.

"It was the first victim, taken six weeks ago. Decomp indicated that she had been dead just over a week," said JJ as she continued to show more  
pictures.

"So he likes spending time with them," said Hotch.

Emily looked at the picture of an arm.

"How'd she end up like that?" asked Emily.

"ME found microscopic tool marks on the bone," said JJ.

Spencer used his eidetic memory to think of similar cases that he read about as he sat up straighter.

"I remember reading about a case like this in Spotsylvania County. Similar markings on the bone," said Spencer.

"It was the winter of 1980, also Fredericksburg. Five women, 16 to 24. Buried in pieces. Same markings. Same Civil War battlefield," said JJ.

"Killed the same time of year and left at the same dump site?" asked Rossi.

"It's like an anniversary," said Morgan.

"That case is still open," said JJ.

Spencer thought about the case file he read as he rubbed his forehead a bit.

"Back then the victims were drug addicts and runaways," said Spencer.

"If he spends that much time with them, there's a chance these two women could still be alive," said Hotch.

"Wait. We think this could be the same killer? That's a hell of a cooling-off period," said Emily.

JJ turned around to look at the pictures of the victims.

"BTK resurfaced after a 25-year hiatus," said Morgan.

"True, but he didn't kill anyone. He only taunted the police," said Spencer.

"Marks on the bone and where he dumps them- that's a very specific signature. Hard to copycat details that were never made public," said Rossi.

"Garcia, check the MO against girls missing in other states. It could explain the long absence," said Hotch.

"I'm on it," said Garcia.

While Garcia left the room, Rossi looked at his teammates.

"If this is the same unsub, what's he been doing for the past 27 years?" asked Rossi.

Hotch looked at his teammates.

"Since Fredericksburg is only a half hour away from here, we'll be driving. So be in the parking garage in 30 minutes," said Hotch.

"Since Fredericksburg is about an hour from DC, will we be able to sleep in our own beds tonight or are we going to stay in a hotel?" asked Spencer.

"We'll be staying in Fredericksburg," said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer was sending both Clarissa and Lucy a text message.

GOING TO FREDERICKSBURG, BUT I WON'T BE COMING HOME TONIGHT. ~ SR

xxxxxxx

Spencer sat in the backseat as he looked through some photos.

"The killer has an obvious disregard for women. He sees them as disposable and worthless. You know, he'd need a lot of time and privacy to do  
this to them," said Spencer as he looked at his brother-in-law.

"Seclusion. Time. Back then, the theory was he was a seasonal worker on one of the farms," said Hotch.

JJ noticed a sign.

"There's the dump site," said JJ.

Spencer noticed the landmark.

"It's funny-he always dumps the bodies in this battlefield, no matter what the risk," said Spencer.

"It's a respected landmark. He's flaunting. It makes him feel important," said Hotch.

xxxxxxx

Spencer smiled at the horses that were neighing at him as he followed Hotch and JJ towards the sheriff who was walking towards them.

"Sheriff Ballantyne, Jennifer Jareau," said JJ as she shook hands with Sheriff Ballantyne.

"Appreciate you all coming down so quickly," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

Hotch shook hands with the sheriff.

"Aaron Hotchner," said Hotch before he gestured to his brother-in-law, "This is Dr. Spencer Reid," said Hotch.

Spencer waved at the sheriff.

"Crime scene's right up here. I figured if this is the same killer as before, I didn't want to waste any time before I got your help," said Sheriff  
Ballantyne as he started to lead Spencer, JJ, and Hotch towards the crime scene.

"The other agents are meeting John Caulfield, the sheriff from the original case," said JJ.

"Yeah," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

Spencer noticed something in the sheriff's voice.

"You know him?" asked Spencer.

"No, not personally, you know, I just heard stories," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

"How do you mean?" asked Hotch.

"Well, you know, by all accounts, he was a decent sheriff, good man," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

"Right," said Hotch.

"Truth is, we don't get a lot of murders down here, and this case broke him," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

"How so?" asked Spencer.

"Ah, same old-you know, he started drinking, marriage busted up. Finally they, uh, asked him to retire," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

A few minutes later Spencer was ducking under crime scene tape while Sheriff Ballantyne pointed out certain areas of the crime scene.

"There were about 20 kids partying 100 yards that way. Molly McCarthy was taken here. We found a blanket, sweatshirt, and a pair of shoes over there," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

"How does someone not see or hear them?" asked JJ.

"It was dark. He had the advantage. Molly's boyfriend was the last person to see her. Said she was alone for a minute, maybe less," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

Hotch looked at the crime scene.

"He's patient, works fast," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his surroundings.

"He's perfected his MO," said Spencer.

"If our unsub's pushing 60, he's gotta be strong enough to carry her a long way without her struggling," said Hotch as he noticed JJ walking away as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

Spencer thought about the car ride to the crime scene as he made eye contact with Sheriff Ballantyne.

"I've seen a lot of properties on unmarked dirt roads with no visible street signs, nothing on any maps," said Spencer.

"Yeah. If you don't live around here, it can be hell finding your way around," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

"He's definitely local," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Sheriff Ballantyne.

"Can you show us the various entrances to this place?" asked Spencer.

"Sure," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

Hotch looked at JJ before his brother-in-law.

"I'll catch up," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded before he followed Sheriff Ballantyne, and 10 seconds later Sheriff Ballantyne noticed Spencer's wedding band.

"How long have you been married?" asked Sheriff Ballantyne.

"Five years, and I've known my wife for seven years," said Spencer.

"Seven years is definitely a long time to know your wife, but you look a bit young to be married for five years," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

Spencer chuckled a little bit.

"I married my wife when I was 21, and I turned 26 over two months ago," said Spencer.

"Any children?" asked Sheriff Ballantyne.

Spencer beamed.

"I have a daughter who will be turning four this Friday, a four-month-old baby girl, and my wife is 11-weeks pregnant with our third child," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was standing by a picnic table as he wrote in a file.

"I got 2 sets of parents waiting for an ID," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

"I can help you with that," said JJ.

"Thanks. He didn't spread them around this time. They were in plain sight," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

Spencer approached JJ and Sheriff Ballantyne.

"He's taunting us. He's basically saying, "I'm doing this and there's nothing you can do to stop me."," said Spencer.

"Nobody can get in here without showing their ID at the gate," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

"I have a copy of that visitors list, but there's a hundred ways in. These fences back up to personal properties," said JJ as she pointed at a nearby fence.

"He knows these grounds as well as anyone. He could have jumped the fence, disposed of his victims, and walked right back out," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was going through a file in the police department when JJ and Sheriff Ballantyne stormed into the room.

"There's been another abduction," said JJ.

Spencer quickly followed JJ and Sheriff Ballantyne towards the others.

"Name's Tara Ricker. Family called this morning. She didn't come home last night. We're still trying to locate the vehicle," said Sheriff Ballantyne.

Spencer moved his growing curls away from his eyes.

"Well, we know he kills after he takes another victim, so we're running out of time here," said JJ.

"All right, what do we know?" asked Hotch.

"Definitely a copycat. Same MO, same dump site," said Emily.

"Only you never released any of that to the press," said Rossi.

"No," said John.

"He had to learn it from someone- a family member, a friend maybe?" asked Spencer.

"Mary and Robert Wilkinson had a son," said JJ.

"Are you suggesting there is a genetic predisposition to killing?" asked John.

"It's one factor, along with psychology and socialization," said Hotch.

"If you have a combination of genetics and a son who grew up without a father searching for his own identity, it could be a stressor," said Rossi.

"I remember Charlie Wilkinson. When he was 15, killed a neighbor's cat. He put it in a bag and hit it against a tree," said John.

Spencer inwardly shuddered as he thought about his five-year-old Maine Coon cat.

"How old is Charlie Wilkinson?" asked Emily.

"Mary was pregnant with him when Robert died," said John.

"That's 27 years ago. That makes him roughly the same age Robert was when he started killing," said Emily.

At that moment Morgan's cell phone rang causing him to answer a call from his girlfriend.

"What do you got for us, girl?" asked Morgan.

"I just found the reason why Karen Foley was lying," said Garcia as she started to explain what she found out.

xxxxxxx

Morgan looked at Spencer as he drove them to Charlie Wilkinson's workplace.

"When are you going to start the nursery for your third child?" asked Morgan.

"As soon as Clarissa and I find out the gender in five weeks," said Spencer before looking at Morgan, "Have you told your mom that you've gotten together with Garcia?" asked Spencer.

"I did and she's glad that I finally realized my feelings for Penelope," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about what Morgan said during his nephew's first trip to the BAU.

"Are your days of practicing over?" asked Spencer.

"What?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"When Hotch brought my nephew to the BAU for the first time, Garcia asked you if you wanted a baby of your own before you answered about sticking to practicing," said Spencer.

"Sometimes I hate your eidetic memory," said Morgan.

Spencer chuckled.

"Even though my eidetic memory can be a curse; Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget all give me positive memories that I can't forget," said Spencer before looking at Morgan, "Are you planning on having kids with Garcia?" asked Spencer.

"I am, but it's going to be a few years since I just started dating her," said Morgan.

Spencer smiled at his big brother.

"Becoming a father has been one of the best things that have ever happened to me, and when I watch you interact with my daughters and nephew,  
I know that you'll be a great dad someday too," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

Spencer stood by Hotch as they watched Morgan and JJ talk to Chrissy Wilkinson before both men turned their heads and looked at the barn. As soon as Chrissy nodded at them, Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Let's go," said Hotch.

Spencer quickly followed his brother-in-law towards the direction of the barn. A few minutes later Sheriff Ballantyne broke the lock of the barn before all three men entered the barn with their guns out before Hotch looked at his brother in law and pointed out where he wanted Spencer to search.

Spencer quickly headed in the direction that his brother-in-law wanted him to go in, and after a few minutes of searching, he heard his brother-in-law call his name.

"Reid," said Hotch.

Spencer looked over where Hotch was opening up a door of a stall causing him to quickly jog over only to find an ax and a stump with dried up blood.

xxxxxxx

Spencer and JJ were going through journals before they found something.

"Hey, Hotch. We got something," called out JJ.

30 seconds later Hotch joined them.

"This was all locked in the closet. Looks like it was Robert Wilkinson's before Charlie got his hands on it," said JJ.

"So Charlie went looking for a father figure and this is who he found," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded

"He was killing animals. It's clear he already has murderous impulses, and... Finding this must have made him feel like it was... OK, like it was almost his birthright," said Spencer.

JJ looked at the journal that she was reading.

""They like it when they get to share me."" read JJ.

"Is there anything in there about where he keeps them?" asked Hotch.

"Nothing yet," answered JJ.

"Keep reading," said Hotch before he walked away.

xxxxxxx

Spencer got into the back seat of an SUV and a few minutes later he sent Clarissa a text message.

CAN YOU, DIANA, AND BRIDGET COME TO THE BAU? I'M HEADING BACK TO QUANTICO NOW. ~ SR

A minute later Spencer's phone vibrated.

I'M GETTING THE GIRLS READY, SO I'LL SEE YOU IN AN HOUR. ~ CR

xxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder while Morgan got up from his desk.

"Who's up for a drink?" asked Morgan.

"Who's up for 5?" asked Emily.

"Count me in," said Rossi.

Spencer checked his phone and smiled at Clarissa's text.

DIANA, BRIDGET, AND I WILL BE IN THE BAU IN TWO MINUTES. ~ CR

"Clarissa is on her way up with Diana and Bridget because I asked them to come pick me up," said Spencer.

"You're off the hook this time, but the next time your coming," said Morgan before looking at JJ, "JJ?" asked Morgan.

"I'd love to, but I'm gonna have to take a rain check," said JJ.

"Hotch?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah?" asked Hotch.

"You up for a beer?" asked Rossi.

"Sure," said Hotch.

30 seconds later Spencer smiled when he saw Clarissa exit the elevator with Diana by her side and Bridget in her stroller, and a few seconds later Diana's face broke into a huge grin when she saw her daddy.

"Your home, daddy!" shouted Diana as she sprinted to her daddy and hugged his legs.

Spencer instantly lifted up Diana, causing the nearly four-year-old girl to wrap her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"I missed you while I was away," said Spencer.

"I missed you too, daddy," said Diana as she pressed her nose against her daddy's nose.

"Thank you for the Eskimo kiss, bumble bee," smiled Spencer before he smiled at his wife and pecked her on the lips, "Hi," said Spencer.

"Welcome home, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer instantly heard some whimpering causing him to pass Diana over to her uncle while he unstrapped Bridget from her stroller and cradled Bridget against his chest.

"I see that someone's not happy that I saved her for last, but daddy really missed you too," said Spencer as he kissed Bridget's forehead.

Bridget started to happily babble at her daddy.

"Are you telling me about what you did with mommy, Diana, and Lucy during the past three days?" asked Spencer.

Bridget babbled her response just as Diana's stomach growled causing Clarissa to look at her husband.

"We haven't had supper yet, but I was thinking that we could go out to eat during our drive back to DC," said Clarissa.

"Great idea, love," said Spencer before looking at his teammates as he placed Bridget back into her stroller, "I'll see you guys tomorrow," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"Can I please have a piggyback ride, daddy?" asked Diana.

"Only because you said please," said Spencer.

Hotch quickly helped Diana get settled onto her daddy's back before everyone got into an elevator.

xxxxxxxxxx

Over a half hour later Spencer was at The Golden Corral listening to Diana telling him how the past day went for her as he, Clarissa, and Diana ate what they picked from the all you could eat buffet.

xxxxxxxx

Two days later Spencer and Clarissa were smiling as they watched their now four-year-old daughter blow out a candle that was stuck into her stack of pancakes.


	26. Christmas, A Vacation, and Ringing in 2008

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't include all of Spencer's, Clarissa's, Diana's, Bridget's, and Lucy's Las Vegas vacation. Some of the places where Spencer and Clarissa took Diana are Circus Circus, The Grand Canyon (They drove down), Shark Reef Aquarium, The Hoover Dam, hiking, and a few other places.
> 
> Warning: There is a mention of a child death in this chapter and the child once belonged to my OC Elena Brown because the information about her in this chapter will come in handy when I get to The Instincts.

Spencer looked at his wife as he placed the last present underneath the tree.

"That's everything," said Spencer quietly.

Clarissa looked at the almond milk, cookies, and carrots that Diana set out.

"Should we split up the cookies and carrots while you drink the almond milk?" asked Clarissa.

"Sure," said Spencer.

10 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were crawling into their bed before Spencer looked at his wife.

"I know that we're planning on naming our possible son Gabriel Evan Reid, but I'm really not a fan of the name Gabriel anymore," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Why?" asked Clarissa.

"Naming our possible son Gabriel makes me think of my time with Tobias Hankel's Raphael persona since Gabriel is a name of one of the seven Archangels," said Spencer.

Clarissa rubbed her husband's shoulder as she thought about the case that changed her husband forever.

"Then let's not name our possible son Gabriel, so what names do you have in mind?" asked Clarissa.

"I like the names Evan, Logan, Jacob, and Dominic," said Spencer.

"I personally love Evan the best," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled at his wife as he quickly thought of a name.

"How about Evan Aaron Reid?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa burst out laughing as tears started to fall down her face, and as soon as she sobered up, she looked at her husband.

"Its perfect, and I can't wait to see my brother's face when he learns that we named our possible firstborn son after him," said Clarissa.

"Should we discuss girl names just to be safe?" asked Spencer.

"You get to pick this time, but after we talk about names, we need to get some sleep because we're going to be dealing with an excited four-year-old girl wanting to open her presents from Santa and us before we leave for church," said Clarissa.

Spencer thought about books that he had read before looking at his wife.

"What about Claire?" asked Spencer with a cheeky smile on his face.

A laughing Clarissa grabbed a pillow and threw it at her husband.

"No," said Clarissa.

Spencer sobered up.

"What about Lydia which means 'beautiful one' and 'noble one'?" asked Spencer.

"Perfect," said Clarissa before yawning as she rubbed her 12-week pregnant belly, "The baby and I both need sleep," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later both Spencer and Clarissa were asleep in each other's arms.

xxxxxxx

Spencer woke up to an excited four-year-old landing on top of him.

"Oof," said Spencer.

"Merry Christmas, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer reached over for his glasses and slipped them on before he hugged and kissed his oldest daughter.

"Merry Christmas, Diana," said Spencer before he smelled cinnamon rolls and pancakes cooking causing him to whisper into his oldest daughter's ear, "Should I give mommy a kiss to wake her up?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as her mid-back length brown curly hair bounced.

"I need you to go downstairs to Lucy," whispered Spencer.

"OK daddy," whispered Diana as she got out of her mommy's and daddy's bed and quickly left the room.

A few seconds later Spencer placed his lips on Clarissa's lips, and as soon as Clarissa woke up, Spencer broke out of the kiss.

"Why did you stop kissing me?" asked Clarissa as she reached over for her glasses and slipped them on.

"Diana's already awake and Lucy's downstairs making breakfast, but if you want to we can revisit the kiss I gave you after the kids are asleep," said Spencer as he got out of bed and slipped his robe and slippers on.

Clarissa smirked as she thought about the lingerie that Spencer was going to see after Diana and Bridget are in bed.

"You better keep that promise," said Clarissa.

"I'm all yours until January 2nd, so I'll do anything you or Diana wants to do with me," said Spencer.

Clarissa got out of bed and slipped her own robe and slippers on just as Bridget started crying through the baby monitor.

"I'll tend to Bridget, so why don't you go downstairs and start eating breakfast," said Clarissa.

xxxxxx

A half-hour later Spencer was sitting pretzel legged on the floor when he grabbed the first wrapped present from under the tree and passed it to Diana.

"Please give that to mommy," said Spencer.

Diana nodded as she passed the small box to her mommy, and a minute later Clarissa's eyes went wide when she saw a plane ticket to Los Angeles during the month of March.

"Am I going to LA on my own?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head.

"Rossi and I are going to be giving a seminar during the first week of March. And I got approval from your brother about you joining Rossi and me because while I'm giving seminars you can go shopping and the evenings will serve as our babymoon," said Spencer.

Clarissa kissed her husband.

"I can't wait," said Clarissa.

"Am I going too?" asked Diana.

Spencer shook his head.

"You have school, bumble bee," said Spencer.

Lucy looked at Diana.

"You, Bridget, and I will have a lot of fun while mommy and daddy are away," said Lucy.

Spencer smiled at Diana.

"Next summer I'll take you to Williamsburg, Virginia for a weekend so we can go to Busch Gardens, go to a water park, and explore the colonial town," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

"Let's open up more presents before we get dressed for church," said Clarissa.

"Do we have to go to church?" asked Diana.

"Yes we do, and after lunch, you can play with your new toys," said Clarissa.

Diana sighed as her daddy passed her a box.

"This is for you, Diana," said Spencer.

Diana quickly opened up the box and grinned at her daddy when she saw a child-sized violin and some music books.

"Since you've been mastering the piano, I think you're ready for violin lessons," said Spencer.

Diana got up and hugged her daddy.

"Thank you, daddy," said Diana.

"Your welcome, Diana," said Spencer as he didn't even realize that Clarissa was taking a picture of the father/daughter duo hugging.

A minute later Spencer was unwrapping his gift from Clarissa and he smiled at his brand new leather messenger bag.

"I decided to get you a new one because your current one is seven-years-old," said Clarissa.

"Thank you," said Spencer before finding another box with Diana's name on it.

A minute later Diana was grinning at her own messenger bag.

"I now have a messenger bag just like daddy!" exclaimed Diana.

"You sure do," said Clarissa.

Diana walked to her mother and gently hugged her.

"Thank you, mommy," said Diana.

"Your welcome," said Clarissa.

For the next 20 minutes Spencer and Clarissa smiled and laughed as they watched Diana open up boxes that contained various toys and book   
series like "The Bailey School Kids" and "Sweet Valley Kids" series while getting to watch Bridget smile and laugh or try to grab her new colorful toys and teething rings that she got from her mommy, daddy, nanny, and Santa.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer entered the master bedroom just as he heard Clarissa through the bathroom door.

"Is Diana asleep?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," called out Spencer.

The bathroom door opened causing Spencer to groan at the new lingerie that Clarissa was wearing that showed off her 12-week pregnant baby bump.

"You have one last Christmas present to open because you were a very good boy this year," smirked Clarissa as she walked over to her husband and led him over to the bed.

A few seconds later Clarissa was straddling her husband.

"I love you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I love you too, Clarissa," said Spencer before they locked their lips together.

xxxxx

The next morning Dr. Larson looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"I hope you two had a great Christmas," said Dr. Larson.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other before Clarissa looked at her gynecologist.

"We did, and tonight at 9 PM we're flying to Las Vegas and we're staying there until January 1st so we can visit Spencer's adoptive aunt who has yet to meet Bridget," said Clarissa.

"Now that sounds like a fun trip," said Dr. Larson.

"Diana's excited about getting to explore more of the city I spent my first 12 years in," said Spencer.

"I just can't wait to warn women to stay away from you when we spend time in the indoor pool," said Clarissa.

Spencer blushed while Dr. Larson laughed before Dr. Larson decided to start the ultrasound causing the 26-year-old parents to tear up a bit as   
they heard their third child's heartbeat while watching the baby move around on the monitor.

xxxx

Later on that night at 8:30 PM, Clarissa smiled at her husband who was holding a sleeping Diana as she and Lucy secured Diana's and Bridget's car seats in the two seats that were between the window seat and aisle seat.

"We should get David and Penelope both something special as a way to thank them for getting us these first class seats," said Clarissa quietly as she finished securing Bridget's car seat without waking up her youngest daughter.

"I know," said Spencer.

Lucy looked at Spencer.

"Diana's car seat is secured, so you can get her in," said Lucy quietly.

Spencer easily placed his sleeping daughter into her car seat without waking up the girl. As soon as Diana was buckled in covered up with a   
blanket, Lucy looked at Spencer.

"Pretty soon she'll be too big for me to carry," said Lucy.

"With Diana being weighed at 40 pounds at her last checkup, my days of being able to carry Diana will be over for me soon," said Clarissa.

Spencer smirked.

"At least I have no problem carrying Diana around since I can easily carry you too," said Spencer as he playfully flexed his muscles that developed when it came to carrying around his daughters, spending four weeks on crutches, and all the working out he does so he could continue being a field agent.

Clarissa squeezed her husband's upper arms.

"Hopefully all the single young women will stay away from you while we're in Vegas," said Clarissa just as the flight attendant came over and smiled at Diana and Bridget who were both asleep in their car seats.

"Are you guys done getting your little girls settled in?" asked the flight attendant.

Clarissa looked around the plane to notice that other parents with young kids or elderly people were already settled in.

"Yes, ma'am," said Clarissa.

"Then why don't you three sit down," said the attendant.

While Lucy took her seat that was across the aisle from Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget; Spencer looked at Clarissa.

"Should I sit next to Diana while you sit next to Bridget?" asked Spencer.

"I was thinking the same thing too," said Clarissa before looking at the flight attendant, "I do have bottles of milk that will need to be heated up if Bridget wakes up," said Clarissa.

"I don't mind heating them up for you," said the flight attendant before smiling at the young married couple, "Its smart that you guys decided on a 9 PM flight so your daughters can sleep during the entire flight," said the flight attendant.

"We know," said Clarissa.

"How old are your girls?" asked the flight attendant.

"Diana just turned four on the 21st and Bridget will be five-months-old on January 7th," said Spencer.

Clarissa rubbed her 12-week pregnant belly.

"I'm also 12-weeks pregnant with our third child, and my doctor cleared me for this trip," said Clarissa.

"Good to know," said the flight attendant before she walked away.

A few seconds later Spencer was taking the seat by the aisle next to Diana while Clarissa took the window seat next to Bridget.

xxxxx

Over five and a half hours later Spencer was tucking Diana into the twin sized bed of the two bedroom suite that Spencer and Clarissa decided to splurge on while Clarissa got Bridget into the crib that they requested before the young married couple got into their hotel bed.

xxxxxx

Four hours later Spencer woke up to Diana getting into bed with him and Clarissa.

"When did we get to Las Vegas?" asked Diana.

Spencer reached over for his glasses and slipped them on before looking at the digital alarm clock that said that it was 4:00 AM causing him to realize that Diana must have woken up due to it being 7 AM in DC.

"We arrived in our hotel room four hours ago, and you got over 10 hours of sleep since you fell asleep at the airport," said Spencer.  
Diana thought about her daddy telling her about why she needs more sleep than her parents and Lucy.

"That's a lot of sleep," said Diana.

"I know, but mommy, Lucy, and I slept for four hours on the plane," said Spencer before smiling at his daughter, "What do you want to do today?"   
asked Spencer.

"We see auntie Elena today?" asked Diana.

"Only if she's having a good day, but mommy and I planned a lot of fun activities for us to do," said Spencer.

"Like what?" asked Diana just as Bridget started crying.

"Let's go see what your baby sister wants, and I'll tell you while I tend to your baby sister," said Spencer.

"OK, daddy," said Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer was heating up a bottle of breast milk for Bridget before he fed his youngest daughter while he told Diana about the plans that he and Clarissa made for her.

xxxxxxxx

Four hours later Elena smiled when she saw her adoptive nephew holding Bridget.

"I finally get to meet Bridget," said Elena.

"I'm sorry about not visiting in a long time. With the year I just had, I was busy at work and at home," said Spencer.

"Its OK, Spencer," said Elena before looking at Clarissa as she smiled, "Hopefully you guys will have time to visit again before or after the baby is   
born," said Elena.

Spencer looked at his adoptive aunt.

"I never told you about becoming a father again in my letters or phone calls to you," said Spencer.

"I know, but I was once a mother until Caleb died. So a former mother would always know when a young woman is pregnant," said Elena.

Spencer smiled sadly at his adoptive aunt as he thought about the two-year-old boy that died after being bitten by Mojave Rattlesnake when he was seven before Diana pulled out one of her new books from her new messenger bag.

"Can you please read to me?" asked Diana.

"I certainly can Diana," said Elena.

A minute later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget were listening to Elena reading to them.

xxxxxxx

Four hours later Spencer and Clarissa were happily swimming and splashing around in the hotel's pool with Diana while Bridget and Lucy were in the Reid family's hotel room due to Bridget taking a nap.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening at 6 PM, Spencer and Clarissa lightly laughed when they saw Diana falling asleep over her dessert of chocolate ice cream at Binions.

"Jet lag must have finally kicked in for her because she woke up me at 4 AM Vegas time," said Spencer as he got up and lifted up his sleeping daughter before heading back to his own chair with a sleeping Diana curled against his chest, "When she woke up, her biological clock must have made her realize that it was 7 AM in DC. Right now its 9 PM in DC, so I figured that she was going to crash over dinner," said Spencer.

Clarissa yawned as she watched her husband sit down in his chair with Diana on his lap.

"Jet lag kicked in for me too," said Clarissa as she looked at her husband, "Since you have to travel all over the country for work, I don't know how you do it, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Blame all the coffee I drink and a comfortable couch that I quickly claim during flights home from cases," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

The next day Spencer smiled when Dr. Hannah Green looked up from her desk.

"Spencer," said Hannah as she got up and pulled Spencer into a hug.

"I promised you that I would visit the next time I'm in town," said Spencer.

Hannah looked at Spencer.

"Are your wife and daughters here with you today?" asked Hannah.

Spencer looked at the bulletin board that contained newspaper articles about him and pictures of him with Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget.

"They are, but I thought that I should tell you that because of how you became a big influence on helping me get over my parents' deaths, I wouldn't have recovered from getting abducted and tortured like I did. So I really appreciate you flying out to DC to visit me when I was on medical leave," said Spencer.

"When Clarissa called me to tell me what happened to you, I knew that you would appreciate talking to someone from outside the FBI," said Hannah as she hugged Spencer, "Can I finally meet Bridget?" asked Hannah.

"Yes," said Spencer as he sent Clarissa a text message.

YOU, DIANA, AND BRIDGET CAN COME ON IN NOW. ~ SR

A minute later Hannah was accepting a hug from Diana before she looked at the curly brown haired and blue-eyed little girl.

"I can't believe how much you have grown since the last time I saw you, Diana," said Hannah.

"I turned four on December 21st," said Diana.

"Happy belated birthday, Diana," said Hannah as she grabbed a wrapped gift from her desk and passed it to Diana.

Diana opened up the gift, and a minute later her eyes went wide at her new book.

"Thank you," said Diana.

Hannah smiled at Clarissa.

"I see that you're expecting again," said Hannah.

Clarissa rested her hands on her belly.

"I'm 12-weeks pregnant, Dr. Green," said Clarissa.

"Congratulations," said Hannah.

"Thank you," said Clarissa.

"Do you have any preferences on the gender of baby number three?" asked Hannah.

"We're hoping for a boy this time, but either way we'll be happy about the gender," said Clarissa.

Hannah then laid her eyes on the wide-awake baby girl who was in her car seat as she took in the sight of the baby girl who looks just like her mother despite having her father's curls and eyes.

"Bridget's much more beautiful in person," said Hannah before looking at Spencer and Clarissa, "May I please hold her?" asked Hannah.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Hannah gently removed the nearly five-month-old baby girl and cradled her in her arms.

"Aren't you a beautiful little girl like your big sister, Diana," said Hannah.

Bridget smiled at Hannah before she started to babble away.

"Are you trying to tell me about yourself?" asked Hannah.

Clarissa smiled.

"Bridget's most likely telling you that she is a daddy's girl just like her big sister is," said Clarissa.

Hannah laughed before she decided to ask Diana about how preschool is going for her.

xxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer and Clarissa were standing by Diana and William Reid's graves with Diana and Bridget.

"Hi, mom. Hi dad. I'm sorry that it's been awhile since I visited you guys in over a year and a half. Clarissa and I ended up celebrating our five year wedding anniversary last month and your oldest grandchild recently turned four while your currently youngest grandchild will be five-months-old in 10 days. Right now is Bridget's first trip to your graves, and she's just staring at your graves with wide eyes. I'm going to be holding my third child at the end of June, and I'm very excited about becoming a daddy again," said Spencer as he took a shaky breath, "I'm always making sure that your grandchildren know who you two are while I continue on making you two proud," said Spencer before he started to tell his parents about how he, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget are doing.

xxxxxxx

20 minutes later Diana looked at her daddy as they walked back to their rental SUV.

"Why did you talk to grandma and grandpa at their graves?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at his mother's namesake while thinking about how he and Clarissa decided to tell Diana that all of her biological grandparents are dead.

"I find comfort talking to my parents here," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her oldest daughter.

"Someday daddy and I will take you to my parents graves in Manassas," said Clarissa.

"OK," said Diana.

"Let's go get some ice cream," said Clarissa.

Spencer and Diana grinned at each other as they reached Spencer's and Clarissa's rental SUV.

xxxxx

Four nights later Spencer and Clarissa were giving each other a kiss as they watched the fireworks that were going off to ring in the year 2008 from their hotel room on the strip.

"Happy New Year, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Happy New Year, Clarissa," said Spencer.

Diana who was woken up a half hour ago so she could watch the fireworks looked at her mommy and daddy.

"Happy New Year, daddy. Happy New Year, mommy," said Diana as she ran over to her parents and hugged them.

"Happy New Year, Diana," said Clarissa as she bent forward and gave Diana's head a kiss.

Spencer lifted up his daughter and gave Diana an Eskimo kiss.

"Happy New Year, Diana," said Spencer.

A tired Diana rubbed her eyes.

"Let's get some sleep because we're flying back to DC tomorrow morning," said Spencer.

"Can I please sleep with you daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer gave his wife a pleading look as he used his eyes while pouting.

"Ugg," groaned Clarissa before looking at her husband, "Diana can sleep with us as long as you promise not to teach Bridget and baby Reid how to master using their eyes to get whatever they want like you did with Diana," said Clarissa.

"I can't make any promises, but I'll do my best," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were asleep in their hotel bed with Diana as they all thought about going home the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The plane ticket that Clarissa received will tell you readers that I will be doing Somebody's Watching, but Lila Archer won't be making a move on Spencer at all because of Clarissa being with Spencer and Rossi at the gallery while I make a few changes because Spencer will be using his experience as a father to be stern at Lila Archer.


	27. 3rd Life & Gender Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of this chapter takes place during Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend because there are schools that closes that day. So during this chapter Clarissa is going through weeks 15&16 of her third pregnancy. I hope that everyone loves the AU twist that I created for 3rd Life.

Spencer and Clarissa were getting ready for bed when Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Did you have fun building that volcano with Diana while I went grocery shopping with Lucy?" asked Clarissa.

"We had fun building the volcano that we'll be erupting as soon as we find out the gender, but Diana ended up asking me about my gun," said Spencer.

Clarissa shook her head as she thought about how the school resource officer spent a week going from class to class to answer questions at Diana's school while she had to teach kids about proper hygiene.

"What did you say?" asked Clarissa.

"I told her that unless I take my gun to a shooting range for my firearm qualifications to allow me to carry a gun, I only pull the trigger if someone or myself is about to get injured by an armed suspect while I refused to tell her that I've already done two kill shots in the field," said Spencer.

"And that's how it should be," said Clarissa.

Spencer chuckled a bit.

"Then Diana asked me if I could teach her how to shoot, but I told her no," said Spencer.

"Smart answer, Spence," said Clarissa.

"It doesn't help that she wants to become an FBI agent like me someday. I'm honored that she wants to be just like me when she grows up, but I don't want her to witness what I have seen during my four years as an agent," said Spencer.

Clarissa rubbed her husband's arm as she thought about how Spencer's eidetic memory is sometimes a curse for him.

"Maybe she'll change her mind in the future, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I hope so too," said Spencer as he rubbed his wife's 15-week pregnant belly, "Just keep on growing big and strong, so mommy and I can meet you in 25 weeks," said Spencer.

"I just love it when you talk to the baby," said Clarissa.

"At least he or she will be developing ears by next week, and hopefully we'll find out the gender when we go for your 16 week check up," said Spencer.

"If we do end up with a boy this time, I want us to be surprised next time," said Clarissa.

"Deal," said Spencer before looking at his wife, "We should get some sleep so we can be well rested for church tomorrow," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

The next day after church, Spencer was on the floor playing with Diana and Bridget while Clarissa and Lucy were making a light lunch when Spencer saw Bridget who was laying on her stomach get onto her hands and knees.

"What is Bridget doing, daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer quickly reached for his and Clarissa's video camera that was on a nearby end table.

"It seems like Bridget is going to try and crawl for the very first time," said Spencer.

"Should I go get mommy?" asked Diana.

Spencer who was getting the camera on video mode looked at his oldest daughter.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Diana quickly got up and ran to the kitchen while Spencer looked at Bridget who was rocking on her hands and knees.

"Are you about to start crawling for the first time, baby girl?" asked Spencer.

Bridget grinned at her daddy while Spencer noticed Clarissa and Lucy coming into the room with Diana as they made their way to Spencer while Bridget continued to rock on her hands and knees.

"I'll film this moment, Spencer," said Lucy.

Spencer nodded as he passed Lucy the camera before he grabbed one of Bridget's rattles.

"Come to daddy, Bridget," said Spencer as he shook the rattle.

Bridget started to slowly crawl to her daddy, and as soon as Bridget reached her daddy, Spencer scooped up his youngest daughter and cradled her close to his chest.

"Daddy's so proud of you, Bridget," said Spencer.

A teary-eyed Clarissa got onto the floor and kissed her youngest daughter.

"Mommy's proud of you too," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her little sister.

"I'm proud of you too, Bridget," said Diana as she kissed her baby sister's forehead causing Bridget to squeal and giggle.

"Please tell me you got that on tape, Lucy," said Spencer.

"I got everything on tape," said Lucy.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter.

"What do you say about spending the rest of the day watching all the videos that were made of you from the day you were born until present time?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as her curly pigtails bounced just as Bridget looked at her daddy.

"Dada," said Bridget.

Spencer's and Clarissa's eyes went wide as Bridget looked at her daddy again.

"Dada," said Bridget.

"You really made my Sunday today," said Spencer as he gently hugged Bridget close to him.

'Xxxxxxx 

Nearly a week later Spencer approached the crime scene with his teammates.

"Have you ID'ed the body?" asked Hotch.

"It's a girl," said Detective Payton.

Spencer instantly thought about Diana and Bridget who were both safe at home in their bed or crib.

"One of the missing girls?" asked Hotch.

"All I can tell you right now is it's a girl," said Detective Payton.

"Did you draw up a list of those involved in the search?" asked Morgan.

"You're gonna find the parents of the girls on that list," said Detective Payton as he and everyone else ducked under the crime scene tape.

"Please tell me they didn't discover the body," said Emily.

"No. As soon as our dogs caught her scent, we kept them away from the scene," said Detective Payton as they reached the crime scene.

Spencer looked at the detective.

"She'd been missing 18 hours?" asked Spencer.

"That's correct. We found the body five hours ago," said Detective Payton.

Hotch looked at the body as he tried to keep himself from picturing his nieces at the crime scene while JJ looked over where Katie's and Lindsey's parents were waiting.

"The parents have been here all this time?" asked JJ.

"Yeah. And I'm running out of excuses," said Detective Payton.

"I'm gonna go talk to them," said JJ.

"JJ, I'll come with you," said Morgan as he followed JJ.

"Thanks. I gotta be honest, guys. I'm glad you're all here, because I have never seen anything like that," said Detective Payton.

"Her face and her hands have been obliterated," said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was crouching down by the body as he tried to hold back his anger at the unsub who killed a teenage girl while Emily pointed out the wounds.

"Developed bruises, cuts, layer upon layer," said Emily.

"Bindings cut deep into her flesh," said Spencer.

"And around her neck, there's heavy bruising. She was strangled to death," said Emily.

Spencer looked at the girl's neck.

"A belt was used. You can see the indentation marks of a buckle," said Spencer.

"But why destroy her hands and face?" asked Detective Payton.

"It indicates she knew the attacker," answered Hotch.

"By destroying her ID, they're hoping to delay you making a connection between the victim and the unsub," said Rossi.

"It gives him time to get away," said Hotch.

Detective Payton looked at Hotch and Rossi.

"Do you think the other girl's still alive?" asked Detective Payton.

"Until we find her body, we should assume she is," said Rossi.

"One thing's for sure- this is only the dump site. We need to figure out where she was killed," said Hotch.

At that moment Jack Vaughn stood on the ledge and looked at the team.

"And which girl we're looking for," said Rossi.

Spencer stood up to his full height and sighed causing Emily to look at him.

"Thinking about keeping your daughters close to you when we get back to DC?" asked Emily quietly.

"Being a parent while working this job is never easy, but I'm working this job for my children," said Spencer quietly.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer pulled out his phone and looked at a picture of Diana and Bridget together as he watched Jack console Katie's father, and as soon as Jack and Owen were out of earshot, Hotch looked at Detective Payton.

"I want Lindsey's picture everywhere," said Hotch.

"What they did to Katie took a long time. It was very violent and we know Katie screamed. Yet no calls from complaining neighbors. Why?" asked Rossi.

"There weren't any," said Detective Payton.

Spencer pocketed his phone as he headed to the room that contained a map of Chula Vista causing the others to follow him.

"The abduction site is nine miles north of the dump site on the edge of town. Both are indicators of a comfort zone, so I'm assuming the kill site is somewhere between these two points," said Spencer as he gestured to the two points.

"That's a wide area," said Detective Payton.

"Do a grid search. Narrow it down to wooded areas, industrial sites, and abandoned houses. He needed privacy and he needed a controlled environment," said Hotch.

"What's critical right now is a heavy police presence," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at his tired agents.

"Rossi, in the morning I want you, Reid, Morgan to go in and search Jack Vaughan's house. Prentiss, you and I will go to where the girls were last seen," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later Spencer was heading to Jack Vaughan's house with Morgan and Rossi when he pulled out his phone and called Clarissa who answered on the second ring.

"I'm so sorry about not waking you up when I got called in," said Spencer.

"It's OK, Spence. I appreciate you leaving me a note," said Clarissa.

"I'm going to need the girls to sleep with us when I get home," said Spencer.

"Missing kids?" asked Clarissa.

"Two missing teenage girls and one of them is already dead," said Spencer.

"Then the girls will sleep with us, but right now Diana wants to say good morning to you," said Clarissa.

"Please put her on, and I also want to hear Bridget babble over the phone," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer smiled a bit when he heard Diana's voice.

"Hi, daddy," said Diana.

"I'm sorry that the plans we made for today got canceled because of me having to go to California," said Spencer.

"It's OK, daddy. We can go ice skating next weekend," said Diana.

"To make it up to you, even more, I'll take you to Build A Bear Workshop next weekend," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana over the phone.

"Dada," said Bridget.

"Well hello, Bridget," said Spencer.

The five-month-old baby girl babbled to her daddy over the phone causing Spencer to smile as he imagined what Bridget was telling him before he knew that he had to get going.

"Daddy has to get back to work, but I'll try to call at bedtime," said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy," said Diana.

"I love you too, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"Bridget and I love you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I love all three of my girls, and I promise to stay safe," said Spencer before hanging up.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer started going through some cupboards when Rossi looked at Jack.

"What happened to Lindsey's mother?" asked Rossi.

"Does it matter?" asked Pat.

"It does to Lindsey," said Rossi.

Spencer walked towards a table.

"It's called victimology. It helps us understand more about Lindsey," said Spencer.

"How?" asked Jack.

Morgan looked at Jack and Pat.

"How she carries herself. How she interacts socially with others," said Morgan.

"She's just like any other 15-year-old," said Jack.

Rossi looked at Jack.

"No, she's not," said Rossi.

"I'm sorry?" asked Jack.

Spencer thought about how he and Clarissa decided to decorated their house to match their personalities while Diana's bedroom now contained posters of famous figure skaters.

Spencer looked at Jack and Pat.

"Everything in our house is an externalization of ourselves," said Spencer.

"This room isn't what you'd expect of a teenage girl. No JT posters. No framed pictures. No journals, no cuddly toys. The walls are a mute tone. All this suggests that Lindsey keeps herself hidden. She's shy and... Shares very little with others," said Morgan.

"Except to one person- Katie," said Spencer just as his cell phone rang causing him to see that it was Garcia, "Garcia?" asked Spencer as he left the room.

"As a father to two daughters, how are you doing?" asked Garcia.

"I'm doing OK because I keep telling myself that Diana and Bridget are at home safe with their mother and nanny, but I know my daughters aren't the reason why you called me," said Spencer.

"Reid, other than telling you that I'll need snuggle time with your daughters, I ran a check on the folks involved in the search. All good. Nice neighborhood, no sexual offenders. But, here's the big news. I found a blog Katie ran on Faceplace TV. She talks a lot about Lindsey, and, boy, she did not like Lindsey's dad," said Garcia as Spencer continued to walk further away from Morgan, Rossi, Jack, and Pat as he found a picture of Lindsey with her mother, "Lindsey and Jack moved to Chula Vista six years ago. Up until nine, according to Katie, Lindsey lived in Maine. Jack owned a fishing boat with his three brothers, mom stayed at home. But then, tragedy struck. Fish stock went down, dad was forced to sell his boat, the family fell apart, mom died in a car accident," said Garcia.

Spencer sat down in front of the Vaughn's computer as he thought about one of his and Clarissa's favorite books.

"It sounds familiar," said Spencer as he started to go through the computer.

"It should. It's the exact life story of a girl named Lindsey in a book called the "Emerald Sea of Dreams"," said Garcia while Spencer checked around his surroundings, "I've read it like five times. If Lindsey stole her name and her story from a book, why didn't her father say anything about it?" asked Garcia.

"And his computer's set to automatically clear the web browser history and wipe the temp file on a daily basis," said Spencer quietly.

"Give me his IP address," said Garcia.

Spencer quickly pulled up the information he needed.

"374…," recited Spencer as he turned his head before facing the computer again, "54123," recited Spencer.

"Nothing. Must be using a gray box proxy server. It makes tracking his internet history impossible," said Garcia.

Spencer heard footsteps coming from behind him.

"Can I help you?" asked Jack.

Spencer quickly hung up.

"I was just, uh, checking to see if Lindsey had contacted anyone on the internet. Predators tend to- tend to do that," stuttered Spencer as he stood up just as Pat entered the room.

"Is that right?" asked Jack.

"Yes. Statistically, actually, 43% of predators-," said Spencer.

"Lindsey doesn't like computers," said Jack.

"Oh," smiled Spencer before making eye contact with Jack and Pat, "Cool. Excuse me," said Spencer as he hurried away.

A few minutes later Rossi looked at Jack.

"Doesn't look much like a home. State-of-the-art security system, but the furniture looks rented," said Rossi.

Morgan looked at Jack.

"The walls are bare of any real art. The shelves are devoid of any family photos," said Morgan.

Spencer made eye contact with Jack,

"Spyware wipes your computer file history daily," said Spencer.

"What are you getting at, agent?" asked Pat.

"In the recording, Katie said what you'd expect of any teenager about to die. She begged for her life. Lindsey did exactly the opposite," said Rossi.

"Which is what?" asked Jack.

"Lindsey's emotional response and the- and the words that she chose to say in a situation as violent as the one she faced... Strongly suggests-," said Spencer.

"Look-Lindsey was either coached or she's experienced sexual abuse before," said Rossi.

Jack charged at Rossi.

"You son of a bitch!" yelled Jack as Pat grabbed him, "No! Let me go!" shouted Jack.

Morgan quickly noticed a gun attached to a back holder on Pat's pants causing Morgan to pull out his gun.

"Gun!" shouted Morgan.

Spencer and Rossi quickly pulled out their own guns and pointed them at Pat.

"Put your hands where I can see them, both of you! Do not move!" ordered Morgan.

Jack raised his hands while Pat looked at Spencer, Morgan, and Rossi.

"Stop! OK? OK, just calm down. I'm gonna reach into my pocket... And I'm gonna take out a badge," said Pat as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a badge, "Just calm down. OK?" asked Pat as he opened up his badge, "United States Marshal. Jack and Lindsey are under my authority," said Pat as he pocketed his badge.

"Which is what?" asked Rossi.

Morgan lowered his gun.

"Witness protection," said Morgan.

Spencer and Rossi both holstered their guns.

Xxxxxx

The next morning Spencer stood by Morgan and Detective Payton while Hotch looked at Jack.

"Who do you work for?" asked Hotch.

"The McCrelan corporation, from Boston," answered Jack.

"I love how you guys sell that. By "corporation, " you mean the mob, don't you?" asked Morgan.

"No one's been able to get anything on them," said Pat.

"Until now," said Rossi.

"That's because they murdered anyone who was a threat to them, civilians and cops alike," said Emily.

Hotch looked at Jack.

"Is that what you did, Jack? Did you eliminate the threat?" asked Hotch before noticing a bottle of pills in Jack's hands, "Do those pills help the memories, or do they just hide the real Jack?" asked Hotch.

"The only thing that keeps me alive is Lindsey," said Jack.

Spencer thought about Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and the baby being the reasons why he's still alive after all the losses he had to deal with.

"What they did to Katie, do you think that was a message to you?" asked Hotch.

"If it is, it's working," said Jack.

"Do you recognize the method?" asked Hotch.

"I didn't send messages. I just went straight to the source," said Jack.

"In two weeks' time, the McCrelan brothers will face trial," said Pat.

Detective Payton's phone rang.

"It looks like the McCrelans are gonna walk," said Morgan.

"Where? All right. Thanks," said Detective Payton as he hung up, "You were right. We just found something in an abandoned house," said Detective Payton.

"Lindsey?" asked Jack.

"Where, exactly?" asked Hotch.

Spencer followed Detective Payton to the map.

"Here. On the outskirts of town," said Detective Payton as he pointed at the map.

Spencer looked at the geographical profile that he did.

"It's still in the comfort zone," said Spencer.

"What does that mean?" asked Detective Payton.

"It means the unsubs are local. Still here," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at his teammates.

"Let's go," said Hotch.

Jack looked at Hotch.

"Agent Hotchner. Whatever you find, I want to see her," said Jack.

Xxxxxxxx

Spencer got out of the back seat of an SUV when Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"What is it to the dump site, 5 miles?" asked Hotch.

"6.2 miles south," said Spencer.

Detective Payton looked at Spencer and Hotch.

"Why?" asked Detective Payton.

"Why didn't they dump Katie's body on the other side of town?" asked Morgan.

"And risk heading out on the open road while everyone was out looking for the girls," said Emily.

Spencer walked underneath the crime scene tape that two officers were holding up.

"Something forced them to move on," said Rossi.

Spencer donned his latex-free gloves before he headed into the house and started looking through the house before he rejoined the rest of his teammates and Detective Payton.

"They're sending a message. Why obliterate the ID and hide the body?" asked Rossi.

"Why not go straight to the source?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked up at the ceiling.

"Garcia checked all the names against the ICE database and nothing," said Morgan before he started to follow some bloody footprints.

"Katie and Lindsey may have left the movie theater of their own free will, but they sure didn't count on coming here," said Hotch.

"So this has nothing to do with the mob?" asked Detective Payton.

"Hey, guys, this blood trail goes all the way out the back here," said Morgan as everyone followed him outside.

Morgan ducked under a fence.

"Must have run out this way," said Morgan.

"Maybe it was Lindsey," said Detective Payton while Rossi ducked underneath the fence.

Spencer ducked underneath the fence before Emily followed suit.

"Well, whoever it was, they lost a lot of blood," said Emily.

Spencer looked at the blood trail.

"It's thinner the further we go," said Spencer.

"It's an arterial bleed," said Emily before noticing no more blood, "And it stops here," said Emily.

Hotch looked at his teammates.

"OK, spread out. Search the grounds and every house," ordered Hotch.

Spencer pulled out his gun and started running towards a house.

Xxxxxx

While his teammates were giving the profile, Spencer was working on a geographical profile while talking to Garcia.

"Check every high school in the Chula Vista area, males between the ages of 15 and 18," said Spencer.

Spencer heard some typing over the phone.

"OK. Chula vista has seven public schools and three private schools, so I'm gonna need more than that," said Garcia.

Spencer quickly grabbed a photo of the teenage boy that Hotch found and studied the picture.

"Uh, let's see here. Brown hair, 5'9", approximately 142 pounds," said Spencer.

Spencer heard more typing.

"More," said Garcia.

Spencer studied his geographical profile.

"Most of the activity is in the southeastern district. The socio-economic dynamic's predominantly working class. Look within a 3-mile radius of the Castle Park area," said Spencer.

"Two high schools," said Garcia.

"Start with the largest," said Spencer.

"OK, let's see what we got," said Garcia as she looked up faces, "I got, like, five faces. Jinkies," said Garcia as she recognized the boy that was found dead.

"What is it?" asked Spencer.

"The mystery boy is Douglas Silverman, and he's 18-years-old," said Garcia.

After getting a picture of Douglas, Spencer headed into the room where the rest of his teammates were giving the profile.

"And the dominant male, in order to maintain control, attacked him," said Hotch.

"Douglas Silverman, 18-years-old," said Spencer as he posted a picture of Douglas on the bulletin board.

"We need to interview kids in his class, parents, teachers, find out who his friends were," said Hotch.

"It's at least two or more boys. One older, early to mid-20s," said Rossi.

"He'll think of himself as a real bad-ass, somebody who broke the rules, defied the system," said Morgan.

"And have flunked or gotten kicked out of high school, possibly the same one. He'll also have a record- petty theft, larceny," said Emily.

"But Douglas Silverman's been missing for two days. How come no one's called?" asked Detective Payton.

JJ looked at Detective Payton.

"It's a 3-day weekend. His parents are out of town, or he called, said he's OK," said JJ.

"And now that the weekend's over, I can tell you with what's happened, it's gonna end violently," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer stood by the bulletin board as he committed Rossi's and Jack's conversation to memory.

"I had to. I can't afford to forget a face. His I've never seen," said Jack.

"Maybe these guys, she didn't want you to meet, afraid of what you might say or do," said Rossi.

"Lindsey and I don't have any secrets," said Jack.

"That's not quite true, though, is it?" asked Rossi.

"No, it is true. She knows who I am, what I was," said Jack.

"10 years ago your wife died in a car accident. Is that why you turned state witness?" asked Rossi.

"I promised my wife on her deathbed that I would do whatever was necessary to protect Lindsey," said Jack.

"Did you tell Lindsey it was supposed to be you in that car and not her mom?" asked Rossi.

"Yes," said Jack.

"Why, then, with all that you taught her, would she allow herself to get caught up in this?" asked Rossi.

"She wouldn't," said Jack.

"What about Katie?" asked Rossi.

A minute later Spencer had Garcia on the phone.

"Hello?" asked Garcia.

"Go back to high school boys who flunked out or got kicked out. Go back 10 years," said Spencer.

"I think Katie's talking about him right now," said Garcia.

"Thanks, Garcia," said Spencer before hanging up.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting in front of a laptop as he video chatted with Garcia.

"OK, I got three Ryans," said Garcia.

"The Ryan we're looking for probably went to high school with Lindsey and Katie a few years back. He got expelled or at least flunked out," said Spencer as he watched Mr. Owens leave the office that Jack was in.

"Ryan Phillips. He was expelled for smoking pot years ago," said Garcia.

Spencer got up and walked towards the office and looked at the pill bottle causing him to realize that Mr. Owens was drugged.

"Oh, no," said Spencer.

"Reid, what's going on?" asked Garcia.

An angry and bloodied Pat came into the bullpen area.

"He's taken my car. The bastard took my car," said Pat as he grabbed a walkie-talkie, "This is Pat Mannan. All units, all units, I want an APB out on Jack Vaughan," said Pat.

Spencer quickly went to a land-line and called Hotch.

"Yeah, Reid?" asked Hotch.

"Jack Vaughan ran off," said Spencer as he quickly explained what he found.

A few minutes later Spencer was refining his geographical profile when Pat approached him.

"You gotta find him, and fast," said Pat.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" asked Spencer.

"Coloring in a map," deadpanned Pat.

Spencer focused on his geographical profile while an officer approached Pat.

"All the activity is focused in the Southeastern District. The abduction site, the dump site, Ryan Phillips' house," said Spencer.

Pat looked at the note he was given.

"There's gunshots coming from Jackson Street," said Pat before looking at Spencer, "Are you coming?" asked Pat.

Spencer ignored Pat as he focused on his geographical profile.

A few minutes later Spencer realized where Lindsey and Ryan could be, and a few seconds later he had his brother-in-law on the phone.

"Reid, good news, please," said Hotch.

"After inputting all the sites, I've come up with a 2-dimensional probability service overlay map that indicates the offenders' operating area," rambled Spencer.

"Reid, where is he?" asked Hotch.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I think he's taken her to the Mayford High School two blocks from here," said Spencer.

"I'll meet you there," said Hotch as he realized that he didn't want to deal with his sister being angry at him if Spencer got hurt again, "And Reid... Be careful," said Hotch.

"Thanks," said Spencer before hanging up.

A few minutes later Spencer was driving to Mayford High School, and a few minutes later he stormed into the bathroom to find Jack pointing a rifle at Ryan.

"Put the gun down!" ordered Spencer.

"Please! Please help me!" pleaded Ryan.

"Jack put down the gun," ordered Spencer.

"She begged him to stop and he laughed at her! He laughed at her!" cried Lindsey.

"I didn't laugh at her. I would change it if I could. But I can't. Please... Just don't kill me," pleaded Ryan.

Spencer looked at Jack.

"Jack... You swore to your wife you'd protect Lindsey. Listen to her, Jack. Listen to what she wants. She's- she's begging you to kill somebody right in front of her. What do you think your wife wanted you to protect her from? Jack... Your life has been, uh... It's been about violence, and if... You do this, Lindsey's will be, too. Do you want that?" asked Spencer.

"No, you don't want that!" pleaded Ryan.

"When does it end, Jack? Put down the gun!" ordered Spencer before he decided to use another tactic, "I have two daughters of my own, and I'm very protective of them just like you are of Lindsey. I've been teaching my oldest daughter that as an FBI agent I only pull the trigger if the person I'm catching is about to kill someone else or shoot at my teammates and me. So as one father to another, can you please put your gun down and let Ryan serve time in prison for killing Katie and abducting Lindsey instead of listening to your daughter," shouted Spencer.

Jack looked at Spencer and decided to listen to the young man as he changed the safety and slid the rifle over to Spencer who kicked the rifle at a farther distance before he made his way to Ryan as he kicked away the knife so he could handcuff Ryan.

10 seconds later Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan rushed into the bathroom causing all three older men to witness Jack untying his daughter while Spencer hauled up a handcuffed Ryan.

"You OK, Reid?" asked Morgan while Hotch picked up the rifle.

"I used my experience as a father to talk Jack down," said Spencer as he passed Ryan over to Morgan.

"Good job," said Hotch as he patted Spencer on the shoulder.

Jack who was now hugging his daughter looked at Spencer.

"Are you really protective of your little girls?" asked Jack.

Spencer nodded.

"I would kill to protect them, but I can't because my beliefs aren't like yours because I believe that putting one serial killer away at a time helps make this country safer for my daughters and unborn child. As someone who became an orphan at four-years-old and again at 19, please make sure that you find a good therapist for Lindsey so she can heal properly and become successful with her life just like me," said Spencer.

"I promise," said Jack.

Xxxxxx

Two hours later Hotch was watching his youngest agent sleep before Rossi looked at him.

"Even though your brother-in-law doesn't dress up in suits and ties like you, he reminds me of a younger you," said Rossi.

Hotch gave Rossi a slight glare.

"I know, and that's probably the huge reason why Clarissa fell in love with him," said Hotch.

"Even though everything didn't work out between you and Haley, I'm at least glad that after being married for over five years that they're going strong," said Rossi.

"Did you ever hear about what happened to Spencer during the Hankel case?" asked Hotch.

"Reid told me in Montana, and I assume that's why you told him over the phone to be careful," said Rossi.

Hotch nodded.

"I have a feeling that if he wasn't able to talk down Jack from killing Ryan, I would have been worried about his PTSD symptoms reemerging. After what happened to Elle and Gideon, I'm glad that I didn't fail Spencer," said Hotch as he gazed at his brother-in-law one more time before he focused on his paperwork.

Xxxxxxxx 

Four hours later Spencer was asleep in his and Clarissa's king sized bed with Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two mornings later Dr. Larson looked at the monitor that contained live feed of baby Reid before smiling at the 26-year-old parents.

"I have a clear view on the gender," said Dr. Larson.

"What are we having?" asked Clarissa.

Dr. Larson smiled at Spencer and Clarissa.

"You two are finally having a baby boy," said Dr. Larson.

Spencer quickly gave his wife a kiss while happy tears fell down his face.

"Diana's going to be so happy about her wish coming true," said Clarissa as happy tears fell down her face.

Spencer nodded.

"Evan will get to help me scare off Diana's and Bridget's future boyfriends," grinned Spencer.

"You're naming your son Evan?" asked Dr. Larson.

"At first we planned Tristan, but Diana named a teddy bear Tristan last year so Spence and I decided on Evan," said Clarissa.

"So how are you two revealing the gender to your family and friends?" asked Dr. Larson.

Spencer grinned.

"Two Saturdays ago, Diana and I made a volcano. Diana wanted to make the volcano erupt right away, but I told her that we're going to erupt the volcano as soon as we found out the gender," said Spencer.

"Now that's a fun way to reveal the gender," grinned Dr. Larson.

"Instead of using baking soda, vinegar, and blue food coloring, I'm making blue elephant toothpaste," said Spencer.

"Can you two film the volcano erupting so I can watch the footage during your next appointment with me, Clarissa?" asked Dr. Larson.

"We will," said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "With the size of the volcano you and Diana made, you're going to be laying a tarp on the kitchen floor before you set the volcano onto the floor," said Clarissa firmly.

"Yes, ma'am," grinned Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Over an hour later Spencer stepped into the bullpen to find Hotch, Rossi, JJ, Emily, Morgan, and Garcia talking around the coffee pot.

"Morning guys," said Spencer.

"How was my sister's doctor appointment?" asked Hotch.

Spencer grinned.

"The baby is developing right on schedule, and we found out the gender," said Spencer.

"Please tell us so I can start going shopping," begged Garcia.

Spencer shook his head.

"Clarissa ordered me not to tell anyone because we're revealing the gender by erupting the volcano that Diana and I made together last week," said Spencer before giving Garcia a pointed look, "And that means no hacking into Clarissa's medical records or asking another technical analyst to find out the gender," said Spencer firmly.

"I promise not to hack into Clarissa's medical records or ask someone else," said Garcia.

"Good because Clarissa and I want you guys to come over tonight for dinner, and after dinner, I'll be erupting the volcano," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Are you allowed to tell me?" asked Hotch.

"Clarissa told me that I can tell you in your office," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer and Hotch were in Hotch's office with the blinds closed while their fronts were facing the security camera.

"Am I getting another niece or finally a nephew?" asked Hotch.

Spencer pulled out his copy of the ultrasound photo and passed it to his brother-in-law who studied the photo for 10 seconds before his face broke into a huge grin.

"Jack's going to be happy," said Hotch as he pulled his brother-in-law into a hug.

"Diana's going to be happy too," grinned Spencer.

"Are you happy about finally having a son?" asked Hotch.

"Very," said Spencer.

"I'll let Haley know that she can give Jack's old baby clothes to you and Clarissa the next time I have Jack," said Hotch.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Later on that evening Spencer and Hotch placed the volcano onto the tarp that Spencer had laid on the floor before looking at Diana who was sitting by a toy drum of hers.

"May I please have a drum roll, Diana?" asked Spencer.

Diana started pounding on her drum while Spencer added the ingredients that he had yet to add to the volcano. As soon as he stepped back, blue foam erupted from the volcano causing some cheers.

"Clarissa and I are finally having a son to love and cherish," grinned Spencer.

At that moment everyone took turns giving Spencer and Clarissa a hug or in Rossi's case kissing the happy parents on both cheeks.

As soon as everyone was done congratulating Spencer and Clarissa, Spencer lifted up his oldest daughter causing Diana to wrap her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"Are you glad that your wish for a baby brother came true?" asked Spencer.

Diana gave her daddy an Eskimo kiss causing Garcia to take a picture of the moment.

"Santa made my wish come true," said Diana.

Garcia looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Have you two talked about baby names yet?" asked Garcia.

Spencer and Clarissa grinned at each other.

"We decided to name our son Evan Aaron Reid," said Clarissa.

Hotch pulled his sister into a hug.

"I'm honored," said Hotch.

"It was Spence's idea," said Clarissa.

"So when you two have another child, will you two name your future child after me?" asked Morgan.

Clarissa stuck her tongue out at Morgan.

"In your dreams, Derek," said Clarissa.

Spencer smirked at Morgan.

"Maybe Garcia will be willing to name your future children after you," said Spencer causing everyone in the room to laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Spencer and Clarissa are teasing Morgan


	28. Limelight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place a week after the last chapter so Clarissa's 17-weeks pregnant. I'm sorry that there are no Diana, Bridget, and Lucy in this chapter, but they'll be back in the next chapter because of Valentine's Day.
> 
> I don't own Criminal Minds

Spencer woke up gasping for his breath causing Clarissa to wake up.

"Spence?" asked Clarissa tiredly.

Spencer sat up in bed turned on his bedside lamp before he slipped on his glasses.

"I had a nightmare," said Spencer.

Clarissa reached for her own glasses and slipped them on.

"About what?" asked Clarissa.

"Tobias Hankel because next week is the one year anniversary of my abduction and torture," said Spencer as he quickly explained his nightmare to Clarissa.

As soon as Spencer was finished explaining, Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Oh Spence," said Clarissa as she scooted towards her husband and hugged him.

"I had a feeling that I would be dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder around the one year anniversary of my abduction and torture, but at least my first nightmare in a really long time happens when I'm home," said Spencer.

Clarissa's eyes went wide before she grabbed her husband's hand and placed it on her 17-week pregnant stomach.

"Just wait," said Clarissa.

A minute later Spencer's face broke into a grin when he felt Evan kick.

"Hello Evan," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer felt a slight flutter before he yawned.

"We should go back to sleep," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband's sweat-soaked t-shirt.

"Your soaked in your own sweat and your side of the bed is most likely soaked too. So while you take a quick shower, I'll be changing the sheets," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"You don't want to join me?" asked Spencer.

"As tempting as it sounds to join you in the shower, but its 3 AM and sleep is more important for us because we have to wake up in three hours," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer was taking a shower while Clarissa changed the sheets on their bed.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning a yawning Spencer was adding sugar to his coffee when Hotch joined him.

"Is my youngest niece giving you and Clarissa a hard time last night?" asked Hotch as he filled up his own mug.

"Bridget was unhappy due to teething last night and I had a nightmare that dealt with Tobias Hankel. With next week being the one year anniversary of my abduction and torture, I knew that I would be dealing with PTSD," said Spencer.

"I'm already planning that you do see a Bureau psychologist next week," said Hotch.

Spencer shook his head as he heard the order in his brother-in-law's voice.

"I had a feeling that I would be required to see a psychologist during the one year anniversary of my abduction and torture," said Spencer before looking around for Morgan and Emily, "Where's Morgan and Emily?" asked Spencer.

"DC Metro needed two FBI agents to help them, so JJ and I decided to send Morgan and Prentiss. So it will be just you, Rossi, and me working on consults until they get back," said Hotch.

"I might as well get started on my stack of consults, and after I'm finished with my consults I will go through cold cases," said Spencer before remembering about feeling his son kick, "Clarissa and I felt Evan kick for the first time last night, so you better look forward to feeling your nephew kick for the first time when you come over for dinner on Sunday," said Spencer.

"Can't wait," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Three hours later Spencer was sitting at his desk doing consults when he saw Rossi and Hotch approach each other.

"You got something?" asked Hotch.

"Not sure. It's from an old storage unit," said Rossi as he glanced at Spencer as a way to invite him to join them, "Case agent from the Philly Field Office sent it to me," said Rossi as he noticed Spencer get up and start making his way over to them.

"Somebody you know?" asked a teasing Hotch.

"She knows me. You know," said Rossi.

Hotch noticed his brother-in-law coming towards him and Rossi before he focused on the papers in front of him.

"Ah. A fan. Your world's a very crowded place, isn't it?" asked Hotch.

"You'd be surprised," said Rossi.

Hotch noticed Spencer's presence right next to him causing him to hold the papers in a way so Spencer could look.

"This is detailed," said Hotch.

"Future tense. They're fantasies," said Spencer.

"That agent thinks it could be more than that," said Rossi.

"There's more of this?" asked Hotch.

"A few boxes in the field office. I'd like to drive up there look at the rest of the material," said Rossi as he glanced at Spencer before making eye contact with Hotch, "Make a judgment from that," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law and decided that Rossi could use Spencer's reading speed and linguistic skills.

"Take Reid with you," said Hotch.

Spencer started to head towards his desk as he looked at Rossi.

"Road trip nice! I've got books on tape with Peter Coyote reading the entire "Foundation Trilogy"," said Spencer excitably as he ran to his desk.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"We'll leave in 30 minutes. So use this time to let Clarissa know that you're going out of town," said Rossi.

Spencer nodded while Rossi entered his office. A minute later Hotch entered Rossi's office and turned towards the window so he could watch his brother-in-law pack.

"Keep an eye on Reid because I'm afraid of what my pregnant sister will do to you if something happens to her husband. If there are any agents who are giving him a hard time, make sure to defend Reid," said Hotch as he watched his brother-in-law press a button on his cell phone before pressing it against his ear.

"You sound like an overprotective father when it comes to your brother-in-law," smirked Rossi.

"Even though I've been protective of Spencer since the day I met him, my protective instincts increased after Spencer was abducted and torture last year. Spencer told me that he's beginning to deal with PTSD due to the one year anniversary of his abduction and torture is happening next week, so that's a huge reason why I want you to keep an eye on Spencer," said Hotch.

Rossi nodded.

"I was surprised that he didn't even blink when a local in Montana called him 'a pipe cleaner with eyes' before I went to defend him," said Rossi.

Hotch nodded in agreement.

"He didn't even blink when the Raphael personality of Hankel played Russian roulette over his life before he named me to die," said Hotch.

"I noticed that when I watched the live feed, but that was very brilliant of him to misquote a Bible verse to reveal his location," said Rossi.

Hotch whipped his head around and looked at Rossi.

"When did you get the disk that I had Garcia made for the Bureau psychologists to watch before I put it in a classified file that's mostly redacted?" asked Hotch.

"After we got back from Montana. I wanted to know the extent of his abduction and torture just in case his PTSD reemerges. I have to admit that after watching the footage that was sent to you guys, he's a mighty strong kid to be able to survive what he went through and still want to work this job," said Rossi.

Hotch nodded in agreement.

"His first few weeks back were rough because of dealing with severe PTSD, but I made sure to talk to him every day while I eased him back into fieldwork. It took a few months to see him back to his old self again, but I was relieved when he smiled, laughed, and sprouted off random statistics again," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

15 minutes later Spencer was sitting in the front passenger seat of the SUV that Rossi was driving when Rossi looked at him.

"How are your daughters doing?" asked Rossi.

"There are days that I can't believe that Diana is finally four-years-old while Bridget will be turning six-months-old next week. I also can't believe that I'll be holding my firstborn son in about 23 weeks," said Spencer.

"How's Clarissa doing with her third pregnancy?" asked Rossi.

Spencer grinned.

"Evan kicked for the first time last night," said Spencer before he started to rummage through his messenger bag and smiled when he saw a small Ziploc bag filled with cookies before noticing another bag filled with dried strawberries and kiwis, "Lucy's at it again," said Spencer.

"My cousin slipped some snack foods into your bag?" asked Rossi.

"Other than packing leftovers for me to eat for lunch, she slipped cookies and dried fruit into my messenger bag," said Spencer.

"Good because I don't want Aaron to chew me out for letting you forget to eat," said Rossi.

Spencer dug deeper into his bag and barked out laughter when he pulled out a Rubik cube causing the older man to see a 5×5 Rubik cube in Spencer's hands.

"Diana slipped a Rubik cube into your bag again?" asked Rossi.

"She did, but at least I told her that if she's going to slip a Rubik cube into my messenger bag, she needs to leave the case files that are in this bag alone," said Spencer.

"That's a good rule for a parent to give to a child of an FBI agent," said Rossi.

"I know, and Diana knows that she's supposed to leave my gun safe and the three guns that I own alone," said Spencer.

Rossi nodded as he thought about Spencer's Bureau issued Glock, the revolver that belonged to Spencer's uncle, and the revolver that Spencer received as an anniversary present from Clarissa.

"Diana's and Bridget's future boyfriends are going to be scared of you when they find out about the guns you own," said Rossi.

Spencer smirked.

"They're going to be scared of Hotch too, and don't forget that working this job and having a Ph.D. in chemistry can help me dispose of a body without being caught," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer walked alongside Rossi in the Philadelphia Field Office as he noticed agents and civilian staff looking at Rossi while being grateful that eyes weren't on him.

"How do you get used to the staring? I'd feel like I perpetually have something stuck in my teeth," said Spencer.

"You learn to ignore it," said Rossi.

"Even though there were about 150 guests watching me exchange vows with Clarissa, at least I only had to face on Clarissa during my wedding," said Spencer.

"Don't forget that all eyes were on you and Clarissa when you two had your first dance as husband and wife," said Rossi.

"I just focused on making eye contact with my wife," said Spencer as they reached Agent Morris's office only to find Agent Morris on the phone.

"Just-just get me that match," said Agent Morris as she hung up and approached Rossi, "David Rossi in my office. Somebody pinch me," said Agent Morris.

Rossi shook hands with Agent Morris.

"You must be Agent Morris," said Rossi.

Agent Morris focused on Rossi while ignoring Spencer.

"Jill, please. And can I get you anything? Coffee?" asked Agent Morris.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like for Dr. Reid and I to get to this," said Rossi as he gestured to Spencer.

Agent Morris looked at Spencer who gave her a smile.

"Dr. Reid. Thank you, both for coming. You won't be disappointed," said Agent Morris.

"What other materials do you have?" asked Spencer.

"We found assorted artwork, torture porn, bondage. But what strikes me is the prose," said Agent Morris as she started to lead Spencer and Rossi towards the room that she stored everything in, "It screams of a high-order sexual predator. I think we're onto something big," said Agent Morris.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," said Rossi as they stopped so Agent Morris could sign some papers, "I assume you ran the name of whoever rented the unit?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah, the name was fake. Louis Ivey. There's no record of such a person," answered Agent Morris.

"Did he pay in cash?" asked Spencer.

"Till he went into arrears," said Agent Morris as she continued to lead Spencer and Rossi to the room that she stored everything in, Six months without a payment and the owner is allowed to auction its contents," said Agent Morris as she placed one of her hands on a door handle.

"What I've read so far suggests an orderly personality. Not likely to miss payments," said Rossi.

Agent Morris opened the door.

"Well, he screwed up. They all do eventually, right?" asked Agent Morris as she saw Spencer's and Rossi's faces at the sight of the boxes.

"Maybe I will take that coffee," said Rossi.

As soon as Agent Morris left the room, Rossi looked at Spencer.

"It's a good thing that Hotch decided that you would accompany me on this trip," said Rossi.

"I know," said Spencer.

"We might as well start working so you can get home to your pregnant wife and two little girls," said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer and Rossi who were both sporting latex free gloves sat down at separate tables with coffee right in front of them as they started to go through everything.

Xxxxxxxx 

For the next few hours, Spencer and Rossi spent time reading through everything in the boxes while they made sure to point out what they found to each other before Rossi went to tell Jill that they believed that there was no unsub before Rossi told him that they're staying.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Hotch looked at everything in the room.

"Is this everything from the unit?" asked Hotch.

"No. We pulled the salient materials and had Philly PD process the rest of the items on site," said Agent Morris.

"What else was there?" asked Emily.

"Just some books, albums, toys," listed Agent Morris.

"Toys?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah. Old stuff, like from his childhood. And we were able to lift some prints, but AFIS was a bust. He's not in our system," said Agent Morris.

"Morgan and Prentiss, go back to the unit and see what else it can tell us about the man," said Hotch.

"I'll get you directions," said Agent Morris.

"We have to establish if this guy's taking his fantasies to the next level," said Rossi.

"We can use these materials to try to identify his signature and connect him to any open cases," said Hotch.

"On the surface, it reads like he wanted to try it all. I think isolating any one aspect might be tough," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Well, then dig deeper. Try linguistics. Look for patterns in the handwriting. Rossi and I will take the images," said Hotch.

"Find the fetish, find the fiend," said Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

Nearly an hour later Spencer was showing Rossi what he found.

"Extra-linguistic indicators in his writing suggest he's most excited by the prospect of electric shock," said Spencer.

"As a method of torture. Be specific. When you're in a court, the judge will demand it," reminded Rossi.

Spencer pointed out a certain area.

"See how heavy his handwriting becomes? At times he so exhilarated, he actually rips through the page. The idiolect supports it as well. I mean, nowhere else is he as creative in his descriptions," said Spencer.

Rossi looked up at Spencer.

"Good work. You found a signature that's easy to track," said Rossi.

"The electrical burns on his victims will be unmistakable," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

When Morgan and Emily returned, Spencer was sitting in the conference room that they were given to use while JJ showed pictures of one of the possible victims.

"This is Dana Foster. She's a 34-year-old real estate agent from the suburb of Blue Bell. She was murdered five years ago when she went to meet a prospective buyer at a house in bucks county. Her nude body was found in a cellar, and she was strangled and raped," said JJ.

Hotch pointed out the burn marks.

"And here's the torture behavior that Reid identified from the journals. The contact wounds are burn marks, most likely the result of electrical current," said Hotch.

"Any leads on the buyer she went to meet?" asked Emily.

"Fake name. Louis Ivey. Could this guy be any more perfect?" asked Agent Morris as she missed the looks that Hotch and Emily were giving her.

"Were her clothes found at the scene?" asked Emily.

"No. How'd you know?" asked Agent Morris.

"He takes them as souvenirs, and he alters them to fit his own frame," said Morgan.

Jill looked back at Morgan.

"So he's bisexual?" asked Agent Morris.

"Actually, most cross-dressers are heterosexual. It's fairly common in sexual predators," said Spencer.

Rossi thought about the evening before.

"What about her hair? Was any of it missing?" asked Rossi.

"Not that was reported," said JJ.

"JJ, contact Garcia and widen the victim search. Rossi and I will go visit the crime scene," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer looked at Agent Morris.

"We connected the three new bodies with missing person cases. So with a total of four victims on the board, we were able to narrow down the unsub's type," said Spencer.

"30s, attractive, Caucasian, upwardly mobile?" asked Agent Morris.

"Yeah. College grads, above-average income, career women," said Morgan.

"You establish a cycle?" asked Agent Morris.

"10 months between the Realtor and the first of these victims. Then seven months, three months," said Morgan.

"He's practically doubling his pace every time," said Agent Morris.

"As with most prolific killers, the cooling-off period tends to shorten after each murder," said Spencer.

"Last know victim was found almost five years ago," said Morgan.

Jill turned around and looked at Morgan.

"5 years? So could he have stopped?" asked Agent Morris.

"No, not this guy. It's more likely we just haven't found the bodies yet," said Morgan.

"And there might not even be bodies, per se. We know he wrote extensively about creating a homemade incinerator," said Spencer.

"So how many we talking, ballpark?" asked Agent Morris.

"If you extrapolate the cycle in the last five years, he will have killed approximately 19 more women," said Spencer.

Jill nodded.

"It's great stuff, guys. Keep me posted," said Agent Morris before she walked away.

Spencer and Morgan watched Agent Morris walk away.

"She does know we don't work for her, right?" asked Morgan.

"She barely acknowledged me until Rossi said my name to her," said Spencer.

"Really?" asked Morgan.

Spencer nodded.

"How about we talk about Agent Morris more during dinner this evening," said Morgan.

Spencer nodded as he focused on getting back to work.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that evening Spencer was at a diner with Morgan and Emily telling his two coworkers about his impressions on Agent Morris.

"I have no doubt she's highly capable. I'm just-I'm saying that I find her excitement level at the prospect of finding more bodies somewhat unsettling," said Spencer.

A waitress came over with a plate of pie and coffee for Morgan while Spencer accepted a new cup of coffee.

"Thank you," said Morgan before he focused on Spencer and Emily, "Yeah, JJ said she was making up names for the killer," said Morgan.

"And yet, if she was a man, you'd say she had balls," teased Emily.

Spencer smirked while Morgan looked at Emily.

"Oh, don't even go there. This is not a gender thing," said Morgan.

"Right. Let's get back to Reid's map," said Emily.

Spencer used a knife to point out certain points on his geographical profile.

"All right, the nearness principle tells us that a killer won't travel far to abduct his victims, but this one's gone to great lengths to spread out his abduction and disposal sites," said Spencer.

"So the sites are irrelevant to the geographical profile?" asked Emily.

"The only location I can attach a real meaning to is the storage unit," said a dejected Spencer.

Morgan shook his head.

"Four victims and we got squat," said Morgan.

"For years he's gone unchecked. I think it's only a matter of time before he grows comfortable and starts killing closer to home," said Spencer as he started to fiddle with his butter knife.

Emily sighed.

"Unfortunately, that only helps us if there's a fresh kill," said Emily.

Morgan dropped his fork as he sat back.

"So there's a woman out there right now who has to die so we can do our job," said Morgan.

"Before we head back to the hotel, let's talk about some lighter topics," said Emily before looking at Spencer, "Have you decided on what to do with Clarissa on Valentine's Day?" asked Emily.

"Since the plans I made last year went down the drain due to getting injured, this year I'm taking both Clarissa and Diana out for Valentine's Day," said Spencer.

"Now that's so sweet," said Emily.

"Clarissa said the same thing because Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget are my Valentines this year," said Spencer.

"You never told me about what you and Clarissa ended up doing last year," said Morgan.

"Clarissa, Diana, and I made cut out heart-shaped sugar cookies from scratch before we cuddled on the couch and watched movies because Clarissa wanted me to have a relaxing day at home before I ended up starting therapy the next day," said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Speaking of therapy, I'll be seeing a Bureau psychologist next week," said Spencer.

"I thought that you've been done with therapy since August?" asked Morgan.

"Next week is the one year anniversary of my abduction and torture. I had no doubt that the upcoming one year anniversary of my abduction and torture would affect me because the anniversaries of my parents, aunt Ethel's, and uncle Gordon's deaths always affect me," said Spencer.

"You said would, so are you trying to tell us that you've been dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms already?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded.

"I had a nightmare yesterday morning at 3 AM, and I didn't shut Clarissa out. Then last night Rossi ended up coming into my hotel room and woke me up from a nightmare," said Spencer.

"How did he get into your room?" asked Morgan.

"He knows about the Hankel case and that the one year anniversary of my abduction and torture is happening next week. So he asked for an extra key to my room which I'm grateful for because if he didn't he would have to face my pregnant wife, his cousin, and Hotch," said Spencer.

"He would have had to face me too," said Morgan.

"Me too," said Emily.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer listened to the 911 call recording with Hotch and Agent Morris, and when the recording was finished, Agent Morris looked at Spencer and Hotch.

"Anything strike you?" asked Agent Morris.

"Stripped of its clothes. Objectifies the victim," said Hotch.

"Exactly. Dehumanizing. This wasn't just any tipster," said Agent Morris.

"The way that he referred to the body as a bleeder…," said Spencer.

"Visible trauma to the corpse," interrupted Agent Morris.

Spencer shot Agent Morris a slight glare.

"No, I don't think so. I noted usage of the same word in the pages from the storage facility. He refers to his targets as bleeders," said Spencer.

"It's misogynistic. He's referring to menstruation," said Hotch.

"He'd use it as a weakness," said Agent Morris.

"I think we need to see what's in that field," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was in a conference room with Hotch and Rossi when JJ entered the room.

"I heard we got IDs on these two bodies," said Spencer.

"Mimi Adams and Sara Coswell," said Spencer.

"What's up?" asked Hotch.

JJ held up a picture.

"This woman's husband came in before. She fits the victim type. I thought maybe…," said JJ.

"If you have her DNA, you might want to check it against the hair," said Spencer.

"What hair?" asked JJ.

"From the storage unit. Agent Morris found it early on. It's the same color, so it might-," said Spencer.

"It won't match," interrupted Rossi.

Hotch looked at Rossi.

"I know it's a long shot, but I think-," said Spencer.

"She didn't get the hair from the unit," said Rossi.

"She lied?" asked Hotch.

Rossi nodded while Spencer exchanged glances with JJ.

"When were you gonna tell us?" asked Hotch.

"Whatever she did to get us here, we're here now," said Rossi.

Hotch decided to raise his voice a bit.

"It's unacceptable behavior. Why do you keep defending her?" asked Hotch.

"Because I know what she is. She's me 20 years ago," said Rossi.

"She's nothing like you, Dave," said Hotch.

Spencer shifted on his feet.

"Come on, Hotch, I know what people think. I took serial killers mass market. Now everyone knows their names, but not the victims, right? Somewhere along the line, I put myself first. I admit it. I can't go back and change it. But it's not too late for her," said Rossi.

At that moment Emily entered the room.

"Missing persons flagged a report that was just filed," said Emily.

"A possible victim?" asked Hotch.

"The subject's car was found idling at a stop sign, and there was some damage to the back end," said Emily.

"Sounds like a bump and grab," said Spencer.

"Did she fit his profile career, age-wise?" asked Hotch.

"Katrina Townsley, 34. She's a reporter at the Chronicle," said Emily.

Rossi's head shot up.

"Chronicle?" asked Rossi before looking at Spencer, "Come with me because I might need your eidetic memory," said Rossi.

Spencer nodded, and a minute later Spencer and Rossi were in Agent Morris's office causing both men to see Agent Morris's computer with a window open.

"What is it?" asked Spencer.

Rossi looked at the letter.

"This letter- did we have this?" asked Rossi.

Spencer looked closer at Jill's computer as he used his eidetic memory to remember everything that he had read two days ago.

"No. I've never seen this before. Why would he send Agent Morris a letter?" asked Spencer.

"She's his final chapter," said Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

After getting off the phone with Emily, Spencer grabbed his flashlight and looked at the crime scene.

"Blood here. A couple of drops," said Spencer as he started to walk around Jill's car, "Looks like she was dragged," said Spencer.

"This shouldn't have happened," said a guilty Rossi.

Spencer continued to examine the crime scene.

"Her guard was down. He tricked her into thinking she was meeting a friend," said Spencer.

"I told her, slow down, check your ego, use your team," said Rossi.

Spencer walked towards the older man as he decided to use Rossi's first name.

"David, there's no way you could have known that she was gonna go off by herself," said Spencer.

"I did know. Sure as I know myself," said Rossi before walking away.

Xxxxxx

Spencer was sitting at a table outside of the Internet Cafe that their unsub sent Agent Morris at as he refined his geographical profile.

"All right, here's the garage where Jill was taken," said Spencer as he pointed at his map.

"Presumably an area the unsub's familiar with," said Emily.

"You're not gonna abduct a federal agent outside your comfort zone," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about his own abduction.

"Right. This is where we are right now, and the third point is the storage unit right here," said Spencer as he drew two different colored lines on his map before he quickly did some math in his head, "It's a four-mile radius," said Spencer.

Emily pointed at Spencer's map.

"What do we have right here in the center?" asked Emily.

Morgan pressed his phone to his ear.

"Garcia, I need those pretty little hands of yours, mama. Listen up, I want you to bring up the citywide list we generated for the electricians, power company employees, and electrical engineers," said Morgan before he walked away.

Xxxxxxx 

The next day Spencer pulled out of the hospital's parking lot before he looked at Rossi before focusing on the road.

"When it comes to being a genius, sometimes I hate being a celebrity in the academic community because reporters were hounding me when I earned my first few degrees from Yale, ever time I earned a Ph.D., and when reporters found out that I got placed into the BAU," said Spencer.

"Really?" asked Rossi.

"I'm lucky that the reporters didn't know about Clarissa when I earned my second and third Ph.D. and when I graduated from the academy because I was lucky that I was able to hide my marriage until after Hankel," said Spencer.

"So you're worried about the possible spotlight Diana might be in when it comes to being a genius?" asked Rossi.

Spencer nodded as he focused on the road.

"As much as I'm happy about Diana ended up being a genius like me, I'm worried about not being able to protect Diana from the possible media attention she will receive if Clarissa and I allow her to graduate from high school at a young age like me," said Spencer.

"With how great you and Clarissa are with Diana and Bridget, you two are going do whatever it takes to protect Diana, Bridget, Evan, and any other future children you two have," said Rossi.

"I know," said Spencer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm going to end this chapter here, but other than Spencer dealing with the one year anniversary of his abduction and torture, please be prepared for a lot of family fluff in the next chapter because I'm not responsible for paying any dental bills the possible cavities you readers receive from reading all the fluff I have planned.


	29. One Year Since Hankel & Family Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Criminal Minds
> 
> This chapter starts on February 7th of 2008 and will take place during the first two weeks of February of 2008. The next chapter will be my AU version of Somebody's Watching, but Lila won't hit on Spencer at all.

Diana looked at her tired daddy as she ate breakfast with her parents and Lucy.

"Are you OK daddy?" asked Diana.

"I didn't get a lot of sleep last night," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at his four-year-old daughter.

"Do you remember visiting me in the hospital a year ago?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as her curly pigtails bounced.

"You had a band-aid on your head and a big white cast on your foot," said Diana.

"I did, but I had some mental injuries that the monster who hurt me deal with forever," said Spencer.

"Are you better?" asked Diana.

"I'm much better than I was a year ago. I always talk to mommy, your uncle Aaron, and Lucy about the nightmares, but today I'll be seeing a psychologist and talk about what happened to me a year ago," said Spencer.

Diana thought about her school's guidance counselor who talks to her and her classmates about being nice to other children.

"Like Dr. Annie at my school?" asked Diana.

"Exactly," said Spencer as he gave his oldest daughter a high five.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over two hours later Dr. Merrill looked at a slightly drained Spencer.

"How are your daughters doing?" asked Dr. Merrill.

Spencer grinned as he realized that Dr. Merrill was done with the questions she needed to ask.

"I'm sad about Diana is finally four-years-old and that Bridget turned six-months-old today," said Spencer as he showed Dr. Merrill a picture of Diana and Bridget together.

Dr. Merrill smiled at the picture of Diana who had an open book on her lap sitting on the couch with Bridget sitting up next to her with the help of a pillow.

"Children do grow fast, and the rumor mill has it that you and Clarissa are expecting baby number three," said Dr. Merrill.

Spencer nodded as grinned.

"Clarissa is 18-weeks pregnant with my firstborn son," said Spencer.

Dr. Merrill smiled as she watched Spencer's eyes twinkle with excitement.

"Congratulations on the upcoming new addition," said Dr. Merrill.

"Thank you, and a name has already been picked out," said Spencer.

"What's your firstborn son's name going to be?" asked Dr. Merrill.

"At first Clarissa and I were going to do Gabriel Evan Reid, but with what happened to me a year ago, there's no way I would name my firstborn son after an archangel," said Spencer before smiling a little bit, "I ended up deciding that my firstborn son would be named Evan Aaron Reid because Hotch has helped me immensely while I recovered from Hankel," said Spencer.

Dr. Merrill looked at Spencer.

"You did a great job recovering from Hankel," said Dr. Merrill.

Spencer slightly chuckled.

"Clarissa told me that if I ever went through a traumatic experience in the field, I better cooperate with her, my brother-in-law, and the psychologists that are assigned to me or she would forbid me from drinking coffee for a year," shuddered Spencer.

"Then it's a good thing you listened to your wife," laughed Dr. Merrill.

"Diana and Bridget were huge motivations on why I accepted help because I wanted to be back to my normal self by the time of Bridget's birth," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Morgan and Emily looked at Spencer.

"Are you going to join Garcia, JJ, and us for lunch?" asked Emily.

Spencer shook his head.

"I brought my own lunch and I want to work on more of my consults because I know that you two added consults to my pile while I had my appointment with Dr. Merrill," said Spencer.

"OK," said Morgan before he and Emily walked away.

A few minutes later Spencer was heating up the chicken stir fry that Clarissa and Lucy made for dinner the night before he headed back to his desk.

Xxxxxxxx 

A half-hour later Spencer heard a familiar voice causing him to look up from his desk and grin when he saw Lucy coming towards him with Bridget on her hip.

"Dada. Dada. Dada. Dada," said Bridget.

Spencer quickly got up from his desk and made his way to Lucy and Bridget.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you at work, but Bridget kept on saying 'Dada' and she wouldn't calm down while I played the recordings you made. So I decided to bring her here because of not getting a phone call about leaving for a case," said Lucy.

Spencer shook his head as he accepted his youngest daughter from Lucy.

"Its lunchtime right now, and because of having a psych evaluation earlier I decided to eat my lunch at my desk while I work on my consults," said Spencer as he headed back to his desk and sat down before standing up Bridget on his lap, "Are you missing me so much that you kept on chanting 'Dada' as your way to ask your nanny if you can come here and visit me?" asked Spencer as he blew a raspberry on Bridget's cheek.

Bridget laughed before she gave her daddy a huge grin causing the 26-year-old genius to laugh.

"I've been missing you today too, and I really can't believe that your finally six-months-old," said Spencer.

Bridget smiled at her daddy before she decided to try and grab her daddy's glasses before her daddy stopped her.

"No grabbing daddy's glasses, Bridget," said Spencer as he started to lightly bounce Bridget on his knee causing Bridget to laugh, "Your laughter is one of my most favorite sounds, Bridget," chuckled Spencer.

"I loved it when I heard my three children laugh when they were babies too," said Strauss as she walked over to him with Hotch.

Spencer stopped bouncing his youngest daughter as he looked at Strauss causing him to realize that Strauss went into Hotch's office while he was eating.

"Chief Strauss," said Spencer.

Bridget grinned at her uncle Aaron causing Spencer to hand his daughter over to her uncle.

"What are you doing here, Bridget," said Hotch as he pecked his niece's cheek.

Bridget lifted up her head and gave her uncle a big grin causing Hotch to smile down at his youngest niece.

"Bridget missed me so much that she wouldn't stop chanting 'Dada'. So Lucy decided to bring Bridget here and see if Bridget would calm down if she saw me in person," smiled Spencer.

Strauss gave Bridget a small smile.

"Seems like you're a daddy's girl just like your big sister," said Strauss.

Bridget smiled at Strauss.

"When it comes to both Diana and Bridget having me wrapped around their little fingers, I know that I'm going to be in so much trouble as they get older," said Spencer.

Strauss took in the sight of the baby girl who had her mother's and uncle Aaron's hair color while having her father's brown eyes and curls.

"I can't believe how big she's getting," said Strauss.

"I know, but I'm looking forward to Evan's birth in less than 22 weeks," said Spencer.

"Isn't Bridget six-months-old now?" asked Strauss.

Spencer nodded.

"She turned six-months-old today, and she's hitting all of her milestones either early or on time," said Spencer.

Bridget looked at her daddy.

"Dada," said Bridget.

Spencer looked at his youngest daughter.

"Yes, Bridget?" asked Spencer.

Bridget babbled as she made a sign to tell her father that she wants a bottle.

"Is that so Bridget Mackenzie?" asked Spencer.

"Aye," said Bridget.

Spencer looked at Lucy who had Bridget's diaper bag slung over her shoulder.

"Bridget wants a bottle," said Spencer.

"I'll quickly go heat one up," said Lucy as she walked away.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"I wish that I could keep Bridget here with me until its 5 PM, but I know that isn't possible," said Spencer.

Strauss looked at Spencer.

"Mind if I hold your daughter until Lucy comes with her bottle?" asked Strauss.

"Go ahead," said Spencer.

Strauss gently took Bridget from Hotch and she smiled at the six-month-old baby girl.

"Holding you reminds me of when my children were babies," said Strauss.

Bridget started to babble causing Spencer to smile at his youngest daughter.

"Are you telling Strauss about what you like and dislike?" asked Spencer.

"Aye," said Bridget just as Lucy came over with Bridget's bottle causing Spencer to take Bridget from Strauss.

"As soon as I'm done feeding you, you need to go with Lucy," said Spencer glumly as he saw Morgan, JJ, Garcia, Emily, and Rossi come into the bullpen, "I see your godparents coming towards us, but as soon as I'm done feeding you, you'll be burped by your uncle Aaron before you're passed around before going home with Lucy," said Spencer.

While the rest of the team started to come towards them, Lucy quickly grabbed a burping cloth and passed it to Hotch who quickly placed the cloth over his shoulder.

"Is Bridget coming to visit the reason why you skipped going out to eat with us?" asked Garcia.

Spencer shook his head.

"No," said Spencer as he started to explain what led to Bridget coming to visit before Bridget was full of her mommy's milk, "I'm going to hand you over to uncle Aaron so he can burp you," said Spencer.

Bridget laughed while Hotch accepted his youngest niece from Spencer, and after Hotch burped his niece, Bridget was passed around before Lucy took her home.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that evening Spencer looked at all the agents and police officers that were in the room.

"Hello. My name is Spencer," said Spencer.

"Hello, Spencer," said everyone who hadn't met Spencer before.

"Some of you in this room are aware that I never had a problem with drugs and alcohol, but both my wife and boss ordered to attend these meetings because a year ago I was held captive for two days by a suspect who physically and mentally tortured me while repeatedly injecting me with Dilaudid. A year ago today was when Dilaudid was last injected into me, so I knew that I needed to come here on the one year anniversary of one of the worst nights of my life," said Spencer before he took a deep breath, "Because of it being the one year anniversary of my abduction and torture, I'm dealing with PTSD symptoms. On the bright side though, I haven't felt the urge to find a dealer and buy Dilaudid because having a wife, two beautiful daughters, and a son on the way are some of the reasons why I didn't get addicted to Dilaudid," said Spencer.

John got up and approached Spencer.

"Even though you were never addicted to Dilaudid, practically everyone in this room agreed with me that you deserve a one year medallion of your own because you showed an amazing amount of strength of not getting addicted and accepted the help that was offered to you when the case that exposed you to a dangerous substance could have made you addicted," said John as he passed Spencer a one year medallion.

Spencer accepted the medallion.

"Thank you, John," said Spencer as he shook hands with John.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two days later Clarissa looked at her husband as she put on her scrubs.

"I hope you aren't upset about me filling in for another nurse today at the hospital," said Clarissa.

"I'm OK with you filling in for another nurse, Clarissa. Even though I'm happy about you being a substitute nurse at Diana's school, I'm also happy that Children's National asked you if your willing to fill in for nurses who can't make it on weekends until Evan is born," said Spencer.

Clarissa walked towards her husband and kissed him on the lips.

"What did I do to deserve a wonderful husband like you?" asked Clarissa.

"You decided to approach your crush when you saw me sitting on that bench in tears and ask me if I'm OK," said Spencer with a cheeky smile on his face.

"Smart ass," said Clarissa.

Bridget who was crawling around on her mommy's and daddy's bed looked up at her parents.

"Ass," chirped Bridget.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged horrified looks before Spencer looked at his wife.

"Other than knowing that we have to be careful about what we say around Diana and Bridget, we both know that Bridget broke her older sister's record for swearing," said Spencer.

Clarissa laughed as she thought about the time that two-year-old Diana swore.

"We didn't know that Diana would get out of bed to use the bathroom while we were having mommy and daddy time causing her to hear me said a certain F word and say it the next morning during breakfast," said Clarissa.

"I can never forget the look on your face when Diana told us how she heard you say that word," laughed Spencer.

Clarissa slapped her husband's shoulder before looking at her husband.

"I better head off to work, so please don't let me come home to any messes from any science experiments that you show Diana," said Clarissa.

Spencer gave his wife a cheeky smile.

"Yes, ma'am," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Over six hours later Spencer was sitting on a bench as he watched a slightly older little girl join Diana on the playground equipment when he heard a female voice.

"Mind if I join you on this bench while I watch my niece play?" asked the woman.

"Go ahead," said Spencer.

The woman joined Spencer on the bench.

"How old is your daughter?" asked the woman.

"Diana's four and my six-month-old daughter Bridget is currently at home with the nanny," said Spencer.

The woman pointed to her niece who was about to go down the slide.

"Meg will be seven in a few months," said the woman.

At that moment Spencer's cell phone rang causing a sighing Spencer to quickly grab his phone from his navy blue pea coat and answer it without checking the caller ID.

"Dr. Reid," answered Spencer professionally.

"Why are you sounding professional for your own wife?" asked a teasing Clarissa.

Spencer continued to watch Diana.

"I didn't check the caller ID, so I thought that I was possibly getting called in," said Spencer.

"You're forgiven, Spence," said Clarissa.

"How is it going at work?" asked Spencer.

"I'm currently on a snack break because of craving a blueberry muffin, so I wanted to make sure that everything is going OK at home," said Clarissa.

Spencer rolled his eyes as he noticed that the six-year-old niece of the woman sitting next to him was pushing his daughter on the swing.

"Everything is going fine, Clarissa. I'm currently at the park with Diana while Bridget stayed home with Lucy. It seems like Diana's making friends with a six-year-old girl who is pushing her on the swing," said Spencer.

"Do you have Diana's asthma inhaler with you?" asked Clarissa.

"My eidetic memory never makes me forget to grab Diana's asthma inhaler, Clarissa," said Spencer as he didn't even realize that his companion was giving him a wide-eyed glance.

"I just worry about, Diana," said Clarissa.

"I worry about Diana too, but we're both aware that her asthma attacks are more frequent at night than during the day," said Spencer.

"Other than deciding to check on you, Diana, and Bridget; I decided to let you know that I'm going to pick up some pizza on the way home from work for dinner," said Clarissa.

"Pregnancy cravings?" asked a teasing Spencer.

"Yes, but I have to get back to work. I love you," said Clarissa.

"Love you too," said Spencer before hanging up.

As soon as Spencer pocketed his phone, the slightly older woman looked at him.

"Did you say that your name is Reid and that you have an eidetic memory?" asked the woman.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Six-year-old Meg Callahan stopped pushing the swing that Diana was on just as Diana started to wheeze while her usual rosy complexion started to change.

"Are you having an asthma attack?" asked Meg.

"Yes," wheezed Diana.

Meg quickly helped Diana get off the swing and grabbed Diana's gloved hand.

"We need to get you over to your daddy," said Meg as she started to pull Diana to where her aunt Kate was sitting with Diana's daddy, "Aunt Kate! Mr. Reid!" shouted Meg.

Spencer's and Kate's heads went up when they heard Meg calling them causing Spencer to quickly get off the bench and quickly sprint towards Diana and Meg only to hear his daughter wheezing.

"Are you having an asthma attack, Diana?" asked Spencer as he knelt down to Diana's eye level.

"I... can't… breathe… daddy," wheezed Diana.

"Is Diana going to be OK," cried Meg as she hugged her aunt.

"She will be as soon as I help her use her inhaler, Meg," said Spencer calmly as he quickly took action by grabbing Diana's inhaler from his jacket pocket and uncapped it before putting the bottom of the inhaler into his oldest daughter's mouth and pushed the button that was on the top, "As the medicine takes effect please take a few deep breaths and you'll be feeling better soon, Diana," said Spencer calmly as he coached his oldest daughter through her breathing exercises.

A few minutes later Diana regained her breath, causing Spencer to give his oldest daughter a gentle hug.

"Feeling better, Diana?" asked Spencer as he removed his daughter's glasses before he used his thumb to wipe Diana's tears.

Diana nodded.

"Do I have to go to the hospital?" asked Diana.

Spencer gave his daughter a small smile as he thought about Diana inheriting his dislike for hospitals as he helped his daughter put her glasses back on.

"I don't think that a trip to the emergency room needed, but before I allow you to play with your new friend a bit, you need to sit down and rest for a bit," said Spencer firmly as he lifted up Diana causing the four-year-old girl to wrap her legs around her daddy's waist as she wrapped her arms around Spencer's neck.

Meg looked at her aunt.

"I want to sit by Diana," said Meg as her aunt lifted her up.

As soon as Spencer and Kate were sitting on the bench with Diana on her daddy's lap while Meg was on her aunt's lap, Spencer looked at Meg.

"Thank you for alerting me about Diana having an asthma attack," said Spencer.

"Your welcome, Mr. Reid," said Meg.

Diana looked at her new friend.

"My daddy likes to be called Dr. Reid," said Diana before she looked up at her daddy, "Meg said that her aunt is an FBI agent just like you. I was about to come tell you when I started to have an asthma attack," said Diana.

Spencer who was now stroking the hair that wasn't underneath Diana's winter hat looked at Meg's aunt.

"If my wife wasn't at work right now, she would say that this is a small world," said Spencer.

"Before your daughter had an asthma attack, I was going to ask if you were SSA Dr. Spencer Reid because I know that there's only one FBI agent in the DC and Virginia area with your last name while having an eidetic memory," said the woman.

Spencer nodded.

"I'm the agent your thinking about," said Spencer.

"Kate Callahan and I work for SSA Andi Swan," said Kate.

"Even though I have never worked Agent Swan yet, I've heard about her," said Spencer.

"Don't you work on the same team as your brother-in-law?" asked Kate.

"I do, and my marriage was kept a secret until I got injured a year ago because I ended up being in the hospital for five days and my wife had to fly out to be with me while the rest of the team was called back to Quantico," said Spencer.

"Why was your marriage kept a secret?" asked Kate.

"I was only 22-years-old when I joined the BAU and my brother-in-law, former Unit Chief, Chief Strauss, and the Director were worried that there would be agents would think that I got into the BAU due to nepotism when it comes to being my current Unit Chief's brother-in-law. So certain information about me was locked up tightly while my brother-in-law and I were ordered not to reveal that we're brothers-in-law to anyone. Luckily everyone understood why my marriage and parental status was kept a secret," said Spencer.

"Ahhh," said Kate before looking at Diana who was happy to be on her daddy's lap, "Is Diana going to be OK?" asked Kate.

"She will be. She just needs some rest before she can start playing again," said Spencer.

"Daddy?" asked Diana.

"Yes, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"Can I have a snack?" asked Diana.

Spencer reached into his jacket pocket and found a small package of animal crackers and opened the bag and passed the bag to Diana who pulled out a cracker and passed it to Meg.

"Here," said Diana.

Meg took the animal cracker.

"Thank you," said Meg.

Xxxxxxxx 

Three days later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana entered Sarah Barry's hospital room and Clarissa smiled at her best friend from church who was holding a baby boy while her husband sat in a nearby chair.

"I would like to introduce you guys to Dominic Nicholas Barry," said Sarah.

"He's beautiful," said Clarissa.

"He has your hair, Peter," said Spencer.

Sarah and Peter looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"We want you two to be Dominic's godparents," said Peter.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other.

"We're honored," said Spencer before he gently took Dominic from Sarah.

"Seeing you hold Dominic is making me very excited about giving birth to Evan," said Clarissa as she rubbed her 19-week pregnant stomach.

Peter looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Hopefully Dominic and Evan will become best friends like our daughters did," said Peter.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two days later Diana grinned when she saw her very first heart-shaped locket.

"Can I put a picture in my locket like mommy does?" asked Diana.

"I already put one of your favorite pictures in the locket," said Spencer as he opened up the locket causing Diana to grin when she saw a picture of her giving her daddy a kiss on the cheek, "I thought that you would want this picture in," said Spencer.

A wide-eyed Diana nodded at her daddy.

"Did you profile me, daddy?" asked Diana.

"I just know you very well because you insist on having pictures of us together in your room while knowing that pink lilies are your favorite flowers," said Spencer as he gestured to the small vase of pink lilies that Diana came downstairs to that was by the vase of roses that he got Clarissa.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that afternoon at 4:30, Spencer hurriedly pulled on his suit jacket before his navy blue pea coat causing Morgan to look at him as he slung his messenger bag around his shoulders.

"Have a good date night with Clarissa and Diana," said Morgan.

"Thanks, and don't forget to use protection if you and Garcia start practicing for babies tonight," smirked Spencer before he ran off causing Emily to laugh at Morgan's shocked face.

"With how you spent the past year teasing him about his sex life, I'm glad he finally got back at you," laughed Emily.

Xxxxxxxx 

An hour later Spencer smiled as Clarissa who was wearing a new purple knee-length dress that showed off her 19-week baby bump with Diana who was also wearing a purple dress coming down the stairs together causing him to look at his six-month-old daughter who was on his hip.

"Mommy and your big sister are extremely beautiful just like you. In a few years you'll get to join in on the dates I take your mommy and big sister on," said Spencer.

"Aye," said Bridget as she babbled.

Diana ran over to her daddy.

"How do I look, daddy?" asked Diana as she twirled around in her new dress.

"You look beautiful, Diana," said Spencer before handing Bridget to Lucy before he took Clarissa's and Diana's hands, "I'm the most luckiest guys in the world to be taking two of the most beautiful girls in the world out to dinner," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was driving Clarissa and Diana to Olive Garden.

Xxxxxxxx 

A half-hour later Clarissa's eyes went wide when she saw Hotch leading Emily towards a seat before Hotch kissed Emily on the cheek.

"No way," said Clarissa.

"What?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Do you know if Aaron started dating again?" asked Clarissa.

"I've noticed that he got closer to Emily," said Spencer.

"Aaron is here with Emily right now," said Clarissa before looking at Diana, "Even though your uncle Aaron is here right now, that doesn't mean that you can get out of your chair and go say hi to your uncle," said Clarissa firmly.

"Yes ma'am," said Diana with a cheeky grin on her face.

Spencer burst out laughing causing Clarissa to glare at her husband before she looked at her daughter.

"Please don't call me ma'am in the cheeky way your daddy occasionally does," said Clarissa.

"Sorry mommy," said Diana.

"Its OK, sweet pea," said Clarissa just as their food arrived.

For the next half hour, Spencer listened to Diana tell him about how her day at preschool went.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later Spencer and Clarissa were falling onto their bed fully clothed as they started a heated make-out session


	30. Somebody's Watching Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Criminal Minds.
> 
> I decided that I wouldn't do Somebody's Watching when I was on season 1 for this universe because I wanted to save that episode until the team knew that Spencer's married and a father. So I decided to bump Somebody's Watching to season 3 because of the time jump between Limelight and Damaged.
> 
> I hope that I written part 1 of my AU version of Somebody's Watching perfectly and have it that Spencer didn't cheat on Clarissa. Rossi will have Gideon's lines in this chapter, and Rossi will have Gideon's lines while Emily will have Elle's lines in the next chapter.

Spencer knelt down to Diana's eye level and gave his oldest daughter a hug and a kiss.

"I'll miss you miss while mommy and I are in Los Angeles, and I'll make sure to give Parker the drawing you made for him," said Spencer.

Diana hugged her daddy back before she kissed his cheek.

"I'll miss you too, daddy, and I promise to be a good girl for Lucy," said Diana before looking at her daddy, "Will Parker hang my picture in his gallery?" asked Diana.

Spencer chuckled.

"He might, but he might put the picture on his fridge," said Spencer.

Clarissa handed Bridget over to Spencer before she knelt down to Diana's eye level.

"Like daddy said, I want you to be a good girl for Lucy," said Clarissa.

"I promise, mommy," said Diana.

"Daddy and I will bring you home some souvenirs," said Clarissa.

Lucy looked at Diana.

"While your mommy and daddy head to the airport, I must get you to preschool," said Lucy.

"We'll call you before bedtime," said Spencer before he kissed Bridget's forehead, "Daddy will miss you so much, baby girl," said Spencer.  
Bridget grinned at her daddy as she rested a hand on his cheek before Spencer reluctantly handed his youngest daughter over to Lucy.

xxxxxxx

Over seven hours later Spencer, Clarissa, and Rossi approached Detective Owen Kim who was holding up a sign.

"I'm Agent Rossi and these two youngsters are Dr. Reid and Clarissa," said Rossi.

Spencer and Clarissa rolled their eyes.

"I thought that there would be only two of you coming," said Detective Kim.

"I'm Spencer's wife Clarissa, and I came out here for a vacation," said Clarissa.

Detective Kim noticed Clarissa's present baby bump before looking at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Is this your first child?" asked Detective Kim.

Spencer and Clarissa shook their heads.

"We already have two daughters under the age of five together, and I'm 23-weeks pregnant with our firstborn son," said Clarissa.

"So your most likely going to shop for the baby while your husband speaks to my officers and me?" asked Detective Kim.

"Pretty much, but I'm looking forward to spending child-free time with my husband in the evenings," said Clarissa.

xxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer and Clarissa sat down across from Parker who smiled at them.

"I'm glad that you guys called me to let me know that you two will be in town for a few days," said Parker.

"You told me to call you if I'm ever near Hollywood for a case," said Spencer just as a waitress came over and took their orders.

After the waitress walked away, Spencer reached into a pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out the picture that Diana drew and passed it to Parker.

"Because of Diana being upset about not being able to come out here with Clarissa and me, I told her to draw a picture for you," said Spencer as he passed Parker the picture.

Parker looked at the picture that Diana drew of him, Diana, and baby Bridget together when he came to DC for a weekend while noticing that Diana didn't draw any stick figures and actually colored inside the lines.

"For a four-year-old, Diana's definitely advanced at drawing and coloring," said Parker.

"She did inherit her daddy's brains," said Clarissa as she winked at her husband who blushed.

Parker looked at the drawing before smiling at Clarissa.

"I should do a gallery that only involves artwork that is drawn or sculpted by children and half of my profits can be donated to a children's hospital   
in a poverty-stricken area," said Parker.

"That would be a great idea because Spence and I always donate new toys and new books to Children's National every Christmas," said Clarissa.

"And I'm hoping that if this gallery does happen that Diana's artwork can be featured," said Parker.

"Knowing Diana she'll want to include her artwork," said Spencer.

"Speaking of artwork, I hope that you two are able to visit my art gallery tomorrow night," said Parker.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at each other and nodded.

"We'll be there," said Clarissa.

Parker looked at Spencer.

"Are you excited about becoming a father to your firstborn son?" asked Parker.

"As much as I love my daughters, I'm excited about having a son," said Spencer.

"Are you going to have kids of your own someday?" asked Clarissa.

"I want to, but I haven't found a girl who will settle down with me," said Parker.

Spencer looked at Parker.

"With how you did a good job protecting me in high school and how great you are with my daughters, I think you'll be a great father someday," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer and Clarissa's faces lit up when they saw Diana's, Bridget's, and Lucy's faces on Spencer's laptop.

"Hi, mommy. Hi, daddy," said Diana.

"Hi Diana," said Spencer before smiling at his seven-month-old daughter, "Hello Bridget," said Spencer.

Bridget's eyes lit up when she realized that her mommy and daddy's faces were showing on the computer that Lucy had on.

"Dada! Mama!" squealed Bridget.

"Mommy and I miss you girls," said Spencer.

"I miss the both of you," said Diana.

"Were you a good girl today?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Diana.

Spencer raised his eyebrows at Lucy.

"She was such a good girl that I allowed her to have a scoop of ice cream on the blueberry pie I made today," said Lucy before Diana started to tell her parents about what she did during the day.

When Diana was finished, Spencer looked at Diana.

"Want me to recite you a bedtime story before mommy and I sign off so Lucy can put you to bed?" asked Spencer.

"Yes please," said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer was reciting "Goodnight Moon" to Diana before he and Clarissa signed off. As soon as Spencer bagged up his laptop, Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Before we get some sleep, I have plans for you, doctor," said Clarissa as she started to undress her husband.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer and Clarissa exited their hotel room with smiles on their faces while a yawning Rossi exited his own hotel room and glared at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Have you two ever have sex while Aaron is under the same roof or in the room next to you two?" asked a grumbling Rossi.

"As much as I want to do that, but Spence doesn't want to do that to Aaron and Sean because he thinks that having them watch us kiss is enough," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer stood in Parker's art gallery with Clarissa and Rossi when Spencer looked at his wife.

"With how Diana loves drawing and painting pictures, I just wonder if any of her artwork would end up in a gallery someday," said Spencer.

"I wonder that too, but we'll support Diana, Bridget, and Evan on whatever they want to spend their future doing," said Clarissa as she rubbed her   
23-week pregnant belly and smiled when she felt a kick, "Evan kicked," said Clarissa.

Rossi looked at Clarissa.

"May I?" asked Rossi.

"Go ahead," said Clarissa.

Rossi placed a hand on Clarissa's baby bump and a minute later he smiled when he felt a kick.

"Seems like you got a strong kicker there, Bella," said Rossi.

Clarissa smiled at Rossi's nickname for her.

"My kidneys don't appreciate the kicking, but as a nurse, I know that he's exploring his movement while strengthening his muscles," said Clarissa just as Parker approached them.

"Spencer and Clarissa Reid, I'm glad that you two were able to make it," said Parker as he pulled Spencer into a hug that Spencer returned before he gave Clarissa a gentle hug.

"Me too," smiled Clarissa as she rubbed her 23-week pregnant belly and smiled when she felt a kick.

Parker looked at Rossi.

"Spencer was only 12-year-old in our graduating class. Despite the growth spurt he had between graduating high school and reuniting with him in Las Vegas nearly two years ago, he pretty much looks the same," said Parker.

"Thanks," said Spencer sarcastically before gesturing to Rossi, "This is Special Agent David Rossi. This is Parker Dunley. We went to high school together, as you can probably gather," said Spencer.

"Hi, how are you?" asked Rossi.

"Hey," said Parker.

"It's a beautiful gallery," said Rossi.

"Thank you. Thank you," said Parker.

Spencer gestured towards Rossi.

"David's a big contemporary art enthusiast," said Spencer.

"We're exhibiting four up-and-coming artists in this show. Everything's for sale and I could definitely swing a nice discount for a friend of…," said Parker before he noticed his friend Lila, "Lila," said Parker.

Lila smiled.

"Hey," smiled Lila.

Parker looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Guys, come on," said Parker.

Spencer and Clarissa followed Parker.

"Spencer and Clarissa, you ever meet a real movie star?" asked Parker.

Clarissa wrapped her right arm around her husband's waist causing Spencer to wrap his left arm around his wife's waist and grinned as she rested her head on Spencer's shoulder.

"I have," said Clarissa.

"Movie star? Please, she's a supporting role on a television series about beach volleyball. Totally blue-collar," said Lila's friend.

Lila ignored her friend and looked at Spencer.

"I'm Lila," said Lila.

Spencer used his free hand to shake Lila's hand.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Spencer Reid and this is my wife Clarissa," said Spencer.

Lila smiled at Clarissa as she shook Clarissa's free hand.

"Nice to finally meet you under better circumstances, Clarissa," said Lila before she noticed a baby bump, "I see that you're expecting again," said Lila.

Clarissa smiled.

"I'm 23-weeks pregnant, and its a boy," said Clarissa.

"Congratulations, Clarissa," said Lila just as photographers started taking pictures.

Spencer looked at his wife and Lila.

"How do you two know each other?" asked Spencer.

"When I was pregnant with Bridget, one of my former charges asked Make A Wish Foundation if she could meet Lila Archer. I was the nurse who was in charge of Sophie's care on the day Lila came to meet Sophie, and I was ordered not to tell anyone about the visit because the director of the hospital didn't want paparazzi showing up at the hospital," said Clarissa as she wiped the tears that were falling as she thought about the 10-year-old girl who loved acting that lost her battle with cancer, "Damn hormones," muttered Clarissa.

Spencer kissed his wife's head.

"I know that its never easy for you to lose a patient," said Spencer gently.

Parker who noticed a camera flash looked at Spencer, Clarissa, and Lila.

"Excuse me," said Parker as he walked away and glared at the paparazzi, "Hey you! I told you! No photos in the gallery! All right? Out!" shouted Parker as he pushed the photographer away.

Lila looked at the happily married couple.

"Mind if I see a picture of the baby that you were pregnant with when I visited Children's National?" asked Lila.

"Sure," said Clarissa as she used her free hand and pulled out her phone and showed Lila a picture of Diana and Bridget together, "Diana is four-years-old and Bridget just turned seven-months-old last Friday, and Diana is excited about becoming a big sister again," said Clarissa.  
Lila looked at the picture of the curly brown haired and blue eyed little girl who was holding her nearly black curly haired and brown eyed baby sister before looking at the proud parents.

"Both girls are a perfect mixture of you two," cooed Lila.

Clarissa grinned at Lila.

"I know, and I can't wait to see if Evan looks like his daddy, looks like me, or is a perfect mixture of us," said Clarissa.

Someone came over with a tray of champagne that Lila accepted while Spencer and Clarissa both refused before Lila looked at Spencer.

"I know that you guys live in Washington DC because your wife works at Children's National, so why are you two here in LA without your   
daughters?" asked Lila.

"I'm on vacation," said Clarissa.

"We're running a training service about profiling for the Los Angeles Police Department, and the evenings I'm on vacation," said Spencer.

"Profiling?" asked Lila.

"Yeah, I'm with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. We psychoanalyze crime scenes in order to gain a better understanding of the criminal who might have committed the crime," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Lila were looking at a piece of artwork.

"Does it make you feel anything?" asked Lila.

"Like what?" asked Spencer.

Lila laughed.

"I can't tell you how to feel," said Lila.

Spencer gave his wife a smile.

"Right now, I feel pretty good," said Spencer.

Clarissa rolled her eyes while looking at her husband.

"We're so going to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery when we get back to DC so I can teach you more about art," said Clarissa.

Spencer gave his wife a cheeky smile.

"Yes, ma'am," teased Spencer.

Clarissa laughed as she playfully slapped her husband's shoulder just as Rossi came over.

"We're leaving," said Rossi.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"After spending today shopping, I'm so wanting a foot massage, farm boy," said Clarissa.

Spencer laughed as he looped arms with his wife.

"As you wish, buttercup," said Spencer before looking at Lila, "It was nice to meet you," said Spencer politely as he shook her hand.

"It was finally nice to meet Clarissa's baby daddy," said Lila before shaking Clarissa's free hand, "If I ever show up at Children's National to visit a child who wants to meet me, I'll make sure to say hi to you," said Lila.

A few minutes later Rossi was driving Spencer and Clarissa back to their hotel.

"I feel like I'm playing a designated driver for you two," grumbled Rossi.

Spencer and Clarissa laughed.

xxxxxx

The next morning Clarissa looked at her husband as they got ready for the day.

"Good luck," said Clarissa as she tied her husband's tie.

Spencer rubbed Clarissa's growing stomach and felt a kick.

"Thank you, and please stay safe," said Spencer.

"I have my cell phone and pepper spray on me, and Aaron taught me how to defend myself," said Clarissa.

"I wonder what people would think if you ended up beating up someone today?" asked Spencer.

"They'll probably call me one kick-ass pregnant woman," smirked Clarissa.

Spencer laughed.

"Are you ready to go home to our girls tonight?" asked Spencer.

"I missed them, but even though this was a working vacation for you, I'm glad that I practically had you to myself in the evenings," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxx

Over two hours later Spencer stood next to Rossi as they looked at all the officers who showed up for their profiling seminar.

"Today, we thought we'd focus on what is probably the most important component of profiling or for that matter, any investigative technique: Victimology. The word victim stems from the Latin word "victima" which means "sacrifice." Victims of violent crimes are brutalized by a subject who takes it upon him or herself to decide life or death of a fellow human being," said Spencer.

"There are around 16 million people in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Every time a person is killed, robbed, or raped, the most important question you will ask yourself is "why?". Why did your unsub choose this victim at this time? Was there anything done which provoked the criminal to act? Or was the target available or weak, a causality of circumstance?" asked Rossi.

xxxxxx

Spencer and Clarissa were each pulling their travel suitcase as walked in step with Rossi and Detective Kim.

"You know, we really can get ourselves to the airport," said Rossi.

"I didn't invite the FBI here to let them make their own way around town," said Detective Kim.

"We really appreciate it," said Spencer.

"I can't thank you guys enough for conducting the seminar," said Detective Kim before looking at Clarissa, "I hope you had a nice time touring the city while your husband and Agent Rossi gave that profiling seminar, and I hope that you and your husband send me photos after the baby's born," said Detective Kim.

"I had a nice time, and we'll make sure to send you a picture," said Clarissa.

Rossi looked at Detective Kim.

"Well, don't hesitate to call if there's anything we can help with," said Rossi just as Detective Kim's phone rang.

Detective Kim looked at Spencer who had his own suitcase and Clarissa's suitcase to put in the car.

"You got it?" asked Detective Kim.

"Yeah," said Spencer as he easily lifted up his suitcase and placed it in the backseat of Detective Kim's car before lifting up his wife's own suitcase and effortlessly placed the suitcase in the car, "Carrying a four-year-old around does have its perks," said Spencer.

Detective Kim chuckled as he walked away.

"I really missed our daughters," sighed Clarissa.

"They missed us too, and I can't wait to hug and kiss my daughters," said Spencer just as Detective Kim came back.

"Everything alright?" asked Rossi.

"Double murder at a Hollywood bungalow. A celebrity. A young movie star Natalie Ryan and her fiancé apparently shot to death. It's gonna be a   
major pain in the ass. You guys care to take a quick look before I drive you to the airport? It's on the way," said Detective Kim.

"Absolutely," said Rossi.

Detective Kim looked at Clarissa.

"With you being a civilian, I'll have one of my officers take you to the airport," said Detective Kim as he unloaded Clarissa's suitcase from the trunk of his car.

"Thank you because I really don't want to be at a crime scene despite being a nurse made me develop a strong stomach," said Clarissa.

Detective Kim flagged a female officer over.

"Yes, Owen?" asked Detective Betsy Roberts.

"Can you please escort Mrs. Clarissa Reid to the airport and help her load her bags?" asked Detective Kim.

"I sure can," said Detective Roberts before looking at Spencer, "I'll make sure to take good care of your wife, Dr. Reid," said Detective Roberts.

"Thank you," said Spencer before pecking his wife on the lips, "I'll see you in a bit," said Spencer.

"OK, Spence," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer was waving goodbye to his wife before he got in the backseat of Detective Kim's car.

xxxxxx

Spencer led Rossi into Natalie Ryan's house.

"No sign of forced entry," said Spencer.

"Same weapon," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at the two bodies.

"The girl was shot execution style. Once in the head. The male three times in the torso," said Spencer.

"So you have 2 different MOs," said Rossi.

Detective Kim entered the house.

"We have an image on the video surveillance camera. Looks like a messenger of some kind wearing a motorcycle helmet. He's unidentifiable," said   
Detective Kim.

"There's no sign of struggle between the girl and the unsub from the door to the couch. He most likely forced her at gunpoint," said Spencer.

"He told her to trust him. "do what I say. I won't hurt you."" said Rossi.

"Fatal mistake," said Detective Kim.

Spencer nodded.

"He asked her to sit on the couch and then... Shot her in the head," said Spencer.

"Fiancé wasn't expected, his killing's messier, it's... Less controlled, it's less organized," said Rossi before he looked at Detective Kim, "What do you think?" asked Rossi.

"I've had a couple other cases recently. Past few months. Same type of weapon. 22 caliber handgun. Both shot in the head. The first was an established film producer. Wally Melman. And the second was Chloe Harris, another young actress... But not as well known as Natalie here," said Detective Kim.

Spencer walked away a bit as he looked at Detective Kim.

"Any forensic evidence?" asked Spencer.

"No. The guys have been going through this place all morning and haven't come up with anything," said Detective Kim.

"So he clearly knows how to cover his tracks," said Rossi.

"Like a professional hit man?" asked Detective Kim.

"Maybe," said Rossi.

Spencer looked out the window and groaned when he saw people taking pictures.

"Rossi, there are people actually taking photographs of us from the next yard," said Spencer.

"Welcome to LA!" deadpanned Detective Kim.

"22's are small but efficient. They bounce around inside a person like a pinball," said Rossi.

"Preferred weapon of the mafia. You know, there's no obvious sexual component to these crimes, which is usually the case with serial murders," said Spencer.

"So are thinking this is a serial killer?" asked Detective Kim.

Rossi looked at Detective Kim.

"It's certainly a series of murders, we don't know enough yet to call them serial," said Rossi.

Detective Kim made his decision.

"Would you consider hanging out in LA a little while, let me lean on your expertise until we do figure out what we've got?" asked Detective Kim.

"Yeah," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Just cancel our flights. We'll have the rest of our team out here ASAP," said Rossi.

"After I cancel our flights, I better let my wife know that she'll be heading back to DC on her own," said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and sent Clarissa a text message.

ROSSI AND I DECIDED TO HELP DETECTIVE KIM OUT AND CALL THE REST OF THE TEAM OUT HERE. SO PLEASE HEAD BACK TO DC AND BE WITH OUR DAUGHTERS AND TELL THEM THAT I'LL MISS THEM AND I LOVE THEM. ~ SR

A minute later Clarissa replied.

PLEASE STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU, AND TELL ROSSI THAT PREGNANT OR NOT I'LL KICK HIS ASS IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO YOU. ~ CR

Spencer burst out laughing at Clarissa's reply.

"What?" asked Rossi.

"Clarissa told me to tell you that if anything happens to me that she'll kick your ass," said Spencer.

Rossi laughed.

"Your wife is something else, Reid because I never heard you swear until today," said Rossi.

Spencer smirked.

"You know what they say about opposites attract because Clarissa broke me out of my shell," said Spencer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spencer won't be cheating on Clarissa.


	31. Somebody's Watching Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's part 2 of Somebody's Watching, and I hope that everyone loves the AU changes I made because I won't have Spencer cheat on Clarissa. Remember that with me having Somebody's Watching happen in season 3, Rossi will be saying Gideon's lines while Emily says Elle's lines.

Previously in chapter 30

"So are thinking this is a serial killer?" asked Detective Kim.

Rossi looked at Detective Kim.

"It's certainly a series of murders, we don't know enough yet to call them serial," said Rossi.

Detective Kim made his decision.

"Would you consider hanging out in LA a little while, let me lean on your expertise until we do figure out what we've got?" asked Detective Kim.

"Yeah," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Just cancel our flights. We'll have the rest of our team out here ASAP," said Rossi.

"After I cancel our flights, I better let my wife know that she'll be heading back to DC on her own," said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and sent Clarissa a text message.

ROSSI AND I DECIDED TO HELP DETECTIVE KIM OUT AND CALL THE REST OF THE TEAM OUT HERE. SO PLEASE HEAD BACK TO DC AND BE WITH OUR DAUGHTERS AND TELL THEM THAT I'LL MISS THEM AND I LOVE THEM. ~ SR

A minute later Clarissa replied.

PLEASE STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU, AND TELL ROSSI THAT PREGNANT OR NOT I'LL KICK HIS ASS IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO YOU. ~ CR

Spencer burst out laughing at Clarissa's reply.

"What?" asked Rossi.

"Clarissa told me to tell you that if anything happens to me that she'll kick your ass," said Spencer.

Rossi laughed.

"Your wife is something else, Reid because I never heard you swear until today," said Rossi.

Spencer smirked.

"You know what they say about opposites attract because Clarissa broke me out of my shell," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Chapter 31

Over five hours later Spencer looked at Hotch.

"Clarissa's currently flying back to DC, and she said that she'll text me when she makes it back safely," said Spencer.

"Good, and you'll be laughing at the welcome home banner that Diana insisted on making and had me to help put up yesterday," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled.

"Even though I said goodnight to Diana and Bridget on the phone earlier, I definitely missed my daughters," said Spencer.

"I ended up staying at your house last night to help Lucy out because of Diana and Bridget missing you and Clarissa, but we both know that you and Clarissa deserved a small child-free vacation before my nephew's born," said Hotch.

"Clarissa and I had fun touring the city when I wasn't speaking at the seminar," said Spencer before laughing a bit, "I don't think that Rossi isn't going to want to accompany Clarissa and me anymore if Clarissa tags along," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Why?" asked Hotch.

Spencer blushed a bit.

"Ask Rossi when your away from the rest of the team," said Spencer before he walked away.

A few minutes later Spencer was in an empty office holding a cup of coffee when Detective Kim looked at Spencer, Hotch, Emily, and Morgan.

"This guy is an assassin?" asked Detective Kim.

Rossi entered the room.

"When you look at the victimology, there are no obvious links. All the kills are clean except in the instance of the last victim, Jeremy Collins," said   
Morgan.

"There's absolutely no evidence left at the crime scene. There's no DNA, no manifestation of psycho-sexual release, and there's no detectable signature of any kind," said Emily.

"Remember, our profiles are formulated not just by what's present at the scene but, also what's absent," said Rossi.

"From all the evidence that we've gathered, we believe that you're looking for a type-4 assassin," said Emily.

"Type 4?" asked Detective Kim.

"Type 1's are political assassins, like John Wilkes Booth. Type 2's are egocentrics looking for simple recognition," said Spencer.

"Type 3's are psychopaths, cold-blooded killers who leave far messier scenes. And type 4, our Unsub, suffers from a major mental disorder and is   
frequently delusional," said Hotch.

"The closer we come to figuring out that delusion, the closer we'll get to finding the unsub," said Spencer.

"What's he going to be doing until we do?" asked Detective Kim.

"Finding other victims," answered Rossi just as a man knocked on the open door.

"Excuse me, Hi. Is there a Detective Kim here?" asked Michael.

"Right here," said Detective Kim.

"You're heading the investigation into the Natalie Ryan murder?" asked Michael.

"Yes…," said Detective Kim.

"My... I have a client. She's... Is there any place we could be private?" asked Michael.

"We're all working this murder," said Detective Kim.

"Well... She received a note, my client did, and she freaked out. I told her not to worry about it," said Michael.

"Where is the note?" asked Morgan.

Michael handed Morgan the note.

"Where's your client?" asked Hotch.

"She's waiting in the other room," said Michael.

Morgan got up and slapped Spencer's knee.

"Reid. Let's go," said Morgan.

A few seconds later Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Did you get a lot of loving with Clarissa the past few days?" asked Morgan.

Spencer blushed.

"None of your business and I don't ask you if you get any loving from Garcia," shot back Spencer.

Morgan's jaw dropped just as he and Spencer entered the room where Lila Archer was waiting.

"Lila. Hi," said Spencer.

Lila looked at Spencer.

"Where's your wife?" asked Lila.

"She's currently on a plane back to DC because she needed to get home to Diana and Bridget while she returns to being a school nurse at Diana's school tomorrow," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"You know her?" asked Morgan.

"She's friends with one of my friends from high school and she met Clarissa over a year ago at Children's National. I didn't meet Lila until last night when Clarissa, Rossi, and I went to check out my friend's art gallery. Besides, I would never cheat on my wife," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Even though there are times that I still shocked about you being a married man, I can't believe that you actually have friends that don't involve law enforcement or the academic community," said Morgan.

Lila looked at Morgan.

"I'm not the type of girl who would ruin a happy marriage because I liked Clarissa when I met her a year ago," said Lila.

A few minutes later Lila was sitting at a desk when Hotch looked at Lila.

"How well did you know Natalie Ryan?" asked Hotch.

"We spoke when we saw each other in public, but we were never friends," said Lila.

"How about Wally Melman?" asked Hotch.

A shocked Lila looked at Hotch.

"What?" asked Lila.

"Wally Melman. He's a producer who was killed a couple of months ago," said Emily.

"The paper said that was a robbery," said Lila.

"The paper was wrong," said Detective Kim.

"Did you know him?" asked Hotch.

"We met a few times about a project, but... I didn't get the part, they went a different way," said Lila.

"Which way?" asked Emily.

"He cast, another act…," said Lila as she realized something, "Oh, my god," said Lila.

"What is it?" asked Spencer.

"He cast Natalie Ryan," said Michael.

Morgan shook the magazine he was holding.

""You owe me."" recited Morgan.

Lila sighed as she rested her head in her hands.

"I guess that's one way to ice out the competition," said Emily as she looked at Michael.

Michael scoffed.

"Don't look at me. I brought her into the police station," said Michael.

Rossi looked at Lila.

"Have you ever had a sense that someone is watching you? Following you?" asked Rossi.

"From the moment I get to work, I have: Hair and makeup and wardrobe people, producers, writers, my agent, my manager, publicist. Not to mention photographer…," said Lila.

"It's part of the life," said Michael.

"Anything seems odd, out of the ordinary? Happens on a regular basis or semi-regular basis?" asked Rossi.

"What do you mean?" asked Lila.

"Repetitive phone calls with hang-ups, gifts left anonymously?" asked Spencer.

"I receive flowers on the seventh of each month. They just appear. Never a note, just... A plain glass bowl. Red anemones. My favorite," said Lila.

"You don't want to know who they're from?" asked Emily.

"Celebrities get anonymous gifts all the time. She has fans, you know," said Michael.

"You remember meeting anyone on the seventh day of the month? Or in July, the seventh month of the year?" asked Gideon.

"No," said Lila.

"Wally Melman was a producer who considered hiring you but didn't. And... Natalie was a rival," said Hotch.

Emily held up a picture of Chloe.

"And Chloe Harris, she looks a lot like you, don't you think?" asked Emily.

"Who?" asked Lila.

"A potential rival," said Emily.

"She was murdered, too," said Hotch.

"So all these... People are being killed because of me?" asked Lila.

"It's possible," said Hotch.

Lila put her head in her hands again.

"I'm sorry... I can't. I have to go," said Lila as she got up and ran off.

Hotch looked at his girlfriend and brother-in-law.

"You two go after Miss Archer and try to convince her to let us protect her," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded as he got up and a few seconds later Spencer and Emily were leaving the room while Rossi looked at Hotch.

"If your worried that Lila's going to cause tension between Reid's married to your sister, you better stop worrying because Lila knows that Reid is married to Clarissa because those youngsters were always holding hands or had their arms wrapped around each other unless either of them had to go to the bathroom last night. I also want to tell you to make sure that if Clarissa ever tags along when Reid and I have to give a seminar, please make sure those two lovebirds hotel room isn't next to mine," said Rossi.

Hotch shook his head while Morgan laughed.

xxxxxxx

A few minutes later Spencer and Emily were outside and sprinted over to Lila.

"Lila! Lila. Lila," called out Spencer and Emily in unison.

Lila stopped walking when Spencer and Emily flanked each other in front of her to keep her from walking off.

"What's happening, Spencer?" asked Lila.

Emily decided to stay silent while knowing that Lila trusts Spencer.

"It's still rather speculative, but it appears there's a delusional assassin who's killing people to help further your career. He probably started as a stalker, an erotomanic stalker. There's a psychopathology of the evolution of these types of stalkers. The fact that he's contacting you indicates that he believes you owe him something. This model frequently concludes itself to one of two possibilities: either the stalker will kill himself, or he'll kill the object of his affection," said Spencer.

Lila looked at Emily.

"Is he right?" asked Lila.

"Yes, so please think about accepting our help," said Emily.

Lila walked away just as Spencer's cell phone vibrated causing Spencer to see a text from Clarissa.

I'M HOME ~ CR

"Clarissa?" asked Emily.

"She was letting me know that she made it home safely," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was sitting on a desk in front as Hotch started to give the profile to all the officers who showed up.

"With this unsub, we're looking at a compound profile: a type-4 delusional assassin. With an erotomanic fixation on the actress Lila Archer," said Hotch.

"Erotomanics are a form of a stalker, who possess the delusional belief that another person, usually of a higher social status, is in love with them," said Morgan.

"In the United States, at any given time, there are over 200,000 people being stalked. Our Unsub is having a fantasy love affair with Lila Archer.   
The way John Hinkley did with Jodie Foster," said Emily.

"Miss Archer was not aware of her stalker until yesterday. He wasn't trying to impress her. He was more like an unwanted, very violent guardian angel," said Hotch.

"When the stalk feels as if they've been in some way betrayed by their love object, this often leads to violence against the target," said Rossi.

"In the case of John Robert Bardo when actress Rebecca Schaeffer took a role where she had to have a sexual relationship with another character, too enough to force him to snap and seek her out to kill her," said Spencer.

"Those stalkers can be either male or female. It's most likely we're looking for a single male, a loner, in his late twenties to early forties. Very intelligent, with ample time to follow his victim and study her habits," said Hotch.

"As of yet, the Unsub has not directed any violence towards Miss Archer. But he has shifted his focus from those around her to her directly," said Spencer.

"This doesn't preclude the fact that anyone, who has the vaguest association with Miss Archer is a potential target," said Rossi.

xxxxxxxx

Rossi looked at the note that Lila received.

"I'm intrigued by this particular version of the verb "to be."," said Rossi.

"Past participle," said Spencer.

"Steady state of being, preceding adverb," said Rossi.

""Always."," said Spencer.

Detective Kim looked at Spencer.

"In English?" asked Detective Kim.

"That is English, actually. We're discussing the verb tenses," rambled Spencer.

"Reid," said Morgan.

Rossi looked at Detective Kim.

"Our stalker sounds like someone she knows," said Rossi.

"Based on the tense of the verb," said Spencer.

Morgan looked over at Lila.

"Maybe it's time to get her off the street," said Morgan.

"There's been no physical threat to her. She might be... safe just staying put as opposed to anywhere else," said Spencer.

Lila had enough of being talked about while she's in the room.

"I'm standing right here, guys," said Lila.

Rossi looked at Lila.

"If we did remove you, we'd have to take you to an undisclosed location I'm sure your stalker knows where you live," said Rossi.

"I'm not having the whole show close down. I only need one more scene to shoot. Last night I decided I wasn't gonna be afraid of this lunatic. Am I safe here?" asked Lila.

"The set's cleared of everyone except essential personnel, and we have increased security at the gate," said Detective Kim just as Lila's assistant came into the trailer.

"Lila, they're ready for you," said Maggie.

Lila looked at Spencer, Morgan, Rossi, and Detective Kim.

"I'm staying at work, gentlemen," said Lila before she left the trailer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"She reminds me of your wife because they're both tough girls," said Morgan.

"Yeah, but don't you ever call my wife a girl in front of her because she'll release her pregnancy hormones on you," said Spencer.

Morgan held up his hands in surrender while Rossi looked at Detective Kim.

"I didn't want to say anything in front of her, his anger about her going to the police suggests he might alter his agenda," said Rossi.

"It's typical for a stalker," said Morgan.

Rossi looked at Morgan.

"She didn't go alone to the police," said Rossi.

"Her manager took her," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Morgan.

"You and Reid stay here. Keep an eye on her," said Rossi.

"I'll hang back, too," said Detective Kim.

Morgan looked at Rossi.

"Where you going?" asked Morgan.

"Talk to her manager," said Rossi.

xxxxxxx

Spencer walked over to Lila with a bottle of soda in his hand.

"Sorry if I was... insensitive last night," said Spencer as he took a sip of his soda.

"You're only doing your job, right?" asked Lila.

"Yeah," said Spencer.

"Then there's no need to apologize," said Lila before she took a sip of her tea and grimaced and looked at Spencer's soda, "If you weren't a married man, would you have shared with me?" asked Lila.

Spencer shook his head.

"I wouldn't because I'm a germophobe," said Spencer.

Lila realized that Spencer was serious.

"Then I won't take your soda," said Lila before she got up and walked away.

Spencer quickly turned around and sipped his soda just as Morgan joined him.

"You don't mind sharing with me?" asked Morgan.

"Shut up," said Spencer.

Morgan laughed before Spencer smirked at Morgan.

"I just hope that you're averting your eyes on all the actresses in here because I don't think Garcia would be happy about you ogling all the actresses in here," teased Spencer before he walked away.

Morgan laughed.

"Clarissa's really a good influence on you, kid," said Morgan.

xxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was accepting a call from Rossi.

"Get Lila to a safe house," said Rossi.

"She's still on set working, did you meet up with her manager?" asked Spencer.

"Reid, take her home, have her pack some things," said Rossi.

Spencer realized that Rossi was serious.

"What's going on?" asked Spencer.

"We were too late," said Rossi.

Spencer thought about how devastated he was when he lost his parents and eventually his aunt and uncle.

"She's gonna be devastated," said Spencer.

"I know. JJ's keeping it out of the press for now. Let's not tell her yet," said Rossi.

"Not tell her?" asked a shocked Spencer.

"No, not yet. We need her to cooperate with us... In order to protect her. I'll talk to you later," said Rossi before he hung up.

Spencer removed his phone from his ear.

xxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was finishing off a phone call with Hotch when Lila pulled up in front of her house.

"No, we're pulling up right now. There's a marked car out front. Yeah," said Spencer as he got out of Lila's truck, "Got it. I'll check it out," said Spencer before he hung up.

"Is everything OK?" asked Lila.

"I just need to run through some security measures with you," said Spencer.

"All right," said Lila.

A minute later Spencer was following Lila into her house.

"I like your house," said Spencer.

"I rent it," said Lila.

Spencer looked at Lila.

"You should also probably change all your phone numbers," said Spencer.

"I'm unlisted," said Lila.

"Anytime you call an 800 number or an 888 number, your phone number's put into a databank that's been sold to telemarketers. If someone gets your cell phone number, they can go online and research all your records," said Spencer.

Lila got up and walked away.

"Hanging out with you can be really depressing," said Lila.

Spencer followed Lila.

"You should also probably carry a piece of paper and a pen with you wherever you go in case you see any suspicious license plates that often   
reappear," said Spencer before he noticed a collage on the kitchen wall.

Lila saw what Spencer was looking at.

"Photographic collage. I like it because it's like life, you know? You know, like obscure, difficult," said Lila.

"You should also get a dog. Like a guard dog of some sort," said Spencer.

"Allergic. Earl Grey or chamomile?" asked Lila.

Spencer realized that Lila was offering him some tea.

"Yes, yes, sure," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was letting his tea cool while he pulled out his laptop and checked his email before he smiled when he saw that he had a new video of Diana ice skating.

"What are you smiling at?" asked Lila.

"Diana had a one on one figure staking lesson with her coach earlier, and Clarissa sent me a video that I'm about to watch," said Spencer.

"Mind if I watch the video of your daughter?" asked Lila.

Spencer adjusted the laptop so Lila could watch and a few seconds later Spencer was playing the video causing Lila to see a bespectacled little girl who had her long curly brown hair pulled into a bun while she was wearing form-fitting sweat pants and a sweater standing on the ice.

"Say hi to daddy," said Clarissa in the background.

"Hi daddy," said Diana as she waved.

"Show daddy what you learned today from Miss Gilbert," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Diana started to gracefully skate on the ice before she did a few jumps and turns and when she was finished she bowed.

"Great job, Diana," praised Clarissa.

"Thank you, mommy," said Diana.

"Say goodbye to daddy before I shut the camera off," said Clarissa.

"I love you, daddy. I miss you, so please come home soon," said Diana as she blew some kisses before the video feed went black.

Spencer smiled as he saved the video into his documents.

"Diana is one of the most adorable four-year-old's ever," said Lila.

Spencer smiled.

"She has had me wrapped around her finger ever since the first time I held her, and Bridget's the same way too," said Spencer.

"How long has Diana been ice skating?" asked Lila.

"Clarissa and I took her ice skating for the first time when she was two, and with how much fun she had, she asked to take figure skating lessons," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "Her coach has told Clarissa and me that there's a possibility that Diana might end up in the Olympics when she's a teenager," said Spencer.

"Hopefully Diana ends up in the Olympics if she wants to be in the Olympics," said Lila.

"Clarissa and I agreed that we'll support Diana with whatever career choice she decides on as long as the career choice doesn't make her in trouble with the law," said Spencer.

Lila laughed.

xxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was studying Lila's collage when a bathrobe-clad Lila approached him.

"Feel anything yet?" asked Lila.

"There's something definitely appealing about this one," said Spencer.

"It's a start," said Lila.

Before Lila could walk away, Spencer quickly noticed Lila's attire.

"What are you doing?" asked Spencer.

"Going for a swim," said Lila.

Spencer quickly grabbed Lila's arm and dragged her away from the door.

"No your not because your suppose to be at a safe house instead of staying here," said Spencer sternly.

"Your totally a different person right now," said Lila.

"When it comes to being a parent to a four-year-old girl who is a free spirit like her mother, I learned that there are times that I have to be stern instead of being the soft-spoken parent that I'm usually am. So you're going to change back into your clothes and sit down on the couch or there will be a lot of people grieving for you if your stalker decides to kill you while your in that pool," said Spencer sternly.

"You win," said Lila as she walked towards her bedroom.

Spencer headed to the back patio door and noticed someone behind the bushes with a camera causing him to send Emily a text message.

THERE'S SOMEONE IN THE BUSHES WITH A CAMERA. ~ SR

A few minutes later Lila who was now wearing loungewear sat down on the couch before looking at Spencer and thought about Spencer   
mentioning to her that he's 26-years-old and has been married to Clarissa since he was 21.

"What does your family think of you being an FBI, a husband, and a father at your age?" asked Lila.

Spencer sighed sadly.

"My parents died when I was four and my aunt and uncle who adopted me died when I was 19," said Spencer sadly before he smiled a little bit, "Two days after I lost my aunt and uncle I ended up meeting Clarissa in a park that was between Yale and the nursing school that Clarissa was attending in New Haven. After being friends with her for two weeks, I realized that I wanted to be more than friends with Clarissa," said Spencer.

"Hopefully I find the right guy to marry someday, and its a shame that you're already married," said Lila as she started to inch closer to Spencer who realized what Lila was doing.

"I have to tell you something," said Spencer.

Lila stopped inching towards Spencer.

"What?" asked Lila.

"I didn't want to tell you this before 'cause I was a bit worried. I don't know how to say it, but I have to tell you," said Spencer.

"What is it?" asked Lila.

"Your manager, Michael...," said Spencer.

"What?" asked Lila.

"Rossi went to check on him, but... He got there too late," said Spencer.

Lila stayed silent for a minute causing Spencer to get concerned.

"Lila," said Spencer.

An angry Lila looked at Spencer.

"How could you- How could you not tell me?" asked Lila.

"I was afraid you'd be upset," said Spencer.

"You... You knew what you knew, and... How could you not…," said Lila.

Spencer reached into his pocket and grabbed a few tissues and passed them to Lila.

"I'm so sorry," said Spencer just as Spencer got a text from Emily.

PLEASE COME TO THE BACK DOOR. ~ EP

Spencer looked at Lila.

"I have to go outside, and please stay in the house," said Spencer.

"OK," said Lila.

A few seconds later Spencer was standing outside where he saw Morgan escorting a handcuffed man while Emily approached Spencer.

"We found him in the bushes," said Emily.

"I told her that she should cut those," said Spencer before Morgan arrived with the photographer.

"Stop shoving me, man," snapped the photographer.

"You're a suspect in the murder of Wally Melman, Natalie Ryan, and Jeremy Collins," said Morgan.

"Murder? What?" asked the photographer.

"Shut up! We know for a fact that you have hundreds of photographs of Lila Archer and Natalie Ryan on the walls of your studio. You have miss   
Archer's daily schedule on your desk. You've been stalking her," snapped Morgan.

"Look, guy. Hold up. Every paparazzo's a celebrity stalker. If you don't stalk'em, you don't get the shot. If you don't make the shot, you don't sell no pictures," said the photographer.

"Well, this one is gonna cost you," said Emily.

"What! No. That's just wrong," said the photographer.

"Tell it to your lawyer," said Morgan.

"I'm still being locked up?" asked the photographer.

"That's right. Very least, you're trespassing. Let's go," said Morgan.

"Wait," said Spencer before he glared at the photographer as he held up his left hand and showed his wedding band, "If your thinking that I'm dating Lila, don't even think about publishing any pictures you have taken because I'm not the type of person who would cheat on my wife," snapped Spencer.

"I know that your not a new man in Lila's life because you and your wife had your arms wrapped around each other in that gallery," said the photographer before Morgan led him away.

xxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer looked at a teary-eyed Lila who was curled up on the couch.

"Are you still... Are you okay?" asked Spencer.

"Michael was like family," sniffed Lila.

"I'm so sorry," said Spencer as Rossi approached them.

"It's just... So hard to trust people out here. You don't know who to believe. Everybody wants something from you. That's why I thought you were   
different because of being married," said Lila.

"I know I should have told you," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Lila.

"I told him not to. He was only following my orders," said Rossi.

Rossi clapped Spencer on the shoulder before he walked away while Lila sniffled a bit.

"You know... The last time I was able to fully trust someone was at Julliard," sniffled Lila before Spencer gazed at Lila's collage, "Before I was... a somebody," said Lila.

Spencer saw the last few words of campus in the collage.

"Julliard. And didn't you say you used to live on Houston street?" asked Spencer.

Lila turned her head and looked at Spencer.

"What?" asked Lila.

"You were a waitress. You lived on Houston," said Spencer as his mind started to solve the possible puzzle that the collage was showing.

"Yeah," said Lila.

Spencer quickly got up and walked towards the collage.

"I need to take this thing apart," said Spencer.

Lila stared at the collage.

"What?" asked Lila.

"I'll put it back. I think I see images of you," said Spencer before he turned his head towards where Rossi, Morgan, and Emily were, "Guys," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

A short while later Emily was helping Spencer place the parts of the collage in the right place before Morgan saw what Spencer was seeing.

"Lila, it looks like someone's been stalking you for years," said Morgan.

"Yeah, this tells your whole life story. Movie premieres, theater playbills," said Emily.

"Everything since college," said Spencer as he placed a piece in the right place.

"That's our country house. Right here," said Lila as she pointed at a house.

Morgan looked at Lila.

"Who gave you this collage?" asked Morgan.

"He did," said Lila as she pointed at a picture of a man.

"This guy? Who is he?" Morgan.

Spencer instantly recognized Parker.

"That's the guy I went to high school with. Parker Dunley and I know that there's no way he would do this because he was a big brother to me during my childhood. It will be faster if I call him," said Spencer as he quickly pulled out his phone and called Parker and placed his phone on speaker.

"What's up, Spencer?" asked Parker.

"I need to ask you something about some artwork, and I really you to be truthful for me," said Spencer.

"OK," said Parker.

"Parker did you make the collage that's above Lila's couch yourself?" asked Spencer.

"No," said Parker.

"Do you know who made it for Lila?" asked Spencer.

"She claims that she's a secret admirer," said Parker.

"What's her name?" asked Spencer.

"Maggie Lowe," said Parker.

"Thank you so much, Parker," said Spencer before hanging up.

"You have Parker's phone number?" asked Morgan.

"When Clarissa, Diana, and I ran into Parker nearly two years ago, he insisted that I stayed in contact with him because he was slightly upset that I didn't send him an invitation when I married Clarissa or sent photos after Diana's birth," said Spencer.

"I can't believe that Mags would do this to me. I've known Mags for years. I got her a job on my show," said Lila before her eyes went wide, "She actually has keys to this house," said Lila.

Rossi looked at Lila.

"Just to be safe, Reid and I are going to take you to the police department while Morgan and Emily stay here," said Rossi.

xxxxxx

A half-hour later Spencer, Rossi, and Lila were at the police department when Rossi got a phone call from Morgan, and as soon as he hung up, he looked at Lila.

"Maggie was in your house, but she ended up committing suicide when she learned that we got you out of the house," said Rossi

Lila burst into tears as she realized that she was safe while she lost her best friend from college, and a minute later Lila looked at Spencer.

"Will I ever feel safe in my own home again?" asked Lila.

"Someday you will," said Spencer.

Lila looked at Spencer.

"How do you know?" asked Lila.

"When I was four and my parents were still alive, I had a stalker who would watch me at my little league games or when I was at the park," said Spencer.

"Did your stalker ever get to you?" asked Lila.

"He didn't because my uncle who was a police officer placed my parents and me in protective custody until he could arrest my stalker," said Spencer before sighing sadly, "Three days after my stalker was arrested, the father of the little boy who was killed before I was targeted ended up killing my parents because of making the mistake of drinking and driving at the time that my parents were picking up my father's brother from the airport," said Spencer.

"How did you get over everything?" asked Lila.

"One of the first things that my aunt and uncle did was having me go to therapy right away. The first couple of weeks were rough for me, but   
eventually, I started to accept that my parents were gone while I made a goal to live my life by making my parents proud," said Spencer.

"I guess that other than finding a better place with security, I should find a therapist," said Lila.

"That's a good start," said Rossi.

xxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was standing away from doors and windows inside the police department with Parker and Lila, and after Lila's new manager was done talking to Lila, Lila looked at Spencer.

"If I'm ever asked if I'm in a relationship with you, I'll make sure to tell everyone that we're just friends because I don't want to ruin my reputation by being a homewrecker," said Lila.

"I really appreciate that," said Spencer.

"If I'm ever in Washington, can I call you so I can meet your children?" asked Lila.

"Yeah, I'd like that a lot," said Spencer.

"After your son is born, could you please send me a picture?" asked Lila.

"Knowing Clarissa she'll want to send you a picture of Evan," said Spencer.

Lila's manager looked at Lila.

"Let's go," said Lila.

As soon as Lila left the station with her new manager, Morgan looked at Spencer.

"We need to get going," said Morgan.

"I know, but I need to tell Parker something," said Spencer before he looked at Parker, "You really need to ask Lila out," said Spencer.

"What?" asked Parker.

"When I witnessed the brief interactions you and Lila had together, my profiling skills tell me that you have feelings for her. So take the chance to ask her out before someone she gets asked out by someone else," said Spencer before grinning a bit, "I'm speaking from experience because I ended up taking the same chance which caused me to be married for over five years, have two beautiful little girls, while expecting my firstborn son in about 17 weeks," said Spencer.

Parker shook his head.

"Sometimes I wish that you became a basketball coach instead of a profiler, Spencer," said Parker.

Spencer laughed before Parker pulled Spencer into a hug that Spencer easily returned.

"Please continue sending me more pictures of Diana and Bridget because I want to watch my nieces grow up," said Parker.

"I promise," said Spencer as he broke out of Parker's hug.

A few minutes later Spencer was leaving the station with his teammates.

xxxxxxxx

An hour into the flight, Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Are you jealous of my brotherly relationship with Parker?" asked Spencer.

Morgan rubbed his head.

"Yes," said Morgan.

"Even though I've known Parker for nearly 22 years, I consider both you and Parker brothers to me," said Spencer.

"What was Parker like in high school?" asked JJ.

"He was captain of the basketball team, so I've been in contact with my class's basketball team ever since I attended my high school reunion nearly two years ago. Also because of knowing Parker since I was four, the principal made arrangements for Parker and me to leave our classes early so Parker could make sure to get me safely to my next class," said Spencer.

"Have you played basketball?" asked Morgan.

Spencer smirked

"I'm not going to tell you because I still need to keep a few secrets about myself," said Spencer just as his cell phone vibrated causing him to see a text message from Clarissa that included a picture that made him blush.

I KNOW THAT YOU DIDN'T CHEAT ON ME WHILE YOU WERE PROTECTING LILA, BUT BE PREPARED FOR US TO SPEND THE ENTIRE WEEKEND IN BED BECAUSE ALEX IS GOING TO TAKE THE GIRLS FOR THE WEEKEND. ~ CR

"You are so going to be the death of me, Clarissa," muttered Spencer.


	32. Easter & Damaged

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be prepared for an angry Clarissa slapping her oldest brother.
> 
> Watching "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (I was a nearly 12-year-old 6th grader when I first saw the movie when I rented it from Family Video) gave me some inspiration for a scene in this chapter because I can imagine Diana memorizing a certain song.
> 
> Warning: There is "M" rated content when it comes to certain bedroom activities in this chapter.

Clarissa was sitting on a bench as she watched her husband help Diana find hidden Easter eggs when Sarah came over to Dominic.

"How are you feeling, Clarissa?" asked Sarah as she passed Dominic over to Clarissa.

Clarissa glanced at Bridget who was happily chewing on a teething ring while the seven-month-old baby girl kept her eyes on her daddy and big sister.

"Despite the back pain, I'm dealing with at six-months pregnant, I feel pretty good," said Clarissa as she ran a finger over her one-month-old godson's cheek, "Holding Dominic is getting me excited about Evan's birth," said Clarissa.

"Is Diana excited about getting a little brother? Darren was very excited when Peter and I told him that he was getting a little brother while Courtney wanted a sister," said Sarah as she watched her husband help seven-year-old Darren and four-year-old Courtney find some eggs.

Clarissa laughed.

"Diana's excited about Evan's upcoming birth," said Clarissa before she groaned when she felt Evan kick causing her to pass Dominic back to Sarah, "Can you please watch Bridget while I go to the ladies room?" said Clarissa.

Sarah laughed.

"I'll watch her," said Sarah.

A few seconds later Clarissa was standing up as she hurried away to the ladies room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer smiled as he allowed Morgan and Garcia into his house.

"Thank you for agreeing to come over for Easter dinner," said Spencer.

Garcia held up two gift bags causing Spencer to groan.

"I couldn't miss Bridget's first Easter," said Garcia before she smiled at the sight of Diana who was wearing a light blue dress, white tights, and white dress shoes, "You look beautiful today, Diana," said Garcia.

Diana looked up from her brand new Precious Moments Bible that she found in her Easter basket when she woke up.

"Thank you," said Diana before she started to sing, "So long and thanks for all the fish," sang Diana.

Spencer and Garcia grinned at each other as they listened to Diana sing "So Long& Thanks for the Fish" out loud while Morgan had a confused look on his face.

"I've never heard that song before," said Morgan.

Garcia looked at her boyfriend.

"We're so going to watch "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy this evening, Derek," said Garcia.

"Diana is singing "So Long & Thanks for the Fish" because Clarissa, Diana, and I ended up watching "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" during our family movie night on Friday," said Spencer before looking at Diana, "The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything?" asked Spencer.

Diana quickly used her eidetic memory and flashed back to when she first saw "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" two nights ago.

"42," answered Diana.

Spencer and Garcia both gave Diana a high five before Garcia looked at Spencer.

"Where are Clarissa and Bridget?" asked Garcia.

"Bridget's upstairs taking her afternoon nap and Clarissa's currently in the kitchen making herself a grilled cheese sandwich," said Spencer.

"Pregnancy cravings?" asked Garcia.

"Yes," said Spencer before looking at Diana, "Want me to bring you back some fruit?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana as she continued to quickly read her Bible.

20 seconds later Spencer, Morgan, and Garcia were in the kitchen causing Morgan and Garcia to look at Clarissa who was wearing a light blue sundress that showed off her nearly 25-week baby bump before Morgan noticed Clarissa's bare feet.

"Are you deciding to follow the phrase about being barefoot, pregnant, and staying in the kitchen?" asked a teasing Morgan.

Clarissa put down her grilled cheese sandwich and gave Morgan her Hotchner glare while Garcia slapped her boyfriend's head.

"You should never anger a pregnant woman, Derek," said Garcia.

Clarissa smirked at Morgan.

"Even though Aaron has taught me how to shoot a gun, it's a good thing that I'm not licensed to carry a gun because I would shoot you in the jewels," said Clarissa sweetly before she left the kitchen with a cackling Garcia.

A few seconds later an amused Spencer looked at Morgan who was looking a bit pale.

"You OK?" asked Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer who had an amused smile on his face.

"I don't know who's the scariest; Clarissa, Hotch, or Diana," said Morgan.

Spencer laughed as he grabbed an apple and left the kitchen.

xxxxxxxxxx

Two days later JJ looked at Spencer, Emily, Rossi, Morgan, and Hotch.

"We've got a serial killer in Chicago, Illinois who is killing married couples when their children aren't home," said JJ as she started to continue briefing everyone on the case.

xxxxxxxxxx

After JJ finished briefing, Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Can we speak in my office?" asked Hotch.

"Sure," said Spencer.

A minute later Hotch closed his office door and looked at Spencer.

"Are you sure that you'll be able to handle this case?" asked Hotch.

"I want to help make sure that no other children have to go through what I went through as a child. I've put the deaths of my parents behind me a long time ago," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer and JJ followed Isabel Richards into her house before Spencer noticed that six-year-old Chelsea Dawson was having a tea party with some of her dolls.

"We have some company who needs to speak to me," said Isabel.

Chelsea looked up at Spencer and JJ.

"Are you here for my tea party?" asked Chelsea.

"One of us will stay with Chelsea," said JJ.

Spencer and JJ exchanged glances before Spencer gave Chelsea a small smile.

"I would love to join in on your tea party," said Spencer as he joined Chelsea on the floor.

"I'll talk to Mrs. Richards," said JJ.

A few minutes into the tea party, Chelsea noticed Spencer's wedding band.

"Do you have a little girl just like me?" asked Chelsea.

"I have two little girls who are both younger than you, and my wife is carrying my firstborn son in her tummy right now," said Spencer.

Chelsea looked at Spencer.

"Grandma Isabel said that a bad man took my mommy and daddy to Heaven," said Chelsea as she wiped her tears.

Spencer gave the teary-eyed girl a sad smile.

"It's never easy when two loving parents never get to watch their children grow up because I was four when I lost my own mommy and daddy," said Spencer.

Chelsea rested a hand on Spencer's cheek.

"Will it get easy to get over the loss of my mommy and daddy?" asked Chelsea.

"You'll have good days and bad days, but remembering the happy moments you had with your parents will help give you many good days. Knowing your grandparents, aunts, and uncles; they'll make sure that you have almost everything that belonged to your parents to help you remember them because my aunt and uncle did that for me," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Chelsea was showing JJ her bedroom when Isabel Richards looked at Spencer.

"Did I really hear you tell my granddaughter that you lost your parents at a young age?" asked Isabel.

Spencer gave Isabel a sad smile.

"I lost my parents to a drunk driver when I was four. And when I was 19, I lost my aunt and uncle who adopted me to a drunk driver. It was hard for me when I lost my parents and eventually my aunt and uncle, but other than going to grief counseling both times, meeting my wife two days after I lost my aunt and uncle helped save me," said Spencer.

"Do you have kids with your wife?" asked Isabel.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"I have a four-year-old daughter, a seven-month-old daughter, and my wife's currently pregnant with my firstborn son. My wife's also an orphan so we agreed that we would make sure our children know who their grandparents are because my two daughters are named after their deceased grandmothers," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

Two days later Spencer looked at Wyatt Reynolds who was standing between two chairs that contained Eloise and Samuel Naylor who were both tied up while Wyatt held a gun to Samuel's head.

"Wyatt please put down the gun. Betsy and Travis shouldn't lose their parents this way especially since Eloise is currently pregnant with Betsy's and   
Travis's little brother or sister," said Spencer calmly.

"None of you understand what its like to lost both of your parents the same day!" shouted Wyatt.

Spencer continued to point his gun at Wyatt.

"I do understand because I lost my parents to a drunk driver when I was four. Luckily my aunt and uncle adopted me and they raised me until they were taken away from me because someone wanted revenge on my uncle," said Spencer just as Wyatt decided to hold his gun by his temple "I know that you lost your parents to a home invasion a month ago and your wife to childbirth two weeks ago, but Jayden and Cassandra both need their father to tell them all about their grandparents and mother as they get older. So please put down your gun so you can occasionally see your children in prison and communicate with them through letters while Eloise and Samuel get to see their children again while they get to meet their third child later on this year," said Spencer.

Wyatt dropped the gun as he started crying causing Hotch and Morgan to arrest Wyatt while Spencer and Emily worked on untying Eloise and Samuel before Eloise looked at Spencer as she embraced her husband.

"How did you know that I'm pregnant when I haven't even confirmed that I'm pregnant yet?" asked Eloise.

"My wife's currently pregnant with my third child, so noticing that your glowing gave it away," said Spencer.

Emily looked at Eloise.

"We'll get you to the hospital so a doctor can make sure that you and the baby are both OK," said Emily.

Spencer looked at Samuel.

"Your going to the hospital too because I can tell that you have a concussion," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer smiled as he watched seven-year-old Betsy and her five-year-old brother Travis hug and kiss their parents before pulling out his wallet and looked at a picture of his four-year-old self with his parents just as Rossi and Hotch approached him.

"Morgan is going to stay behind for a few days and visit his mom and sisters, so are you ready to get home to my sister and my nieces?" asked Hotch.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at the picture that was in Spencer's hands.

"Your parents would be proud of you," said Rossi.

"I know they are because they once told me," said Spencer before walking away.

Hotch looked at Rossi.

"Reid told me that during the couple of minutes that he was dead before Hankel gave him CPR, he was reunited with his parents, aunt, and uncle who all told him that they're proud of him," said Hotch.

"Seems like his parents, aunt, and uncle became his guardian angels if they're watching over him," said Rossi.

xxxxxxxx

A week later Spencer looked at his sweaty wife.

"Feeling better?" asked Spencer just as his cell phone rang causing Spencer to groan while Clarissa grab her husband's phone and answer it without checking the caller ID.

"This is Clarissa Reid answering my husband's phone right now so there better be a damn good reason for you to interrupt my husband from giving me a second organsm before you called him," snapped Clarissa before she gave her husband an evil smirk.

Spencer blushed as he burst out laughing.

"That's way too much information, Clarissa," said Hotch.

Spencer watched his wife start to tear up.

"I'm so sorry for snapping at you like that and telling you what Spence and I were doing, Aaron," cried Clarissa.

Spencer's eyes went wide as he realized who was trying to get a hold of him.

"Its OK because I know that your hormonal right now and I'm sorry for interrupting your adult time with Spencer, but can you put Spencer on?" asked Hotch.

Clarissa passed Spencer's phone to her husband.

"Its Aaron," said Clarissa before she left the bedroom.

Spencer pressed his phone against his ear.

"Is there a case, Hotch?" asked Spencer.

"Chester Hardwick wants to speak to us tomorrow, so I decided that we'll drive up to Connecticut tonight and head to the prison tomorrow morning," said Hotch.

"I guess all the research we did the past few months together will have to do, and I'm so sorry about Clarissa answering the phone like that. Clarissa's been hormonal since after dinner, so Lucy decided that Diana and Bridget would have a sleepover with her while I helped Clarissa," said Spencer.

"Its OK because there were days that Haley acted like Clarissa did when she was pregnant with Jack," said Hotch before he became serious, "I'll be there in about 15 minutes," said Hotch.

"OK," said Spencer before hanging up.

A few minutes later Spencer blinked when he found Clarissa in the kitchen eating chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream with pickles.

"I'm going to Connecticut for a custodial interview," said Spencer.

Clarissa smiled a little bit as she thought about how her oldest brother and her husband will spend time together by preparing for custodial interviews together before they travel to the state where the interview is happening.

"It's a good thing that the son of a bitch who killed a lot of woman in the state you spent your adolescent years is getting executed," said Clarissa.

"Are you still hormonal?" asked Spencer.

"Damn straight, so expect me to jump you when you get back from Connecticut," said Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head.

"Can you please apologize to Aaron about how I answered the phone?" asked Clarissa.

"I already apologized for you, and he understood," said Spencer before thinking about Diana and Bridget, "I know that if I head over to the guest house to give Diana and Bridget each a kiss goodbye, I'll most likely wake the girls," said Spencer.

Clarissa pulled her husband into a kiss.

"You would, so I'll give them a kiss in the morning and tell them that the kiss is from daddy," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer was getting into the front seat of Hotch's Bureau issued SUV.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer fiddling with the assistant warden's snow globe before he saw his brother-in-law glancing at his phone.

"Is everything all right?" asked Spencer.

Hotch shook his head as he thought about how observant his brother-in-law could be.

"Yeah, fine," said Hotch.

"We can do this interview another time," said Spencer.

"Well, he's scheduled to be executed next week," said Hotch.

"I can take the lead if you-," said Spencer.

Hotch held up a hand.

"Reid," said Hotch.

"Sorry," whispered Spencer.

At that moment Assistant Warden Abner Merriman entered the room.

"Agent Hotchner?" asked Assistant Warden Abner.

Hotch shook hands with Abner.

"Yes," said Hotch.

Abner smiled as he recognized Spencer as Spencer stood up and shook Abner's hand.

"Ah. You must be Dr. Reid. Abner Merriman, assistant warden. You're here to see our infamous inmate Hardwick," said Abner.

"Yeah. He agreed to meet with us as part of our Criminal Personality Research Project prior to his execution," said Spencer.

Abner continued to look at Spencer.

"I've read some of your studies in police journals," said Abner while Spencer smiled, "Serial killers are a kind of a hobby of mine. Chester's the only one I've ever met in person, though. I bet you've met quite a few," said Abner.

Spencer smiled while Hotch inwardly shook his head as he realized that one of Spencer's fans were in the room.

"Sir, we'd very much like to get started as soon as we can," said Hotch.

Abner sighed.

"Oh, of course, of course. Forgive me," said Abner as he opened up a drawer, "Uh, we, uh we don't really have interrogation facilities, but I do have a small room that you can use. You're not armed?" asked Abner.

"We secured our weapons before we arrived. It's not our first time in a prison," said Hotch.

Abner laughed.

"No, no, I suppose that's true," said Abner as he clapped Hotch on the shoulder, "I have to say, when I heard that he'd contacted you, I was surprised," said Abner.

"Why?" asked Spencer.

"Chester Hardwick? He doesn't really talk much. To anyone," said Abner.

"Well, that usually changes when someone's about to die," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer started to unload the box that he carried into the interrogation room while Abner showed Spencer and Hotch the functions of the room.

"The, uh, the door will, of course, be locked from the outside, and this button here, it sounds audibly as well as triggers a flashing light to signal the guards," said Abner.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

"When you're finished," said Abner just as he saw the files that Spencer unloaded, "Are these the crime scene photos? Oh," said Abner.

"Uh, some of them, yes," said Spencer.

Abner grabbed two photos.

"God I knew what he did, of course, but I you know, never saw 23 victims like this," said Abner.

"Sometimes in these interviews, they talk about crimes they were never charged with, so it might even be more," said Spencer.

"Is it ever less?" asked Abner.

"No," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Abner.

"Uh, please. Paying attention to these items projects a kind of importance on them. When he comes in, I'd like to give him the opportunity to show   
us which parts of the crimes he thinks are important," said Hotch.

"Sorry. Of course. Sorry," said Abner.

"It's all right," said Hotch just as Chester was brought into the room.

"Chains left on, right?" asked a guard.

Spencer looked at Chester.

"That's probably a good idea," said Spencer.

"No. It won't be necessary," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"It won't?" asked Spencer.

"You sure?" asked a guard.

"Mm-hmm," said Hotch while he looked at Chester, "We're just gonna talk, Right, Chester?" asked Hotch while the guard unchained Chester.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting down at the table getting files situated while Hotch looked at Chester.

"Sit down," said Hotch.

"I'd like This window opened. I'll answer any question you have, but only if this window is open," said Chester.

"Go ahead," said Hotch before he looked at his brother-in-law, "Reid," said Hotch.

As soon as the window was opened, Spencer looked at Chester.

"You were born April 4, 1950?" asked Spencer.

"Does my birthdate really matter?" asked Chester.

"It's customary for us to start at the beginning. We want to try to know as much as we can about your childhood," said Spencer.

"There's nothing to know. It was average. I lived in a nice house on a quiet street. I ate cereal. I went to school. I watched cartoons," said Chester.

Hotch glared at Chester.

"I don't have time for this. You didn't live in a nice house on a quiet street. You grew up in a series of projects in East Bridgeport, each one worse than the last. You spent your teenage years peeping into your female neighbors' windows and burglarizing their underwear drawers when you got the chance. And you set 100 small fires for which you spent two years in juvenile detention," said Hotch.

"We've done extensive research, Mr. Hardwick, and we've talked to almost everyone you've ever known including your mother," said Spencer.

Chester turned around and looked at Spencer and Hotch.

"Good old Jean? I'll bet she was a real treat," said Chester.

"Good old Jean's down the street in the state hospital," said Hotch.

"At this point, lying to us isn't really possible or helpful," said Spencer.

"Well, then, you're wrong," said Chester.

"About what?" asked Hotch.

"I started a lot more than 100 fires," said Chester.

xxxxxx

"What do you want to hear? How Papa kicked me and good Old Jean's ass every single day? That kind of thing you want to hear?" asked Chester.

"If its true," said Spencer.

"Nobody gives a damn about the truth," said Chester.

xxxxxx

Chester stood by the open window.

"Temperature's dropping. It's that time of year. Warm days, cold nights," said Chester.

Spencer thought about how happy Diana is about getting to play outside more.

"It'll be summer soon," said Spencer.

"But not for you," said Hotch.

"No not for me," said Chester.

Spencer decided to get serious.

"Let's, um, let's talk about the specifics of the case. Why did you choose Sheila O'Neal?" asked Spencer.

"You gotta show me a picture. I don't know their names," said Chester.

"Is that what this is all about, some chance to relive all of this?" asked Hotch.

"I have an excellent memory. I thought you wanted to hear the truth. Truth is, they meant nothing to me. They were toys, a diversion, and from the moment I decided to kill them, they were dead. They begged, they cried, they bargained, and it didn't matter, because they didn't matter. Sometimes I wish I was normal, that I'd had a regular life. But I didn't," said Chester.

Hotch sighed.

"Why did you ask us here?" asked Hotch.

"I wanted to smell the air," said Chester.

Hotch looked at Chester.

"What?" asked Hotch.

"They've got me on death watch. And I will be until they take me to the death chamber. So I wanted to smell the air one last time before I die. Thank you for giving me that," said Chester.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Let's pack it up," said Hotch.

"Shouldn't we at least-" asked Spencer.

"Not now," said Hotch.

Spencer stood up and slung his messenger bag around his shoulders.

"Have a nice trip, Chester," said Hotch as he pressed the button to alert the guards, "You're going where you belong," said Hotch as he pressed the button again.

As Spencer continued to pack up, a smirking Chester looked at Hotch.

"It's 5:17. Evening yard started at 5:00. Guard staff's outside with the population. There won't be anyone to open that door for at least 13 minutes," said Chester as he picked up a crime scene photo, "And it took me Less than five to do this. While you were doing your research, maybe a question or two about security tones would have been a good idea," said Chester.

Spencer shifted on his feet while Hotch looked at Chester.

"I heard the tones," said Hotch.

"So you planned to be locked inside with me, with no guns or weapons," said Chester.

"I won't need a gun," said Hotch.

Spencer shuffled towards a pillar.

"There's no way they're gonna execute me next week, not after I kill two FBI agents. You saved my life by coming here," said Chester.

Hotch looked at Chester.

"But unfortunately for you, I'm not a 5-foot-tall 100-pound girl," said Hotch as he removed his suit jacket and started to remove his tie, "All your life you've gone after victims who couldn't fight back. And the rest of the time you spent looking over your shoulder, worried about the knock on the door, scared that somebody like me would be on the other side waiting to put you away. At your core, You're a coward," said Hotch.

At that moment Chester started to charge towards Hotch causing Spencer to speak up.

"Chester, do you want to know why you killed those women?" asked Spencer.

Chester looked at Spencer.

"What?" asked Chester.

"Earlier you said you wish that you were different. I can tell you why you killed them, why you are what you are," said Spencer.

"You can tell me why I did the things I did?" asked Chester.

"I think so. I do. Your mother's bipolar And almost certainly an undifferentiated Schizophrenic. Your father suffered severe shell shock in the war, what we now refer to As post-traumatic stress disorder. As far as I can tell, he remained clinically depressed the rest of his life. A form of mental illness in their family. In your case, both your parents suffered from psychological disorders, which they largely took out on they beat each other as much as they beat you, so violence became a natural expression of love there's something called the hypothalamic region of the limbic system. It's the most primitive part of the brain. It wants what it wants without conscience and without judgment," said Spencer as he instantly thought about Bridget and his unborn son, "It's what makes babies cry when they're hungry, uh, scream when they want affection, become enraged when a toy is taken away. In most children, a healthy relationship with their mother counters the hypothalamus and maps the child's brain into healthy emotional response your hypothalamus never learned control. It still operates on that primitive level your records indicate that you display the symptoms Of satyriasis. You're obsessed with sex. Sex and love are cross-wired with pain in your additionally, your hypothalamus won't allow you to stop seeking the- the desires that it wants. So you became a sexual sadist no functioning sexual partner will ever willingly submit to the painful desires that you have. The only way you can serve them is by making a partner compliant making sure that they do exactly what you want them to do. And you ensure that by killing them. Earlier, you said your victims never had a chance. I think you know deep down it was you who really never had a chance," said Spencer.

At that moment a guard three guards entered the room.

"Everything all right in here?" asked one of the guards.

"Fine. We're done," said Hotch.

Chester looked at Spencer.

"Is that true, I never had a chance?" asked Chester.

"I don't know. Maybe," said Spencer before he hurried away.

xxxxxxxx

After driving for two hours in silence, Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"That was smart to get Hardwick to focus on himself long enough for the guards to come back," said Hotch.

"With you knowing me for seven years, four months, and three days we both know that I do some of my best work under intense terror," said Spencer.

Hotch lightly chuckled before he became serious.

"I'm sorry," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"For what?" asked Spencer.

"I antagonized the situation," said Hotch.

"No, you didn't," said Spencer.

"Well, I certainly didn't help," said Hotch.

Spencer thought about how he had to save Hotch and himself from Chester.

"Ah I guess you didn't really help," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law and decided that he needed to explain himself.

"While you were getting some sleep on the way to Connecticut I got a call from Haley who told me that Jack has chicken pox so I won't be having Jack this weekend or next weekend since she doesn't want Diana and Bridget to catch chicken pox," said Hotch.

"I appreciate her for protecting my daughters and I hope my favorite nephew feels better soon, and Diana's going to be disappointed when I tell her that she won't be seeing her cousin this weekend," said Spencer.

Hotch thought about his sister.

"Can you please not tell my sister what I did so I don't have to deal with my hormonal sister being angry with me?" asked Hotch.

Spencer shook his head.

"I'm not going to lie to my wife because if Clarissa finds out that I lied to her, I afraid of what your sister would do to me," said Spencer.

"Well hopefully her blood pressure doesn't get too high when she yells at me," said Hotch.

"At least there are only 14-weeks until Evan makes his debut, and I'm very excited about getting to hold my firstborn son," said Spencer.

"Have you and Clarissa decided on a theme for my nephew's nursery yet?" asked Hotch.

"Clarissa and I asked Diana for her opinion on what should be the theme of her baby brother's nursery, and she wants us to do a frog themed nursery for Evan," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled fondly as he thought about his oldest niece.

"Because "The Frog Prince" is her favorite fairy tale right now?" asked Hotch.

Spencer laughed as he thought about how Diana insists on reading "The Frog Prince" every night before she goes to sleep.

"Exactly," said Spencer.

"With this upcoming weekend being free for me, I'll be glad to help you paint the nursery," said Hotch.

"Clarissa was already planning on recruiting you to help me," said Spencer before looking at Hotch, "Since you and Emily have been dating since September, have you two talked about children?" asked Spencer.

"Emily and I are planning on adopting an older child in a couple of years," said Hotch.

Spencer thought about the case they had in Colorado shortly after his 26th birthday.

"Because our job has shown us that there are children who are in need of a good home so they can thrive and have a good future instead of becoming serial killers due to growing up in an abusive foster home," said Spencer.

"Exactly, and your past is one of the reasons why Emily and I agreed on adoption since your aunt and uncle did a great job raising you," said Hotch.

Spencer blushed a little bit.

"Knowing Diana, she'll want you and Emily to adopt a little girl around her age so she can have a cousin her age to play with," said Spencer.

"I was thinking the same thing too, but adopting a child won't happen for another couple of years because I would want to marry Emily first," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled a little bit.

"At least you'll put your mother's engagement ring to use because Clarissa wanted to wear my mom's engagement ring," said Spencer.

"I know," said Hotch.

xxxxxxx

Later on that night a tired Diana looked at her favorite uncle.

"Can you please tuck me in and read "The Frog Prince" to me, uncle Aaron?" asked Diana.

"I sure can, squirt," said Hotch as he lifted up Diana and settled her on his hip, "Give your mommy and daddy each a kiss before I take you upstairs," said Hotch.

A few seconds later Spencer accepted a sloppy kiss from Diana.

"Good night, daddy, and I love you," said Diana.

"Good night, bumble bee, and I love you too," said Spencer.

Diana then gave a kiss to her mommy.

"Good night, mommy, and I love you," said Diana.

"Good night, sweet pea, and I love you too," said Clarissa.

As soon as Hotch took Diana upstairs, Clarissa looked at her husband.

"How did that custodial interview go?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer helped Clarissa sit down.

"Please don't get too angry about what I'm about to tell you because I don't want to take you to the emergency room due to high blood pressure," said Spencer firmly.

"OK," said Clarissa.

Spencer quickly recounted what happened in that interrogation room, and when he was finished, Spencer looked at his fuming wife.

"Are you OK?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, but I'm glad that you were there to save Aaron's ass," said Clarissa.

A minute later Hotch came down the stairs and laid his eyes on his fuming sister who stood up and briskly walked over to him and slapped him on the face.

"Why in the world would you put Spence and yourself in danger like that by having Chester Hardwick unchained while you antagonized the situation?" asked a yelling Clarissa.

Spencer put a hand on his wife's arm.

"Don't yell because yelling isn't good for you and Evan and we don't want to wake up Diana and Bridget," said Spencer.

Clarissa took a few deep calming breaths before looking at her brother.

"Its a good thing that Spence was in that room with you because I know that things would have ended much differently in that interrogation room if someone else was with you," said Clarissa as she rubbed her 26-week pregnant belly and started to cry, "I need you to stay alive because Jack, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Spence, your team, Sean, and I all need you. I don't know if I would have survived if I lost both you and Spence today," cried Clarissa.

Hotch quickly pulled his sister into a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Clarissa," said Hotch.

"You promise that you won't pull a stunt like that again?" asked Clarissa.

"I promise," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"You already know that I've been making better decisions in the field since Hankel," said Spencer.

Clarissa pulled her husband into a kiss.

"I know, Spence," said Clarissa before looking at her brother, "Your going to stay the night," said Clarissa.

"I had a feeling that you were going to have me stay the night, so I brought in my go bag," said Hotch.

Clarissa looked at the clock and yawned.

"Since I only stayed up because of Diana insisting on staying down here until her daddy came home, we need to head to bed," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were getting into their own bed while Hotch fell asleep in the guest bedroom.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was sitting at his desk doing paperwork when he saw Morgan, JJ, Emily, and Rossi enter the bullpen.

"Pretty boy. How was Connecticut with your brother-in-law?" asked Morgan.

"Ultimately uneventful," said Spencer.

"I'm going to let Penelope know that I'm back," said Morgan as he walked away to see his girlfriend.

"I'm glad that they got together before Hotch would let us lock them in an interrogation room, Emily," said Spencer.

Emily laughed.

"I know," said Emily.

"Garcia and Morgan sitting in a tree," sang JJ.

Spencer and Emily laughed.

"I can never forget the time Clarissa had to explain that song to me," said Spencer.

"You never knew that song until Clarissa explained it to you?" asked Emily.

"I graduated high school when I was 12, Emily," said Spencer.

"What caused Clarissa to explain that song to you?" asked Emily.

"When I was dating Clarissa, she dragged me along on one of her volunteer sessions so I could put on a magic show for the kids. When I asked Clarissa to give me a kiss for part of the magic trick I was doing, a bunch of the kids started singing that song. And during Thanksgiving last year, Diana started singing that song when she walked in on Clarissa and me having a make-out session before I cut up an orange for her," said Spencer.

Emily laughed.

"So that's why you and Clarissa disappeared for a while when Clarissa asked you to help her in the kitchen," said Emily.

Spencer blushed a bit as he looked at Emily.

"You should let Hotch know that your back. Don't forget to ask him about what happened in Connecticut because my 26-week pregnant wife   
ended up slapping her brother for what happened during the interview," said Spencer.

"I better go ask him what happened," said Emily as she got up and headed to Hotch's office.

A few seconds later Spencer was focusing on his paperwork again as he felt the excitement of going home to Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget.


	33. A Higher Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Mention of suicide in this chapter so please read at your own risk.

Clarissa rubbed her 27-week pregnant stomach causing Diana who was petting Merton and Daisy to look at her mommy and daddy.

"How much longer until Evan is born?" asked Diana.

Spencer who was playing with a babbling eight-month-old Bridget looked at his oldest daughter.

"13 more weeks, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"When will Bridget start walking?" asked Diana.

"She'll start walking when she's ready," said Clarissa.

"When did I start walking?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled.

"You took your first steps on my 23rd birthday when you were nine-months-old, so taking your first steps on my birthday made my birthday even better," said Spencer before he looked at a babbling Bridget and burst out laughing when he saw Bridget's right hand.

"What's so funny, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Check out Bridget's right hand," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at Bridget's right hand and gasped at the sight of Bridget sticking out her middle finger causing her to burst into a fit of giggles as tears fell down her face.

"What so funny?" asked Diana.

"Just don't copy what Bridget's currently doing with her right hand," said Spencer.

Diana looked at Bridget's right hand.

"Mrs. Lee told us that sticking our middle finger out is a very rude gesture after Sammy stuck his middle finger out at her," said Diana seriously.

"Seems like Sammy is the class clown," said Clarissa.

"He gets a lot of timeouts, and will Bridget get a timeout for doing a naughty gesture?" asked Diana.

"She won't get a timeout because at eight-months-old Bridget doesn't know that sticking out her middle finger is very naughty," said Clarissa.

"When will Bridget start getting timeouts?" asked Diana.

"Eventually Bridget will get timeouts for when she does something wrong because we started giving you timeouts when you were 18-months-old," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was standing in the conference room with JJ, Morgan, Emily, and Rossi when JJ slid a photocopy of a newspaper article onto the table.

"Three months ago a fire in the Shadyside rec center killed 14 children," said JJ.

Spencer sighed sadly as he thought about how Clarissa cried when they heard about that fire.

"I remember that," said Morgan.

"What does that have to do with us?" asked Rossi.

"Well, over the past three months there's been five suicides. All of them lost a child in the fire. The last one was Paul Baleman. He was found electrocuted in his bathtub yesterday. I received a request for our help," said JJ.

Spencer slid the yellow notepad over to himself and started to read it.

"Why do they need our help? They're suicides," said Morgan.

Spencer quickly noticed a pattern.

"All of the suicides were within two weeks of each other. It could be some kind of pattern," said Spencer as he stood up to his full height.

"Detective Ronnie Baleman, Pittsburgh, PD thinks that something's going on," said JJ.

"Well, of course, he does," deadpanned Morgan.

"Why do you say that?" asked Emily.

"He's related to that man, right?" asked Rossi.

"His brother," said JJ.

"A cop who doesn't believe his brother committed suicide," said Morgan before everyone stayed silent for a moment, "Come on, next case," said Morgan before he started to walk away.

"Now, wait a second," said Emily causing Morgan to stop walking, "Five suicides in the same neighborhood within months? That's a serious spike," said Emily.

"Suicides don't spike after a tragedy," said Rossi.

"Quite the opposite, actually. Following World War I and II, right after Kennedy was shot, and following 9/11, suicides plummeted. Within a society, external threats usually create group integrations," said Spencer.

"People come together," said JJ.

Spencer inwardly smiled as he thought about grief was what brought him and Clarissa together.

"So if there's reason for doubt, which there obviously is, don't those families left behind have a right to know?" asked Emily.

"Yes, they do," said Rossi.

"OK, sure, they deserve to know, but let somebody else tell them, like social services," said Morgan.

After Rossi watched Hotch leave, he looked at JJ.

"Contact Detective Baleman. Let him know we're coming," said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer was at his desk sending Clarissa a text message.

I'M GOING TO PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA. AND AARON IS STAYING BEHIND FOR A DAY TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH JACK. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU. ~ SR

xxxxxx

Spencer had his glasses on as he sat between Morgan and the aisle with a Sudoku book on his lap when Morgan looked at his teammates.

"Hotch would never have taken this case. And I say case in the loosest sense," said Morgan.

"We'll follow the facts as they are without bias. Isn't that what we do?" asked Rossi.

"What facts, Rossi? Look at us. We don't have a single file," said Morgan.

Rossi leaned against a seat and looked at Morgan.

"OK, let me help you out," said Rossi as he looked at Spencer, Emily, and JJ, "Jump right in anytime. Fact one- there are no files, so it seems no case," said Rossi.

"But what if there is?" asked Emily.

"One fire, 14 deaths, five suicides," said Spencer.

"All the suicides are connected to the original fire," said JJ.

"And all exactly two weeks apart," said Emily.

"Come on, Derek, you can't tell me that doesn't feel a lot like a pattern?" asked Rossi.

"And a timeline," added Emily.

"Right?" asked Rossi.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"A lot of people lost their kids in that fire. That's a whole world of grief, and for a few... Suicide's their only way out," said Morgan.

Rossi looked at Morgan.

"Or someone decided it was," said Rossi.

"And made it look this way?" asked Morgan.

"What if they have?" asked Rossi.

Everyone stayed silent for a moment.

"Then we're looking for one very smart unsub," said Morgan.

"Who targets people in grief," said Emily.

"And that would make them what?" asked Rossi.

"Someone who thinks they're putting them out of their misery," said JJ.

"An angel of death," said Spencer just as his cell phone vibrated causing Spencer to see a new picture of Bridget sitting in a baby swing at the park with a huge grin on her face.

I ASKED BRIDGET IF I SHOULD TAKE HER PICTURE FOR YOU AND CLARISSA, SHE GAVE ME A HUGE GRIN. ~ LR

"What are you smiling about?" asked Emily.

"Lucy just sent me a picture of Bridget," said Spencer as he passed his phone around.

Rossi who was looking at the picture of a grinning Bridget looked at Spencer.

"With how fast your eight-month-old daughter is growing, are you getting excited about having another baby in the house?" asked Rossi.

"Very," said Spencer.

"Who are you hoping for Evan to look like more?" asked JJ.

"Clarissa wants Evan to look just like me," said Spencer.

"What about you?" asked Emily.

"I want Evan to look like Clarissa," said Spencer.

"What does Diana think?" asked Rossi.

"Because of Diana being a perfect mixture of Clarissa and me, she wants Evan to be a perfect mixture too," said Spencer before smiling a  
little bit, "Either way, I just want my son to be born healthy," said Spencer.

xxxxx

Spencer followed his teammates into the Pittsburgh Police Department when a man approached them.

"Agent Jareau?" asked Detective Baleman.

JJ shook hands with Detective Baleman.

"Hi. I'm Detective Ronnie Baleman," said Detective Baleman.

"Hi. This is SSA Rossi, SSAs Morgan, Prentiss, and Dr. Reid, said JJ.

Spencer waved.

"Thank you, all of you, for coming," said Detective Baleman.

Morgan looked at everyone who was in the bullpen.

"Well, your colleagues don't look all that happy to see us," said Morgan.

"They didn't just lose a brother," said Detective Baleman.

Spencer looked at Detective Baleman.

"I'd like to get started on all the files. We're gonna build what we call psychological autopsies to determine whether the victims killed  
themselves," said Spencer.

Detective Baleman pointed at a stack of boxes.

"Everything's in those boxes," said Detective Baleman.

Spencer headed towards the boxes as he listened to his teammates talk to Detective Baleman.

"We'd also like to take a look at your brother's house," said Emily.

"I'll take you there," said Detective Baleman.

"I think it's better if you stay here," said Rossi.

"It's my case. I brought you here," protested Detective Baleman.

"Technically, there is no case. If there was, you wouldn't be on it," said Morgan.

At that moment Spencer looked up and watched his teammates talk to Detective Baleman.

"We need to profile the scene without bias," said Emily.

Spencer looked over at Detective Baleman.

"I could use your help with these files. It looks like there's quite a few," said Spencer.

A few seconds later JJ and Detective Baleman joined Spencer.

"My brother kept a journal," said Detective Baleman as he grabbed a journal and passed it to Spencer, "I found this on the desk in his bedroom. Read the last page. They're not the words of a suicidal man," said Detective Baleman.

Spencer started reading through the journal.

"You seem pretty sure that an unsub exists," said JJ.

"So are you. You're here, aren't you?" asked Detective Baleman.

Spencer and JJ exchanged glances.

xxxxxx

Spencer was looking at the bulletin board while Detective Baleman looked at JJ who was holding a picture of his brother.

"Go ahead. Put it up," said Detective Baleman.

Spencer turned around and looked at JJ and Detective Baleman.

"This is a physical representation of the five equivocal deaths. Together with the profile of each case, we'll build psychological autopsies of each person," said Spencer.

Detective Baleman looked at the photos on the board.

"And this will tell us if it was suicide or murder?" asked Detective Baleman.

"Uh, suicide, yes, murder, no," answered Spencer.

"And you think it's a pretty good indicator?" asked Detective Baleman.

"Since its inception in 1958, it's proven to carry a 92% accuracy rate in cases that have gone to trial," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

Spencer was jotting some notes down when Detective Baleman looked at JJ.

"Well, if these autopsies prove they weren't suicides, then I need to inform the media right away," said Detective Baleman.

"I would air on the side of caution," said JJ.

"What? People need to know," protested Detective Baleman.

"And they will, as soon as we have absolute proof. I think the town's been through enough already, don't you?" asked JJ.

Spencer looked at Detective Baleman.

"Also keep in mind that if these cases are related, this unsub's probably already aware that we're onto him," said Spencer.

JJ nodded.

"But the community needs to know if there's a serial killer in its midst," protested Detective Baleman.

"And they will, as soon as we have proof," said JJ.

"Even if the proof means another body," said Detective Baleman.

Spencer and JJ both stayed silent before Detective Baleman walked away before JJ rubbed her eyes and sighed.

"He's right, you know," said JJ.

"He's also personally motivated, though, which means he's likely to react irrationally," said Spencer.

"If this turns out to be the work of a serial killer, the whole town will, too," said JJ.

Spencer looked at JJ.

"Morgan's behavior in the conference room and on the jet reminded me of how Diana was during the terrible twos," said Spencer.

JJ laughed.

"I've noticed that Diana is usually a well behaved for a four-year-old," said JJ.

"She is because Clarissa and I award her with stickers for completing certain everyday tasks. And if Diana has a certain amount of stickers at the end of the week, Clarissa, Lucy, or I take her out for ice cream," said Spencer.

xxxx

Spencer watched the latest victim's husband walk past him with Jakey in his arms before he entered the kitchen just as JJ tossed a toy into the playpen.

"Father found him in the high chair. Not a scratch," said JJ.

Spencer sighed in relief as he looked at the playpen causing him to instantly think about Bridget.

"Remember, the unsub believes he's on some kind of a mission. The child is of no importance to him," said Rossi before looking at Spencer who was looking at the playpen, "You find a suicide note?" asked Rossi.

"I haven't found one yet," said Spencer.

Rossi noticed a look on Spencer's face.

"So what are you thinking?" asked Rossi.

"In every case, there's no evidence of a struggle," said Spencer.

"Or breaking and entering," said Rossi before looking at JJ, "I'm going to need you and Emily to contact all of the families affected by the fire and inform them what's going on. They need to be warned immediately," said Rossi.

JJ quickly walked away before Rossi looked at Spencer who was still glancing at the playpen.

"Are you missing a certain Bellissimo eight-month-old ragazza and her Bellissimo four-year-old sister?" asked Rossi.

"I am, and I miss their mother too. But I'm excited about getting to spend a month with my wife and kids after Evan's born," said Spencer.

Rossi became serious.

"The question is, how did he get in?" asked Rossi.

"Beth must have let him in. I mean, she had to," said Spencer.

"They all let him in, said Rossi.

xxxxx

JJ looked at the letters that Spencer was analyzing before looking at Spencer.

"Anything to tell us whether these are suicides or not?" asked JJ.

Spencer was towards the table that he was working at.

"These are some samples from Diedre Nollard, the jumper," said Spencer as he grabbed a letter, "See, we have an insurance form, a letter  


Detective Baleman looked at Spencer.

"Suicide note matches, right?" asked Detective Baleman.

"Definitely by her own hand, but she's professing regret. Look," said Spencer as he walked back to the note and started to read it, ""Uh, I'm sorry I let you down. Please forgive me. I disappointed you." and so on. But the handwriting, the forensic analysis is saying the exact opposite," said Spencer.

"What do you mean?" asked JJ.

"Um...well, you see how the handwriting slants uphill?" asked Spencer as he placed a clear copy of the letter over the original, "It's a clear sign of optimism. The same with how the spacing is so consistent. And these long t-bars- those indicate an enthusiastic person," said Spencer.

"Not someone who would take a swan dive off a five-story walk-up," said Detective Baleman.

"Look, even if we had alerted the media-, said JJ.

"Now we'll never know. Like I said, that's on me. But, hey, now we have the proof that these aren't suicides," said Detective Baleman while Spencer squinted at the detective, "Those notes, were they coerced?" asked Detective Baleman.

"If you were to force someone to write their own suicide note, these are words you generally wouldn't use," said Spencer.

Detective Baleman looked at Spencer.

"I'll take that as a no. And my brother's journal?" asked Detective Baleman.

"I haven't- it's extensive. I haven't-," said Spencer.

"Another no. Can we inform the media now?" asked Detective Baleman.

"I have," said JJ.

At that moment Morgan knocked on the door.

"I need you all outside," said Morgan.

A few minutes later Spencer, JJ, Morgan, and Detective Baleman met up with Rossi, Emily, and Hotch causing Spencer to give his brother-in-law a small smile while Rossi gestured Hotch to Detective Baleman.

"This is SSA Aaron Hotchner. He's just arrived," said Rossi.

"What have we got?" asked Hotch.

"Including extended families, over 100 individuals within the Pittsburgh area were affected by that fire," said Rossi.

"So this unsub is targeting grief, eh?" asked Hotch.

"Grief?" asked Detective Baleman.

"An event. A single event in this unsub's life led him to end the life of someone he believes had to die. From that moment on, he created his own sense of morality- what is right and what is wrong- and he rationalizes what he did, that first kill over and over again, by targeting people that he believes can't be saved by anyone other than himself. He decides who lives and who dies, and this gives him an all-consuming sense of power," said Spencer.

"So they're not gonna stop anytime soon?" asked Detective Baleman.

"Well, that's assuming there's someone to actually stop," said Morgan.

"And if there is, he's convinced he's on a mission of mercy, and even after he's caught, he'll maintain he did nothing wrong," said Hotch.

"He?" asked Detective Baleman.

"White male, mid to late 30s, he's polite, forthcoming, doesn't stand out. And we believe his victims, these families, are all letting him in," said Rossi.

"My brother and his wife weren't letting anyone in. If anything, they were closing themselves off," said Detective Baleman.

"Well, this unsub has found a way in, one that's very hard to trace," said Rossi.

"In every case, there was no evidence of a struggle, no attempt at escapes," said Morgan.

"He finds a personal connection and uses it to buy time," said Hotch.

"And my officers need to know this," said Detective Baleman.

"We've found... That angels of mercy are often people in the medical profession, as well as law enforcement," said Hotch.

"Cops," said Detective Baleman.

"Which is why we're meeting out here," said Emily.

"Now, we're only fishing. We don't want to point a finger," said Rossi.

"Point it. I don't give a damn," said Detective Baleman.

"If that's what it's about, let us figure out where to point it," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"I asked Garcia to check into emergency responders around the scene of the fire," said Spencer.

"Good," said Hotch before looking at his girlfriend, "Prentiss?" asked Hotch.

"He's smart. he knows all about these people's schedules, their routines," said Emily.

"Look, if this unsub does exist, this is a guy who's all about control. He chooses how they die, when they die. He even positions them exactly how he wants them to die. That makes him hypervigilant, a guy who's always on the lookout, risk-averse, unseen," said Morgan.

"The only way to stop him is to find out how he's managed to get into all of his victims' lives," said Emily.

"We find that out, we've got our killer," said Rossi.

"We can start bringing people in, find the connection," said Hotch as he reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a piece of paper and looked at his brother-in-law, "Jack wanted me to give this to you," said Hotch.

Spencer opened up the picture and he smiled when he saw a coloring book page that included a picture of a magician that showed signs of being colored in by a two-year-old.

"I guess I'll try to find a few minutes to call my favorite nephew and thank him for the picture," said Spencer.

"He's your only nephew," said Hotch.

Detective Baleman looked between Spencer and Hotch.

"Are you two related?" asked Detective Baleman.

"Dr. Reid is married to my baby sister," said Hotch.

xxxxxxx

Spencer started pacing after he did a linguistic analysis on the latest letter from the crime scene.

"They all have the same type of tone. It's uncanny," said Spencer.

"And you're saying that they all wrote these willingly?" asked Emily.

Spencer turned around and looked at Emily before he pointed at one of the letters.

"None of them are forced, but even here in Curtis Fackler's, he never says goodbye. It's like they're not meant for anybody, not for a wife, not for a kid," said Spencer.

"Then who are they writing them to?" asked Emily.

Spencer thought about the letter he had to write to himself after he lost his aunt and uncle.

"They're amends, to themselves, and I- I believe they're written as part of a program," said Spencer.

"Program?" asked Emily.

"The five stages of grief- in some self-help groups they ask you to write down an amends to yourself," said Spencer.

"Is that right?" asked Emily.

"After aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon died, I attended a grief counseling group and I had to write a letter to myself because I practically blamed myself for taking aunt Ethel away from her sister so I can attend Yale with the proper adult supervision I needed," said Spencer.

"And all of these groups are anonymous, right?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded, and a few minutes later Detective Baleman was with them while Spencer and Emily video chatted with Garcia.

"Well, just to give you an idea of what we're dealing with here, just for alcoholic support groups for tonight, Monday, there are...91 around  
Pittsburgh Proper," said Garcia.

"You gotta be kidding me. That many?" asked Detective Baleman.

"They have different meetings all day and night, different locations, different degrees of participation, of religiousness," said Spencer.

"OK, I've sent you a schedule of meetings for the major grief staples- alcohol, drugs, depression, and loss- all within a two-mile radius of Shadyside. there are 11," said Garcia.

Emily walked over to the printer.

"Can we get a list of names?" asked Detective Baleman.

"No," said Spencer.

"Why not?" asked Detective Baleman.

"They're anonymous. That's how he's been getting away with it," said Spencer.

"Let's gather the troops. We're gonna need all the people you can spare," said Emily.

"You got it," said Detective Baleman.

Spencer looked at Detective Baleman.

"I ended up attending meetings for loss when I was 19 because I lost my aunt and uncle who adopted me after my parents died when I was four to a drunk driver. Even though it has been over 22 years since I lost my parents and over seven years since I lost my aunt and uncle, I occasionally attend meetings around the anniversaries of their deaths," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

After learning about their unsub; Spencer, Hotch, JJ, Emily, Morgan, and Rossi had Garcia on the phone.

"OK, so we've got two names- James and Peter," said Emily.

"And the university- Brassard," said Hotch.

"Well, that'll make it easier for you, Garcia," said JJ.

"If the unsub's father really taught at Brassard, chances are he's local," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at his teammates and Detective Baleman.

"Ah," said Spencer.

Hotch noticed a certain look on his brother-in-law's face.

"Reid?" asked Hotch.

"Angels of mercy, they repeat the same event over and over again," said Spencer.

"What are you getting at?" asked Morgan.

"Well, if as you said, the story's true, then he's leaving one key piece of information out. The event that started it all," said Spencer.

Hotch realized what his brother-in-law was saying.

"His brother didn't kill himself," said Hotch.

Emily's eyes went wide.

"Peter did," said Emily.

"The fire caused such grief and suffering that it became the trigger," said Spencer.

"And unable to stop himself, he targets someone he believes needs his help," said Morgan.

"At first he keeps to some kind of timeline, a few weeks, but the last two kills were within days," said Spencer.

"He's devolving," said Rossi.

"I got it. It's from 1984. It's the Brassard College university newspaper," said Garcia.

"Garcia, they lived on campus?" asked Emily.

"Yeah. It says here James Redding was the youngest suicide in Pennsylvanian history. And his father Charles Redding was a professor.  
Creep," said Garcia.

"Is there any possibility that while we've been talking, you've been multitasking?" asked Emily.

"What, track down his current address?" asked Garcia.

"Ha ha. I love you, Penelope Garcia," said Emily.

"Ha. get in line," said Garcia before she hung up.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer stood with Hotch, Rossi, and Detective Baleman who looked at Spencer, Hotch, and Rossi.

"I wanted to thank you for all you did and for believing me when no one else did," said Detective Baleman.

Rossi looked at Detective Baleman.

"Ron…," said Rossi.

"Thank you," said Detective Baleman.

"Paul's journal- I read it," said Spencer as he took a deep breath before deciding to say the detective's first name, "Ronnie, your brother Paul wasn't murdered," said Spencer.

Rossi decided to take over.

"In Peter's apartment, unlike all the other victims, Paul's name was nowhere to be found," said Rossi.

"I-I don't understand. You said the psychological autopsy was inconclusive," said Detective Baleman.

"Further analysis of the journal concludes it was suicide," said Hotch.

"I'm sorry," said Rossi.

"You're wrong. But like I said, thanks for coming," said Detective Baleman before he walked away.

xxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on one end of the couch on the jet reading one of the books that he packed when Rossi looked at Spencer.

"How is Evan's nursery coming along?" asked Rossi.

"First coat of green paint got painted last Saturday with Hotch's, Lucy's, and Diana's help, and this weekend we'll be painting the second coat," said Spencer.

"Why green paint?" asked Rossi.

"Two weekends ago Clarissa and I asked Diana to help us decide the theme for Evan's nursery, and Diana decided that we'll do a frog  
themed nursery," smiled Spencer.

Hotch looked at Rossi.

"Diana's favorite fairy tale is "The Frog Prince" so that's why she decided on frogs," said Hotch.

At that moment Spencer's cell phone vibrated causing Spencer to softly chuckle at the text message that Clarissa sent him so he couldn't wake JJ up.

I'M REALLY CRAVING A COOKIE DOUGH BLIZZARD FROM DAIRY QUEEN RIGHT NOW. ~ CR

"What's so funny?" asked Hotch.

"Your sister is craving a cookie dough blizzard from Dairy Queen right now. So if I'm able to go straight home, I would take Bridget with me to Dairy Queen when they open before stopping at Washington International School with the Blizzard and surprise Clarissa and Diana," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"I was already planning that we all have today off and paperwork can wait until tomorrow, so you can go straight home and see Bridget," said Hotch.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

"You didn't tell Clarissa or Diana that you're coming home today?" asked Rossi.

"I enjoy seeing the looks on their faces when I surprise them after a case," said Spencer before he returned to his book.

xxxxxxx

A few hours later Clarissa was sitting at her desk looking at a picture of her, Spencer, Diana, and Bridget together when she heard a familiar voice.

"Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama," said Bridget.

Clarissa slowly stood up and smiled when she saw Bridget crawling towards her.

"What are you doing here, Bridget Mackenzie?" asked Clarissa.

Bridget scrambled into a sitting position and pointed at the door.

"Dada ho," said Bridget.

At that moment Spencer entered his wife's office.

"I got home three hours ago, and I have today off," said Spencer as he held up a large cookie dough Blizzard, "I believe that you ordered a cookie dough Blizzard from Dairy Queen, milady," said Spencer as he bowed down before setting the Blizzard onto Clarissa's desk.

Clarissa laughed as she quickly headed towards her husband and slapped his chest.

"You," laughed Clarissa before she grabbed her husband's tie and pulled Spencer into a kiss.

20 seconds later Spencer and Clarissa broke out of their kiss to Bridget's laughter and a few kids standing in the doorway giggling causing Spencer to scoop up Bridget before he rested a hand on his wife's growing belly and smiled when he felt a kick.

"I missed you," said Spencer.

"I missed you too," said Clarissa before she kissed Bridget's head.

"I should let you get back to work while I go surprise Diana before I take Bridget home," said Spencer.

"Should I call Mrs. Lee and let her know that your coming?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head.

"When I signed in as a visitor, I requested that you and Diana weren't alerted about me being here because I wanted to surprise two of my three favorite girls since I already surprised Bridget," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at Bridget.

"You must have been very happy when you saw daddy walk into the house," said Clarissa.

Bridget grinned at her daddy.

"Aye," said Bridget.

Spencer looked at Bridget.

"What do you say about visiting Diana before I take you to the park?" asked Spencer.

Bridget grinned at the mention of her big sister's name.

"Aye," said Bridget.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Have a fun day with Bridget," said Clarissa.

Spencer kissed his wife.

"I will," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was being let into Diana's preschool classroom and he smiled at the sight of Diana doing some multiplication problems on a chalkboard before Bridget decided to alert her presence.

"Hi," chirped Bridget.

Diana turned around when she heard her baby sister talk before her face lit up when she saw her daddy smiling at her.

"Daddy, your home!" cried Diana as she quickly ran over to her daddy and hugged him.

"Got home from Pittsburgh a couple of hours ago," said Spencer as he easily bent down and scooped up Diana with his free arm before returning to his full height with both of his daughters on his hips.

"You didn't tell mommy," said Diana as she gave her daddy a kiss on the cheek.

Spencer kissed Diana's cheek.

"I wanted to surprise you, mommy, and Bridget," said Spencer.

Mrs. Lee looked at Spencer.

"Since your here, do you want to do a few magic tricks for the children before you and Bridget head home?" asked Mrs. Lee.

"I was already planning on doing a few magic tricks," said Spencer before looking at Diana, "Would you like to have the honor of holding your baby sister during my magic show?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," grinned Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer was doing a card trick for his oldest daughter, Diana's classmates, and Diana's teachers.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that night, Spencer looked at Clarissa as they got ready for bed.

"Remember watching the news about the fire in Pittsburgh that killed 14 children?" asked Spencer.

"Was the case you just worked connected to that fire?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Spencer as he briefly told Clarissa about the case without giving any names.

When Spencer was finished, he looked at his wife.

"Professor Richards refused to let me be alone after I was told that my aunt and uncle were dead because he was afraid that I would commit suicide due to all of the losses I already dealt with. I knew that I had to stay alive and accept the help because I knew that aunt Elena and my godparents needed me since aunt Elena lost her son to a rattlesnake and Alex and James lost their son to an unknown illness," said Spencer.

"When I woke up at Children's National and Aaron and Sean told me that mom was dead and I could no longer compete in competitive figure skating, I actually thought about suicide. But knowing that my brothers lost their mother while almost losing me, I knew that my brothers couldn't lose me too," said Clarissa.

"And we both found someone who gave us another reason to live and start our futures," grinned Spencer.

"Nurse Janet Powell asked me to help her entertain the hospitalized children causing me to become a pediatric nurse," said Clarissa.

"And I met you," said Spencer as he kissed his wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Next up is Elephant's Memory, and I'll be making some changes because of Spencer not wanting to anger his 28-week pregnant wife in the next chapter. And Diana's IQ will be revealed in the next chapter because some of Spencer's behavior in the next chapter will be because of Diana's IQ and how worried he is over his oldest daughter.


	34. Elephant's Memory Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarissa's pregnancy hormones are shown in the beginning of this chapter.
> 
> Spencer doesn't attend Beltway Clean Cops in this chapter because Ryan Phillips didn't get killed by Jack Vaughn in front of Spencer who doesn't end up craving for Dilaudid in this chapter and the next one.
> 
> When it comes to Diana catching colds from preschool, every school year until graduation, I would always catch a total of three colds each school year before I started to get sick less after graduating from high school. Since graduating high school, I was lucky to go over a year without catching a cold even though I dealt with a total of three colds last winter.

Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in front of Mrs. Lee who looked at the 26-year-old parents.

"I have the results of Diana's IQ test that you two consented to," said Mrs. Lee as she passed the results to Spencer.

Spencer quickly read the report as his eyes went wide.

"Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Diana has an IQ of 168, and I scored 170 when I had my first IQ test. Also, Diana reads a total of 19,000 words per a minute," said Spencer.

Clarissa quickly grabbed her husband's hand and squeezed it.

"Even though you two are wanting to keep Diana with her peers for as long as possible, I really think that you two should consider the possibility of allowing Diana to skip a few grades in a few years because I'm giving her work that's meant for fifth graders," said Mrs. Lee.

Spencer closed his eyes as he started to flashback to some of the worst moments in high school before he looked at his wife.

"I need to get some air," said Spencer.

Clarissa squeezed her husband's hand.

"Go ahead, Spence," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer got out of his chair and sprinted out of the classroom, and a few seconds later Clarissa glared at Mrs. Lee.

"Spence was severely bullied in high school until one event happened that drastic action had to be taken, and Spence doesn't want Diana, Bridget, and Evan to be bullied like he was. And if you ever bring up the idea of Spence and me allowing Diana to skip a couple of grades next fall, Diana will be pulled out of this school and home-schooled by tutors while I return to Children's National instead of being a nurse here until Nurse Shelly returns from maternity leave," snapped Clarissa as she stood up and stormed out of the classroom.

A few minutes later Clarissa found her husband leaning against her minivan.

"You OK, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"I know that Diana has a really bright future ahead of her and I don't want her to be fast-tracked and start college before puberty like I did," said Spencer.

Clarissa hugged her husband the best she could.

"I know that your scared for Diana being a genius like you, but I'm scared too, but right now Diana's a happy and a well adjusted four-year-old girl," said Clarissa before looking at her husband as she rubbed her 28-week pregnant belly, "Lets go get some Indian food because Evan and I are both craving Indian food," said Clarissa.

Spencer grinned at his wife as he opened the front passenger seat for his wife.

"Your carriage awaits, milady," said Spencer as he bowed down to his wife.

"Thank you, kind sir," said Clarissa as she curtsied for her husband before Spencer helped her climb into the front passenger seat.

Xxxxxxxx 

Clarissa looked at her husband as they ate their food.

"With summer vacation for Diana coming up very quickly, we need to figure out what to do to keep her from getting too bored while Lucy and I focus on Bridget and eventually Evan," said Clarissa.

"It's a good thing that you brought up summer vacation because I've done some research a couple of weeks ago," said Spencer as he reached into his messenger bag and grabbed the information he printed off, "Georgetown University is offering a day camp for gifted children ages four through seven. And when Diana's seven, she can start going to residential camps in nearby states for gifted children," said Spencer.

Clarissa started to look through the information, and when she was finished, she looked at her husband.

"Did your aunt and uncle send you to camps like this?" asked Clarissa.

"They did so I can interact with other child prodigies, and I really enjoyed these camps," said Spencer.

"I guess we can see if your godmother can put in a good word to get Diana into this day camp," said Clarissa.

Spencer smirked.

"I already signed Diana up, and she's been accepted for the day camp," said Spencer.

"At least we won't have to worry about Diana being bored five days a week for two months," said Clarissa.

"I know," said Spencer just as his cell phone vibrated causing him to groan when he saw a text from JJ.

"Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"I just got called into work, so I need to pay the bill and get you home before I drive down to Quantico," said Spencer as he flagged a waiter over, "I need my bill as soon as possible," said Spencer.

"OK," said the waiter.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer rushed into the conference room.

"Sorry I'm late," said Spencer as he removed his messenger bag from around his shoulders.

"I hope Clarissa was worth it," said Rossi.

Spencer quickly sat down.

"I hope you were with Clarissa," said Morgan.

"I was with Clarissa, but can we please stop talking about my love life and focus on the case?" snapped Spencer.

"Whoa," said Morgan.

Hotch looked at his teammates.

"I know it's late, I know we're tired, but we've got two dead cops," said Hotch before he took a seat next to his brother-in-law.

JJ started to focus on briefing again by holding up a picture.

"All right, uh, the resident, Rod Norris, was DOA. They're still trying to ID the remains of the second victim, whom they believe is his 16-year-old daughter Jordan," said JJ as she held up a picture of Jordan, "From the condition of the remains she would have had to have been inside the house close to the source of the blast," said JJ.

"Clearly, they used the bombing to set the officers up for an ambush," said Emily.

"It's a well-established terrorist tactic. First wave takes out civilians, the second wave takes out first responders," said Spencer.

"The locals are thinking terrorism in West Bune, Texas?" asked Morgan.

"Not exactly a tier-one target, but DHS did issue a terror alert for the border states yesterday, just due to the timing and nature of the attack," said JJ.

"I've never heard of this place. I mean, the militia, OK, that I could see," said Morgan.

"Yeah, well, it is close to the border. It could be traffickers sending a message," said Emily.

"Whoever it is, they gunned down two cops and blew up a teenage girl. Till they're stopped, no one in that town is safe," said Rossi.

"We need to be cautious with the locals. They've lost two of their own, they're anxious, they're scared, and they're gonna want revenge," said Hotch.

"Can you blame 'em?" asked Rossi.

After Hotch gave a departure time, Spencer was quickly heading home.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer entered the master bedroom to find Clarissa wide awake in bed reading the book that she was currently reading out loud.

"Hey," said Spencer.

Clarissa stopped reading and looked at her husband.

"I thought that you were leaving for a case?" asked Clarissa.

"Your brother sent me home to get some sleep, but why are you still awake?" asked Spencer as he started to remove his clothing.

Clarissa licked her lips at the show that her husband was giving her as she rubbed her belly.

"Other than dealing with heartburn, Evan won't let me sleep because he's constantly kicking me," said Clarissa.

Spencer quickly pulled on some pajama pants before walking over to the bed and rubbed his wife's 28-week baby bump.

"Please let mommy sleep, Evan," said Spencer before he felt his son give two kicks while Clarissa glared at her husband, "I thought that he would fall asleep if he heard my voice," said Spencer.

"I think he's going to inherit your insomnia because he likes to keep me awake at night," said Clarissa before smirking as she trailed her hand down her husband's bare chest, "When you get back from Texas, I expect a better show than the one you just gave me before you put on your pajamas," said Clarissa.

Spencer blushed as he shook his head just as they heard both Diana and Bridget both crying and coughing through the two baby monitors on Clarissa's nightstand.

"You go deal with Diana and I'll deal with Bridget," said Clarissa as she got out of bed.

Spencer nodded, and 20 seconds later he found a crying Diana clutching an ear.

"Diana?" asked Spencer as he sat on Diana's bed.

"I don't feel so good and my left ear hurt," cried Diana.

Spencer rested a hand on Diana's forehead before noticing that Diana was a bit warm.

"Let's go see mommy," said Spencer.

Spencer gently removed Diana from her bed and carried Diana to Bridget's nursery where he found Clarissa holding a crying Bridget who was also coughing and clutching her ear like Diana.

"Even though custodian staff makes sure to clean schools every day, why did we decide to send Diana to an incubator for germs?" asked Spencer.

"We wanted Diana to make more friends outside of figure skating and Sunday school, but even though we make sure to keep up with Diana's and Bridget's vaccinations, we both know that there are no vaccinations for certain illnesses like the cold, ear infections, and sore throats," said Clarissa just as Bridget noticed her daddy.

"Dada," cried Bridget.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Why don't you sit down with Diana and Bridget while I go get them some medicine," said Clarissa.

"OK," said Spencer as he sat down in the rocking chair that was in Bridget's nursery with Diana on one knee before he accepted Bridget from his wife, "Daddy's here, Bridget," said Spencer as he started to rock both of his daughters as he started to sing "Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral" to his daughters.

Xxxxxxxx 

Six and a half hours later a yawning Spencer fixed himself some coffee on the jet causing Hotch to look at his brother-in-law.

"You look exhausted," said Hotch.

"Both Diana and Bridget woke up at the same time at 2 AM with colds and ear infections. Since Clarissa has today off due to parent/teacher conferences, she told me to join you guys because she and Lucy can take the girls to the doctor," said Spencer before sighing, "Now I understand how my aunt and uncle felt when it came to me going to an incubator for germs when I was a kid," said Spencer.

"You can spend part of this flight catching up on some sleep," said Hotch.

"Thank you, and I apologize in advance for the snapping that might happen," said Spencer.

"Speaking of Diana, how did that parent/teacher conference go?" asked Hotch.

"Can I please wait with telling you until after this case?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer approached Sheriff Halum with his teammates.

"Sheriff Halum?" asked JJ.

"Yeah," said Sheriff Halum.

JJ shook hands with Sheriff Halum.

"Jennifer Jareau," said JJ as she gestured to her teammates, "This is the team. Agents Hotchner, Rossi, Dr. Reid, Prentiss, and Morgan. We're really sorry for your loss.

"Thank you. Where do we start?" asked Sheriff Hallum.

"First victim, Rod Norris," said Hotch.

"Manager of the chemical plant over at Ibis. No arrests in 10 years since his wife left him. I can't blame her for leaving him, but it's a shame she left Jordan behind," said Sheriff Halum.

"What can you tell us about Jordan?" asked Rossi.

"Sweet girl, a bit slow," said Sheriff Halum.

"Slow? She was mentally challenged?" asked Emily.

"Not quite. Special Ed and all that stuff. Takes some talking to her to notice it. I think her mother leaving took its toll," said Sheriff Halum.

Hotch nodded at JJ.

"Sheriff, I'd like to gather your people back at the office so I can brief them all together," said JJ.

"Sure. But I'm staying here," said Sheriff Halum.

"Of course. Thank you," said JJ before she walked away.

A few minutes later Spencer was standing in the remains of the kitchen as he pointed at a certain site.

"The blast was localized here," said Spencer.

"The room's been sealed off. There's some plastic, duct tape on the door-sills, windows, too," said Emily as she pointed at the doors.

"Cordite. Gunpowder," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at the file that he was holding.

"Yeah, they found a dozen canisters, it says," said Spencer.

"Well, the concentration of damage puts those canisters right here by the door," said Emily as she looked at a door.

"He seals the kitchen, blows out the pilot light, trapping the gas in here near the primary charge. If she was here, between the charge and the window…," said Rossi as he pointed at the ground.

"Boom. Rod Norris ends up in the tree, Jordan ends up in the field," said Emily.

Spencer looked around the remains of the house.

"They didn't care about the rest of the house, so the whole thing's designed to focus the blast on whoever came through that door," said Spencer.

"Yeah, but what was the trigger?" asked Rossi.

Emily picked up a damaged carton.

"Rod Norris. He was a smoker," said Emily.

"And they knew he would be coming through this door," said Rossi.

"And they knew he'd be smoking when he did it," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer approached Hotch, Morgan, and Sheriff Halum.

"They knew each other?" asked Sheriff Halum.

"Enough to know Rod Norris would enter through the back door while smoking," said Spencer.

"And that Lou Savage was on duty and would respond," said Morgan while Spencer crouched down a bit to look at the blood.

"So what are we talking about here?" asked Sheriff Halum.

"This wasn't terrorism, domestic or otherwise. Terrorists rarely know their victims, At least not personally," said Hotch.

"Because they knew Rod Norris was a smoker who used his back door?" asked Sheriff Halum.

"And shot Deputy Savage in the face at point-blank range," said Morgan.

"They weren't being thorough?" asked Sheriff Halum.

"No. He walked past Letts, who was alive, shoots Savage in the face when he knows he's already dead. Responders were coming. That last shot was risky overkill," said Morgan.

Spencer stood up to his full height.

"Overkill means rage. Rage means a close personal relationship," said Spencer.

"Rod Norris and Lou Savage were the specific targets of this attack," said Hotch.

"Sheriff, can you think of anyone with a close personal connection to Rod Norris and Lou Savage?" asked Morgan.

"I didn't think about it because of the terror alert," said Sheriff Halum.

"Think about what?" asked Hotch.

"Owen. Owen savage. Lou's son was dating Jordan Norris," said Sheriff Halum.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan followed Sheriff Hallum into Lou's and Owen's house.

"My deputies didn't find Owen at home," said Sheriff Halum.

10 seconds later Spencer stepped into the Savage home and started to look around.

"How long did you know Lou Savage?" asked Hotch.

Spencer headed to a photo of Lou.

"My whole life," said Sheriff Halum.

"And Deputy Savage's wife?" asked Hotch.

"Hope?" asked Sheriff Hallum.

"How did she die?" asked Hotch.

"Drunk driver in '02. Lou was in Afghanistan. Owen lived with us until he got back," said Sheriff Halum.

Spencer ran a finger over a picture of Lou Savage and noticed no dust on it.

"Semper fi," whispered Spencer in Latin.

Morgan looked at Sheriff Halum.

"How long was Lou Savage in the Marines?" asked Morgan.

"12 years. He was discharged so he could raise Owen," said Sheriff Halum.

Spencer looked around the house and noticed no pictures of Hope and Owen causing him to look at Sheriff Halum.

"I don't see any pictures of Hope and Owen. I was four when lost my parents to a drunk driver and my aunt who was a caterer and my uncle who was a police officer raised me until their deaths when I was 19. While they raised me they made sure to display pictures of my parents for me while keeping all of their belongings so I can never forget them while I make sure to tell my children about who their grandparents are," snapped Spencer before looking at Hotch and Sheriff Halum, "Where's Owen's room?" asked Spencer.

"That room there," said Sheriff Halum as he pointed in the direction that Spencer needed to go in.

Spencer looked at Sheriff Halum.

"I apologize for snapping at you, but my wife who is expecting my third child couldn't sleep last night and my four-year-old daughter her eight-month-old baby sister kept my wife and me up for a few hours last night due to colds and ear infections," said Spencer.

"Apology accepted, and hopefully your little ones will feel better soon," said Sheriff Halum.

Spencer nodded before he walked towards Owen's room as he heard Sheriff Halum tell Morgan and Hotch about Hope.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was going through Owen's room when Morgan joined him.

"Gun safe is empty," said Morgan.

"That's a surprise," said Spencer sarcastically before he and Morgan both focused on a picture of a damaged car.

"That's James Dean's Porsche. No pictures of James Dean, though. That's a bad sign," said Morgan.

Spencer sighed sadly as he thought about losing his parents, aunt, and uncle to car accidents.

"Especially when your mother died in a car accident. Still, haven't found the father of the year award," said Spencer before he bent down to look at Owen's bookshelf.

Morgan inwardly shook his head as he thought back to Spencer telling him that his uncle Gordon was more devoted on raising him than his own father was.

"You already check his computer?" asked Morgan.

"It's password encrypted," said Spencer.

"Well, smart move if your dad's a cop," said Morgan.

Spencer bit back the retort about caring to snoop as he looked at Morgan.

"I'm not looking forward to when Diana and Bridget don't want to cuddle with me anymore and call me dad instead of daddy," said Spencer.

"I don't blame you, Reid," said Morgan as he pulled clothing out of Owen's drawers, "All his clothes are black," said Morgan.

Spencer quickly checked Owen's closet.

"The same here," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Owen's poster of Johnny Cash.

"Just like his friend Johnny Cash. So Owen identifies as being a misunderstood loner. You know, I wish all our unsubs would just tack their profiles on their walls like this for us," said Morgan.

"It doesn't mean anything. What, you grew up in Chicago, a high school jock, you had pictures of Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan all over your walls, trophies everywhere?" asked Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer as he wondered how Spencer knew names of basketball players.

"Yeah. But you forgot Walter Payton. Not to mention the sexy ladies of the sports illustrated swimsuit issues," said Morgan.

Spencer ran a hand over Owen's closet mirror.

"Smart money says you didn't paint your mirrors black," said Spencer.

"I guess Owen didn't like what he saw," said Morgan just as they heard yelling.

"Don't try to stop me! I need to get by!" shouted a woman.

"Reid," said Morgan.

Spencer quickly followed Morgan.

"Why do you know names of basketball players?" asked Morgan.

"Uncle Gordon and I bonded over basketball, and luckily Clarissa loves basketball too," said Spencer just as they walked outside causing Hotch to look at Spencer and Morgan.

"Officer Letts' wife," said Hotch quietly before he joined Spencer and Morgan on the porch.

"Send them home, you don´t need them. You know what to do. You find that little son of a bitch. You find him and do what's right," snapped Sarah before she stormed away.

"Why do I get the feeling she's not going to be the only one with that sentiment?" asked Morgan.

Hotch looked at Morgan.

"Stay here and work the room. Reid and I are going to go to the high school and talk to Owen's teachers and friends. We need to get a profile and figure out where he's going," said Hotch as he started to go down the stairs causing Spencer to follow his brother-in-law.

A few seconds later Spencer and Hotch approached Sheriff Halum.

"He's heading out of town. We found his car out by the interstate, right next to victim number five," said Sheriff Hallum.


	35. Elephant's Memory Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are no Clarissa, Diana, or Bridget in this chapter, but they'll be back for the next chapter.

Spencer and Hotch walked with Principal Barter in the hallway of Owen's high school.

"As Owen's counselor, what can you tell us about Jordan and Owen?" asked Hotch.

"Not much. They started dating last year when Owen moved to special ed," said Principal Barter.

"Junior year, isn't that a bit late?" asked Hotch.

Spencer started going through the file that he was given.

"Yes, if he'd been put there for academic reasons," said Principal Barter.

"So what was the problem?" asked Hotch.

"Bad attitude, lack of effort. Owen applied himself in some classes. He did very well. But it didn't last," said Principal Barter as he opened up the door that led to his office, "Here," said Principal Barter.

20 seconds later Spencer, Hotch, and Principal Barter were in Principal Barter's office before Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"The problem wasn't lack of effort or bad attitude. The A's in math and science tells he's a gifted student. The D's in English and history, that tells us that he had difficulty reading. And the "F" in geometry, that indicates a severe problem with spatial relations," said Spencer as he showed what he found, "That's further confirmed by his atrocious, illegible handwriting," said Spencer.

Hotch took one of the papers that Spencer was looking at.

"All consistent with a brilliant but severely learning disabled student," said Hotch.

"Yeah, but his standardized tests didn't support that kind of intelligence," said Principal Barter.

"A spatial relations handicap affects your hand-eye coordination. He couldn't fill in an answer bubble any easier than he could... Hit a baseball," said Spencer.

"Which is why he stayed away from sports," said Hotch.

"Sports was a sore spot with his father. I mean, he joined the wrestling team freshman year just to appease his old man, but, uh... That didn't work out," said Principal Barter as his phone rang, "Excuse me," said Principal Barter.

A minute later Spencer took a deep breath at his brother-in-law.

"He was probably the smartest kid in class. He just couldn't prove it," said Spencer before he lowered his voice, "Being the smartest kid in class is like being the only kid in class. He missed all of it," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law as he thought about how Spencer turned out because of his aunt and uncle.

"But schools like this can't meet the specialized needs of every student," said Hotch.

"He gives it everything he's got, over and over and over again, and continues to fail. And the whole time, the whole time they tell him it's his fault. I mean, it makes sense," said Spencer angrily.

"No, it doesn't. An undiagnosed learning disability does not add up to this level of violence, not without severe emotional abuse. You know that," said Hotch before his cell phone rang, "You got something?" asked Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer, Hotch, and Principal Barter were watching a video of Owen, and a minute into the video a disgusted Spencer looked at Hotch and Principal Barter.

"He didn't know he was being filmed," said Spencer.

10 seconds later Spencer looked at Principal Barter.

"Did Owen tell you about this?" asked Spencer.

Hotch turned off the video.

"He didn't have to. It was posted on the school social networking site. We pulled it down immediately," said Principal Barter.

Spencer looked at Principal Barter.

"Once it's on the internet, it's out there forever. Owen knew that," said Spencer.

"Did Owen tell his father about it?" asked Hotch.

"Not at first, but when Owen quit the wrestling team, his father confronted him. I mean, he blamed Owen for the whole thing," said Principal Barter.

"Owen joined the team to get his father's approval," said Spencer.

"How were these boys punished?" asked Hotch.

"Owen identified them, but on film, all we have is their voices. I mean, even if they'd admitted involvement, all they'd have to do is say Owen didn't have to do it," said Principal Barter.

"He didn't know he was being filmed," said Spencer angrily.

Principal Barter stood up.

"Look, it's his word against theirs. I mean-parents will get involved, the school board, lawyers. I mean, cyber-bullying is a hot issue right now. And the whole thing would wind up on 60 minutes. How's that gonna help Owen?" asked Principal Barter.

"What did you tell him?" asked Hotch.

"I told him that dealing with bullies is part of growing up," said Principal.

Spencer glared at Principal Barter.

"Let me tell you this," said Spencer as he gave Principal Barter a feral smile that made Hotch back up a little bit, "When I was an 11-year-old high school senior, the football team beat me up before they stripped me naked and tied me to the goalpost with all the students watching. After 10 minutes of begging and crying to be tied down, my uncle who was a police officer and the principal showed up because there were two classmates who had the heart to get me some help. While my uncle took me to the hospital, my uncle's coworkers arrested the entire football team and the two girls involved and they were either kicked off the team, suspended or expelled from school, serve time in jail, and register as sex offenders. Parents were involved and they weren't angry at my uncle and me for pressing charges against their children because they were furious with their children when they found out what happened to me. After missing two weeks of school for intense counseling and a family vacation that the school board sent my aunt, uncle, and me on as an apology for not protecting me, I returned to school with a police officer as my bodyguard for the remainder of the school year," said Spencer angrily before looking at his brother-in-law, "I really need to get out of here," said Spencer before he quickly walked away.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer approached the crime scene with Hotch, Rossi, and Sheriff Halum as he thought about the Johnny Cash song that played in the video.

""There's a man going around taking names, and he decides who to free and who to blame. Everybody won't be treated all the same."" recited Spencer as he approached the three dead teenagers.

"Johnny Cash. From that song Owen was playing when he did this, right?" asked Rossi.

"He's been taking names. Collecting names. He's acting out his revenge fantasies," said Spencer.

"The family, school, and social dynamics do seem to fit perfectly," said Rossi before looking at Hotch, "He's not collecting names. He's collecting injustices," said Rossi.

"I'm ready to give the profile," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Can I please be pulled from giving the profile," said Spencer.

"I was already planning on telling you that your sitting out and join Morgan because you know this kid better than the rest of the team," said Hotch.

Spencer saw the questioning looks on Sheriff Halum and Rossi's faces.

"Even though I grew up in a loving home, I identify with Owen," said Spencer before he took a deep breath, "When I was an 11-year-old high school senior, the football team did something really out of line that caused the entire football team to be kicked off the team, suspended or expelled from school, spend time in jail, and some of the football players were even forced to register as sex offenders," said Spencer before noticing looks on Sheriff Halum's and Rossi's faces, "I wasn't raped, but I was exposed in a way that no 11-year-old boy should have been exposed in front of the entire school," said Spencer before he walked away.

Sheriff Halum looked at Hotch.

"Seems like Dr. Reid is a very strong young man to get over what happened to him," said Sheriff Halum.

"He's one of the few strongest men I know, and I'm glad that he didn't end up being someone I would have to chase because his intelligence would make him hard to catch," said Hotch before watching his brother-in-law smile at something on his phone, "Even though this case is causing Reid to be short-tempered, I'm proud to have him on my team while being the man who ended up marrying my baby sister," said Hotch.

"He's your brother-in-law?" asked Sheriff Halum.

"I have a little sister who's the same age as Reid, and they met during Reid's last year at Yale and during my sister's first year of nursing school at Yale when Reid was 19 and my sister was still 18," said Hotch.

"Are you the reason why he joined the FBI?" asked Sheriff Halum.

Hotch shook his head.

"He attended a now-retired FBI agent's lecture before my sister introduced him to me because he and his uncle were discussing on career choices for him before his aunt and uncle were killed because every single government agency in this country had tried to recruit Reid. Despite everything that happened to him during his short 26 and a half years of life, I'm glad that his infectious smiles and laughter didn't go away," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was going through the e-mails when Morgan joined him.

"Garcia restored those e-mails," said Morgan.

"Yeah, I'm sorting through them right now," said Spencer.

Morgan sat down at the foot end of Owen's bed.

"Reid," said Morgan.

Spencer turned around and looked at Morgan.

"You know, you're not the only one who identifies with him. You said I was a high school jock. I was. But not at first. My freshman year I was 5'3". I weighed a buck 20 soaking wet. So trust me when I tell you I got my ass kicked every day. So the following summer, I hit the weights. And I got lucky. I grew 6 inches. But it was never about vanity, Reid. It was about survival," said Morgan.

Spencer cleared his throat.

"Both Clarissa and Hotch knows about what happened," said Spencer.

"Were you raped by one of your classmates?" asked Morgan.

Spencer shook his head causing Morgan to sigh in relief.

"I was 11 and in the library waiting for uncle Gordon to pick me up from school, and, uh... Harper Hillman comes up to me, and she tells me that Alexa Lisben wants to meet me behind the field house. Alexa Lisben's, like... easily the prettiest girl in school, but now I consider Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget the most beautiful girls in the world," said Spencer.

Morgan smiled at the last part.

"So what happened? Alexa wasn't there?" asked Morgan.

"She was there. So was the entire football team. They...uh... Stripped me naked and tied me to a goal post. So many kids were there, you know, just watching," choked Spencer.

Morgan closed his eyes as he realized that Spencer was telling him about the incident that caused him to have a bodyguard during his last year of high school.

"Nobody tried to stop them? Even your friends Parker and Ethan?" asked Morgan as he thought about Parker and Ethan.

"Parker and Ethan tried to stop them, but with being outnumbered they decided to go fetch my uncle and the principal. So after being tied up for 10 minutes, Parker and Ethan came over with my uncle and the principal who were both furious when they saw what was going on," said Spencer.

"I'm glad that you have friends like Parker and Ethan, but what happened after?" asked Morgan.

"Before uncle Gordon took me to the hospital, the principal ordered everyone to get inside the school while promising my uncle that he would call the police and everyone's parents and have them come to the school. The entire football team was kicked off the team by their furious coach who apologized to me about his team's behavior, they were either suspended or expelled from school, forced to serve time in jail, and register as sex offenders," said Spencer.

"Very suitable punishments," said Morgan.

"I know, and other than seeing the child psychologist who helped me after my parents were murdered, the school board decided to send aunt Ethel, uncle Gordon, and me on a week-long vacation to Disneyland as a way to apologize to me for not protecting me," said Spencer.

"So that's why I saw a picture of you with your aunt and uncle sporting Micky Mouse ears," said Morgan.

"It was a fun vacation, and when I returned to school, I had a police officer as my bodyguard for the rest of the school year," said Spencer.

"I remember you telling me that you had a chaperone with you at all times at Yale until after your 18th birthday," said Morgan.

"I did," said Spencer before sighing, "Even though I usually don't like talking about what happened to me that day, I remember it like it was yesterday," said Spencer.

Morgan sighed.

"Ah, Reid, you don't need an eidetic memory for that. You know, we forget half of what they teach us in school, but when it comes to the torment and the people who inflicted it... We've all got an elephant's memory," said Morgan.

"Owen just wants to forget, and I know what that's like," said Spencer.

Morgan gestured to Owen's computer.

"He's been making a big deal out of saying goodbye to Jordan in all of his e-mails. None of its shorthand. That's odd," said Morgan.

"He never got a chance to say goodbye to his mother. Abandonment is his biggest fear. That's why he chose Jordan. He thinks she'll never leave," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Have you ever talked to any classmates excluding Parker and Ethan since graduating?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"When Clarissa and I went to Vegas for the 20th anniversary of my parents' deaths, Clarissa and I ran into Parker who was pleased to find out that I've done good with my life and convinced us to attend my 12-year high school reunion. Clarissa and I decided to go because none of my classmates who were expelled were allowed to attend the reunion, but Alexa and Harper turned out to be the same mean girls I ended up going to high school with," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "I know that when it comes to marrying one of the most beautiful girls, working a high profile job, being a father to two beautiful little girls, while I get to hold my firstborn son in about 14 weeks," said Spencer.

"You won it all," finished Morgan.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer and Morgan approached Hotch and Emily in the police station.

"Owen's mother's death left him with severe issues of abandonment. If we can get Jordan away from him, we'll save her and take away his reason to live," said Spencer.

"He'll take his own life," said Hotch.

"It's the only way we can save Jordan," said Morgan.

"How can we get her to leave him?" asked Hotch

"He's kept Jordan in the dark. She doesn't know about the murders," said Spencer.

"You want to tell her?" asked Hotch.

"If we can," said Morgan.

"We can get her to turn herself in," said Emily.

"But even if we could talk to her, the only person she trusts is Owen," said Hotch.

Emily shook her head.

"There's one other person, and she might be able to get a message to Jordan," said Emily.

Xxxxxxxx 

As soon as Spencer sat down in front of Eileen's laptop, Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Send her the news coverage," said Hotch.

"Tell her to look at the pictures. Tell her we know Owen didn't tell her what he did," said Emily.

Spencer quickly typed what he was told to type before Jordan replied about they lying.

"Send the MPEG," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law in shock.

"Reid, do it," said Hotch.

Spencer pulled a flash drive out of his pocket and inserted it into Eileen's laptop.

"Tell her, when the police come for you, Owen will kill you and kill himself," said Emily.

Spencer quickly typed what Emily wanted him to say, and a minute later Jordan replied.

"You lie. Owen loves me," read Spencer just as Jordan logged off.

"She's gone. Now, what?" asked Spencer.

"We've planted the seed. Now we wait," said Hotch.

A minute later Jordan logged back on.

"She's back," said Spencer just as another message popped up.

""You were right. What do I do?"" read Emily.

"Ask her where she is," said Hotch.

Spencer quickly typed before sending the message before Jordan replied.

""If I tell you, you will hurt him."" read Emily.

"She's not gonna give it up," said Spencer.

"Ask her if she can get away," said Hotch.

Spencer quickly typed Hotch's question before Jordan replied.

""I can try."" read Emily.

A few minutes later Jordan logged.

"She's back," said Emily as another message showed up, ""You turned her against me."" read Emily.

"It's not Jordan," said Spencer.

Emily shook her head.

"Somebody please tell me we didn't just get Jordan killed," said Emily.

Spencer looked up at his brother-in-law.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer got out of an SUV when Morgan looked at him.

"Reid, Reid, a little help," said Morgan.

Spencer quickly ran after Morgan, and a minute later Spencer and Morgan were joining everyone else.

"Hotch. We got a body back there," said Morgan.

"Half-Dug grave," said Spencer.

"Found a note," said Sheriff Halum as he passed a note to Hotch.

Spencer quickly read the note behind Hotch's shoulder.

""I'm going to return my mom's necklace." He may be going home to get it. We didn't find it, but it could be there. Sheriff, you go there," said Hotch.

The wheels in Spencer's brain started to turn.

"You?" asked Sheriff Halum.

"Where's his mother buried?" asked Hotch.

Sheriff Halum gave Hotch an answer while Spencer hurried towards a police car while he left his Kevlar vest before Hotch saw what his brother-in-law was doing.

"Reid, what are you doing?" asked Hotch.

"He's gonna force us to kill him. I don't need to be a part of that. You don't need me," said Spencer tiredly.

"Meet me at the station," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

A Kevlar vest clad Spencer quickly ran into the police station and removed the photo of Hope Savage as he looked at Emily.

"They think he's going to his mother's grave," said Spencer.

"Isn't he?" asked Emily.

Spencer quickly walked into the room that Jordan was in.

"He was gone when we got to the ranch. I want to save his life, but I need to ask you a question. This necklace- he gave it to you?" asked Spencer as he showed Jordan a picture of the necklace.

"Uh...I left it at the ranch," said Jordan.

Spencer looked at Emily.

"He's coming here," said Spencer before he left the room.

10 seconds later Spencer and Emily were outside.

"What makes you think he'll come here?" asked Emily.

"When there were bullies chasing me, I would sprint to the police station where my uncle worked at because I was protected there," said Spencer just as he saw Owen coming around the corner, "Prentiss. Cover me," said Spencer as he passed Emily his gun before walking onto the street.

"Whoa-What-Reid!" shouted Emily.

Spencer turned his head.

"Do not shoot," ordered Spencer as he walked further onto the street.

"Reid!" shouted Emily while being grateful that Spencer still had his vest on.

"Owen, I don't have a gun. My name is Spencer, I'm with the FBI, and I'm here to help you," said Spencer calmly as he stopped walking and held up his hands.

"Yeah? I need you to stay back!" ordered Owen just as Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi pulled up.

Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi got out of the SUV while being grateful to witness Spencer still wearing his Kevlar vest.

"I know the only reason you joined the team was for your father. I know that he blamed you for what happened," said Spencer.

"Stay back! Right where you are!" ordered Owen.

"I also know the only reason you killed Rod Norris and Kyle Borden was to protect Jordan. I know the harder you tried, the worse it got, and it felt like everybody just stood there watching you suffer, and not a single person even tried to help," said Spencer as he felt sweat dripping down his forehead.

"They didn't. They didn't," cried Owen.

Spencer turned his head before deciding to block his teammates shot.

"I know you want to escape... And forget. Believe me when I say I know- I know exactly how that feels," said Spencer as he started to tell Owen about the goalpost incident while telling him that his uncle showed up 10 minutes after he was tied up.

When Spencer was finished, he looked at Owen.

"But you know what? You don't have to die," said Spencer.

"No. No, I'm already dead," cried Owen.

"No. No, you're not dead. If you die, you're gonna leave Jordan Just like your mother left you. I know you don't want that. Do you?" asked Spencer calmly.

"OK. You bring her to me, all right? You bring her outside," said Owen.

"I can't bring her outside, Owen, but if you put the gun down, I swear to God, I'll take you to her. I promise nobody will hurt you. You'll say goodbye to her, and you'll give her the necklace. All right? So what do you say? Let's put the gun down. Let's go inside," said Spencer.

10 seconds later Owen walked towards Spencer as he set down his father's gun allowing the 26-year-old genius to make his way towards Owen and accept the necklace from Owen while Morgan and Hotch ran towards Spencer and Owen.

"Don't move! Don't move," ordered Morgan as he handcuffed Owen before looking at Spencer, "You good, Reid?" asked Morgan.

Spencer nodded while Rossi kept the locals back.

"It's all over. Its OK," shouted Rossi while Morgan removed a knife from Owen's belt.

As soon Spencer and Morgan both had hands on Owen's arms, Spencer glanced at his brother-in-law who gave him a look telling him that they were going to talk. 30 seconds later Spencer and Morgan entered the police station with Owen where Morgan passed Owen over to Spencer who led Owen over to Jordan who accepted Hope's necklace from Spencer.

10 seconds later Owen nodded at Spencer to take him into lockup.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that evening, Spencer was sitting away from the rest of his team looking at a picture of him, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget together before Hotch sat down across from him causing the young genius to look up at his brother-in-law.

"I wore my vest, and I deserve a free pass because of you almost killing us two weeks ago," said Spencer.

Hotch chuckled.

"I was going to talk to you about withholding information and blocking our shot, and if you didn't wear your vest on I would have given you a different lecture," said Hotch before softening up at his brother-in-law, "You're the smartest kid in the room, but you're not the only one in that room. You have Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack to think about, so don't do that pull something like that again because I really don't want to watch you die again," said Hotch.

"Yes sir, it won't happen again," said Spencer.

"What were you thinking?" asked Hotch.

"When it comes to being a father, I didn't want to watch Owen die right in front of me," said Spencer.

"I understand, but there might be a time that you might not be able to talk someone successfully down," said Hotch.

"I know," said Spencer.

"I know it's painful when the person you identify with is the bad guy," said Hotch.

"What's that make me?" asked Spencer.

"Good at the job," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled a bit at the praise that his brother-in-law gave me before Hotch thought about the conversation they had on the jet the day before.

"Are you going to tell me about the parent/teacher conference that you and Clarissa had with Diana's teacher?" asked Hotch.

"Did Clarissa tell you that we consented to Diana having her first IQ test a bit early?" asked Spencer.

"She didn't," said Hotch.

"We found out the results during Diana's parent/teacher conference," said Spencer.

"And?" asked Hotch.

"Diana has an IQ of 168, you already know about her eidetic memory, and she reads at a reading speed of 19,000 words per a minute," said Spencer.

"Impressive," said Hotch.

"I would still be proud of Diana if she didn't end up being a genius like me, but Diana's teacher talked about the possibility of Diana skipping grades in a couple of years," said Spencer.

"And you don't want history to repeat itself," said Hotch.

"Exactly, and I ended up leaving the classroom to control my emotions," said Spencer before chuckling a bit, "Clarissa ended up leaving a minute later after threatening Diana's teacher about pulling Diana out of Washington International School and have her home-schooled by tutors while she returns to Children's National instead of being a nurse at Diana's school if skipping grades are brought up again before the school's original nurse comes back from maternity leave," said Spencer.

Hotch shook his head at his sister's antics.

"Was that Clarissa's pregnancy hormones talking?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, and she called Mrs. Lee and apologized," said Spencer.

Hotch shook his head as he stood up and started to walk away before he looked at his brother-in-law.

"With this case bringing up some painful memories and finding out Diana's IQ, I think you should consider talking to a therapist again," said Hotch.

"I'm already planning on it," said Spencer.

Hotch patted his brother-in-law on the shoulder before he walked away allowing Spencer to look at a picture of him, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget together.


	36. In Heat

Spencer entered Diana's room just as he saw Diana setting up 10 plastic bowling pins.

"You can't play with your toy bowling set right now, Diana," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Diana.

"I just put Bridget down for a nap and mommy's taking a nap too," said Spencer.

"OK," said Diana before she looked out her window and jumped when she heard a crack of thunder while rain hit her bedroom window, "Can we have a second date this month?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled at his daughter.

"I think you are ready to go bowling at a bowling alley for the first time," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

An hour later Spencer smiled as he watched Diana push the bowling ball down the ramp that was provided for her before the bowling ball headed towards the pins. 30 seconds later the six-pound bowling ball ended up knocking down all 10 pins.

"Go Diana!" cheered Spencer.

"Did you see that daddy?" asked Diana as she did a little victory dance causing Spencer to laugh while a few other parents who also took their kids bowling to get out of the house to smile.

Spencer gave Diana a high five.

"Great job, bumble bee," said Spencer.

Diana beamed at her daddy.

"Thank you, daddy," said Diana.

"Eventually I'll show you how to use physics to score strikes when you outgrow using a ramp," grinned Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Two days later Spencer was in the lecture hall of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland with his godmother cleaning up their materials just as a familiar face approached both of them.

"That was a great lecture, Dr. Reid and Dr. Blake," said Katie.

Spencer looked up and smiled at Agent Cole.

"Thank you, but I'm surprised to see you here," said Spencer.

"One of my agents attended one of the lectures you two done together at Georgetown two years ago, so I decided to attend the guest lecture you two were giving here," said Katie before noticing Spencer's wedding band, "Is it really true that your married to Hotch's little sister?" asked Katie.

"Yes," said Spencer.

"Why was it kept a secret?" asked Katie.

"I was 22-years-old when I joined the BAU and there were some agents who weren't happy that I was hired by Gideon. So all the higher ups, Gideon, Hotch, and I agreed to keep my marriage a secret while certain information was kept off the computers and my personal file. It also helps that Clarissa's and my landline number isn't listed in the phone book because of Clarissa being a nurse at Children's National," said Spencer.

"Any little ones yet?" asked Katie.

Spencer beamed.

"I have a four-year-old daughter named Diana, an eight-month-old baby girl named Bridget, and Clarissa's 29-weeks pregnant with my firstborn son," said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and showed Katie a picture of him, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget together, "This was taken yesterday after church," said Spencer.

Katie looked at the picture of the smiling family together at the park before noticing Diana sitting on her daddy's lap, Bridget sitting on Diana's lap, while Clarissa sat next to her husband while she gave her husband bunny ears causing her to laugh.

"They're beautiful, and did you know that Clarissa was giving you bunny ears before the picture was taken?" asked Katie.

"Thank you, and I didn't know until I saw the picture," laughed Spencer.

Katie looked between Spencer and Alex.

"Do you two have time to stop for lunch before you head back to Quantico?" asked Katie.

Spencer looked at his godmother.

"Should we join Katie for lunch, mom?" asked Spencer.

"Sure," said Alex.

Katie looked at Spencer.

"Aren't you an orphan?" asked Katie.

Spencer nodded.

"I've known Alex my entire life," said Spencer.

"His biological parents named me his godmother, and after the 20th anniversary of his biological parents' deaths, I told him that he can start calling me mom because I call Diana and Bridget my granddaughters," said Alex.

A few minutes later Spencer and Alex were going out to eat with Katie Cole.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two days later Spencer was sitting at the round table with his teammates and Garcia while JJ showed a picture of a young man.

"Charles Luvet was found floating in a Miami Marina last night. Local ME thinks that he was only in the water about an hour," started JJ.

"Any attempt to weigh the body down?" asked Hotch.

JJ sat down.

"Doesn't appear to be," said JJ.

"The dumping could be convenient, as opposed to a means of hiding the crime," said Morgan.

"Well, he's the third victim found in Miami over the last two months. Though the locations of the bodies are different, many of the elements are the same-all males, 25 to 35, all traveling, all asphyxiated with no signs of sexual assault," said JJ.

"But tourists could be just simple robbery," said Morgan.

"Well, there are some personal items missing," said JJ.

"He's targeting travelers for a reason," said Rossi.

"You guys notice the red flag on the autopsy report?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah. None of the hyoid bones were fractured," said Emily.

"No visual signs of trauma. No ligature marks. Yet, the unsub still managed to asphyxiate grown men," said Hotch.

"Maybe a choke-hold, wouldn't leave any signs of trauma," said Morgan.

"It would also be a way of controlling a male. A powerful grip from behind gives the unsub all the leverage. None of these victims look out-of-shape or easy to control. In fact, they all look remarkably fit," said Spencer.

"Well, as I said, the recovery locations are very different. Charles Luvet was found in the water. Daniel Brown was partially buried in the shallow sand dune. Paul Hayes was stuffed into a dumpster," said JJ.

"That's not much of an effort to hide any of them," said Emily.

"They were all found in high-traffic areas," said Rossi.

"Miami PD is asking for our help, considering there are currently four other men missing That match this victimology," 

"I can dig up what I can on the victims from their hometowns," said Garcia.

"Miami is a mecca for potential targets, and anyone traveling is more vulnerable than they normally would be," said Hotch.

"Case in point, Charles Luvet, the latest victim, he was a vacationing cop," said JJ.

A few minutes later Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message.

I'M GOING TO MIAMI, FLORIDA. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU. ~ SR

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer exited an SUV and groaned when he realized how hot and humid it was in Miami.

"Ugh...agh. Is it always this hot?" asked Spencer as he politely averted his eyes from the women that were walking past them.

"Every day, all day," said Morgan as he admired the women walking past them.

Rossi looked at the women that Morgan was looking at.

"That's South Beach," said Rossi.

"That's not what I'm talking about," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"They know," said Hotch just as a woman approached them.

"FBI," said Detective Lopez.

"Yes," said Morgan.

"Detective Lopez, Miami PD," said Detective Lopez.

Morgan quickly shook hands with Detective Lopez.

"Oh, um, Morgan... Derek," said Morgan.

"Tina. So, thank you for coming down so quickly," said Detective Lopez.

JJ shook hands with Detective Lopez.

"Agent Jareau JJ. We spoke on the phone," said JJ.

"Yes," said Detective Lopez.

"These are agents Hotchner, Prentiss, Rossi, Derek, and Dr. Reid," said JJ.

"Well, I hope there's no test because I'm lousy with names," said Detective Lopez.

"Agent will be fine," said Rossi while Emily recognized a face from over a year ago.

"Hey, isn't that-," said Emily.

"Detective LaMontagne just arrived from New Orleans to ID the cop they pulled from the bay last night," said Detective Lopez.

JJ smiled as she shook hands with Will.

"Detective, it's good to see you. How are you?" asked JJ.

"Yeah. Charlie Luvet and I worked together for 7 years. We haven't formally ID'ed him yet, but we believe it's him," said Will.

Morgan looked at Will.

"Sorry for your loss, man," said Morgan.

"So, you all know each other?" asked Detective Lopez.

JJ shifted on her feet at the thought of having her former crush and current boyfriend both near her.

"Professionally," said JJ.

"Yeah. The BAU helped me out on a case about a year ago," said Will before looking at Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, JJ, Emily, and Rossi, "Just for the sake of clarity, I'm not here to investigate. Charlie was supposed to be married this August, so if the guy that floated up last night was him, I guess I have the honor of notifying his fiancee, so she's gonna need some answers, closure, and I'm just here to get that for her," said Will.

"Do you know why he was here?" asked Rossi.

"He was meeting up with some college buddies to compete in a regatta. He was a big boat guy," said Will.

"So, he wasn't traveling alone," said Hotch.

"Well, he came alone. He was meeting them here," said Will.

"We should track these friends down, see if they saw anything. And the 2 other victims, any potential witnesses?" asked Rossi.

"No. Paul Hayes was here alone on business. Daniel Brown came down to windsurf by himself," said Detective Lopez.

"So, they were all essentially alone," said Spencer.

"The unsub watched them long enough to know that," said Emily.

"Yeah. He's probably already scoping out his next victim, and I don't have a damn thing to warn people with, So come on inside. I've got everything all set up," said Detective Lopez.

As soon as they were heading towards the doors, Morgan looked at Will.

"How are you, LaMontagne?" asked Morgan.

"Good to see you," said Will before he looked at Spencer and realized that he looked much happier than he was in New Orleans, "May I see the picture of the baby girl that your wife was pregnant with when I worked with you nearly a year ago?" asked Will.

"Sure," said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and showed Will a picture of Diana and Bridget together, "Diana is now four and Bridget is eight-months-old, and my wife's currently 29-weeks pregnant with my firstborn son," said Spencer.

"Congratulations," said Will.

"Thanks," said Spencer.

"Hopefully I can have a wife and a couple of kids someday too," said Will as he glanced at JJ.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer walked with Morgan and Detective Lopez on a beach towards a dumpster.

"Paul Hayes was found in a dumpster over there," said Detective Lopez as she pointed at a dumpster.

Spencer came to a realization.

"Hey, I think these guys knew the unsub," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"What makes you say that?" asked Morgan.

Spencer thought about the moving he had to do for college and joining the BAU.

"Where you're a fish out of the water, you look to locals for where to eat, where to shop…," said Spencer.

"What path to run," said Morgan.

"Yeah. Why would he kill them and then risk dragging their body across the beach?" asked Spencer.

"He wouldn't. They were already out here," said Morgan.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was walking with Morgan and Detective Lopez when two CSI techs walked past them.

"All clear, detective," said a CSI tech.

"Thanks, guys. This Garcia girl of yours is good," said Detective Lopez.

"That's an understatement," chuckled Spencer.

"Hey, you can't go wrong with a Latina at the controls," said Detective Lopez.

"Yeah. She's my girlfriend, but she's not nearly as Latino as her name sounds," said Morgan.

"Its a shame that someone like you is single," said Detective Lopez.

"A lot of single women started mourning the day Morgan and Garcia became a couple," joked Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

While Morgan was on the phone with Hotch, Detective Lopez looked at Spencer's wedding band.

"How long have you been married?" asked Detective Lopez.

"Five years and five months," said Spencer.

"Any little ones?" asked Detective Lopez.

"I have a four-year-old daughter, an eight-month-old baby girl, and my wife's 29-weeks pregnant with my firstborn son," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer was reading a book in his hotel bed when there was a knock on the door causing Spencer to recognize JJ's knock, and a few seconds later Spencer was letting JJ into his room.

"Is there another victim?" asked Spencer.

"No, but I need relationship advice," said JJ.

"Because of you and Will?" asked Spencer.

JJ looked at Spencer in shock.

"Clarissa and I talk to each other about everything that won't violate National Security from our job or the Hippa policy that Clarissa had to sign, but I haven't told the rest of the team including my brother-in-law that you and Will have been seeing each other every weekend," said Spencer.

"I just broke up with Will because of Will wanting to tell everyone while I want to keep Will a secret," said JJ.

"And you thought that you could talk to me because I kept Clarissa and Diana a secret for a couple of years and you are wondering if you're making the right choice?" asked Spencer.

"Exactly," said JJ.

"Keeping Clarissa and Diana a secret from you, Emily, Garcia, and Morgan was hard for me because I wanted to tell you guys about how I really spent my weekends, but I was under orders about not telling you guys because of some of the response I received as soon as word got out that I got into the BAU," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "When I was laying in that hospital bed after Hankel and Garcia saw my wedding band, I felt a lot of weight fall off my shoulder when Clarissa and Diana entered my hospital room because you guys finally learned the reason why I'm distant from you guys after cases," said Spencer before he started to study JJ a bit.

After a minute of Spencer studying JJ, JJ looked at Spencer.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked JJ.

"I suspect that a congratulation is in order," said Spencer.

"What do you mean?" asked JJ.

Spencer shook his head.

"You don't know that you're pregnant?" asked Spencer.

"Why do you think I'm pregnant?" asked JJ.

"When it comes to Clarissa being pregnant with my third child, I can tell the signs if a young woman's pregnant or not. You have the same glow that Clarissa has dealt with, you've been more tired lately, and I've seen you turn a bit green at smells of certain food and coffee," said Spencer.

JJ quickly did the math before her eyes went wide.

"Have you told your brother-in-law your suspicions?" asked JJ.

"No," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked JJ.

"Its something that you have to tell him and Will yourself," said Spencer.

"When it comes to working this job, do you regret being a parent?" asked JJ.

"Even though I never like working cases that deals with children, I don't regret being a parent because spending time with Diana and Bridget help balance out the bad memories that are forever locked in my brain when it comes to having an eidetic memory. I always enjoy it when Diana says 'I love you, daddy', the hugs and kisses I get from Diana, and every time my daughters want to cuddle with me," said Spencer.

"Do you think I'll be a good mother?" asked JJ.

"With how you are with my daughters and nephew, you'll be a great mother," said Spencer before becoming serious, "I highly suggest that you take a pregnancy test before you see your gynecologist as soon as possible while thinking about talking with Will because he does deserve to be a father to his child even if you two don't talk things out," said Spencer.

"I guess I'll think about talking with him," said JJ.

Spencer looked at JJ.

"I'm glad that you finally found someone to make you happy because you've been happier since New Orleans," said Spencer before yawning, "I'm going to get some sleep, and you should get some sleep too," said Spencer.

JJ gave Spencer a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for talking to me, and I'm glad that you have Clarissa in your life," said JJ before she got up and left Spencer's hotel room.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer approached the recent crime scene with his teammates.

"What have we got?" asked Hotch.

"Male, the same age range, and we found Luvet's police badge about a half a block from here," said Detective Lopez as she held up a bagged badge.

"So, the unsub either ditched it or dropped it when he was getting away. Any sign of Luvet's gun?" asked Morgan.

"No. He may be holding on to that," said Detective Lopez.

"Why would he kill out on the open like this?" asked Spencer.

"He's losing control emotionally. He could be devolving," said Hotch.

"Leaving the body out in plain sight? It's off pattern," said Emily.

"He was interrupted," said Detective Lopez.

"Who interrupted him?" asked Rossi.

Detective Lopez looked at two officers who were talking to a young man.

"Bring him over," said Detective Lopez while the young man came over to them, "Bus boy. He's from the bar. Mi Hijito, these are the FBI people that I told you about, so just tell them everything you saw," said Detective Lopez.

"Well, I came out here on my break to have a smoke, and that guy was on the ground, and his friend said-," said the bus boy.

"His friend?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah. His friend said that they had just been mugged," said the bus boy.

"You spoke to this guy?" asked Emily.

"No, ma'am. I tried. But he did say that he was a cop, so he took off, and he chased after those guys," said the bus boy.

"Could you give a description of this cop to a sketch artist?" asked Morgan.

"No. I can't. I mean, he was a white guy, but it was pretty dark out here, and he basically kept running away from me the whole time," said the bus boy.

"I'm gonna have to get all your information," said JJ.

"Yeah, sure," said the bus boy before JJ led him away.

"So, this guy is impersonating Luvet?" asked Detective Lopez.

"Could just be a ruse he used to get away," said Morgan.

"But if he is impersonating his victims, why?" asked Emily.

"Transference," said Spencer.

"Whatever he sees in his victims, He wants for himself. He hates who he is. He's targeting tourists because he sees them as living a kind of lie, too," said Hotch.

"Could be suffering from cluster "B."" said Emily.

"Cluster "B"?" asked Detective Lopez.

"A cluster of personality disorders. It's also called the erratic, dramatic emotional cluster, an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that differentiates itself markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture. It manifests itself-," rambled Spencer.

"This guy's a sick dude," interrupted Morgan.

Spencer nodded.

"But something triggers his constant need to escape. It could be drugs, sex, something that makes him feel vulnerable," said Emily.

"And he can't allow himself the vulnerability," said Hotch.

"Escape into the fantasy protects him from ever having to look at himself," said Rossi.

"You know, if the unsub lives in their skin, odds are, he's living in their hotel rooms," said Morgan before Hotch went to a CSI tech.

"Any ID on the body?" asked Hotch.

"No wallet, nothing. It might have dropped. They're searching now," said the tech.

"You're not gonna find anything. We need to roll the prints and run them. We need to figure out who he is and where he was staying," said Hotch before he motioned his team to follow him.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer followed Morgan, Emily, and Detective Lopez towards a hotel room before Detective Lopez noticed a hotel room door open.

"It's open," said Detective Lopez as she, Spencer, Morgan, and Emily all pulled out their guns and entered the room.

As soon as all of the rooms were checked, Detective Lopez turned off the running sink water.

"Clear," said Detective Lopez.

Emily let out a breath of air.

"Boy, he tore through this place in a hurry," said Emily.

Spencer holstered his gun.

"What was he looking for?" asked Spencer.

"Identity, anything to possess a new one," said Emily.

"He thinks there's a witness out there who can ID him. It's not about fulfilling his need anymore. It's about his own survival. How does he escape? I'm gonna find out if Deacon Rogers had a car here," said Morgan as he pulled out his phone and called someone.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer, Morgan, and Detective Lopez were looking at a file when Detective Lopez looked at Morgan.

"Think we missed something?" asked Detective Lopez.

"I don't know," said Morgan.

"Forensics pulled hair from the sink, but it'll be days before we get results," said Detective Lopez.

Emily who was going through a bag looked at Spencer, Morgan, and Detective Lopez.

"We don't have that kind of time," said Emily.

"The unsub can't follow his pattern. He thinks there might have been a witness, so he's gonna need to change identities sooner than usual," said Spencer.

"What if he can't?" asked Morgan.

"What do you mean?" asked Detective Lopez.

"We're predicting that the unsub may take another life in the next 24 hours because there was a witness who saw him. Remember what Garcia said, that specific paradigm two victims in one day? That occurred one other time. The first two men disappeared on the same day," said Morgan.

"Because somebody might have seen something that threatened the unsub with getting caught?" asked Emily.

"It's worth profiling," said Morgan.

"Steven Fitzgerald first went missing two months ago, took a bus to Miami from Oakland Park, which is just up the highway, never seen again. Robert Feeney flew in for a wedding but never arrived at his hotel," said Detective Lopez.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"We need to get back in these files, question both families. Somewhere along the way, their paths may have crossed," said Morgan.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer, Emily, Morgan, and Rossi approached Detective Lopez.

"Texas plates," said Rossi.

"Deacon Rogers never rented a car. He drove here from Texas in this. Put it out as a bolo," said Detective Lopez.

Spencer looked at the body.

"Agent Hotchner is taking statements from the family of Steven Fitzgerald. He might be our unsub," said Spencer.

"Seriously?" asked Detective Lopez.

"It's an unusual household," said Emily.

"We've had his picture this whole time?" asked Detective Lopez.

"Apparently," said Spencer.

"Didn't know soon enough to prevent this. One set of tire tracks in, nothing out," said Rossi as he pointed at the road.

"Yeah, I noticed. County spotted the vehicle 20 minutes ago just as it is," said Detective Lopez.

"Asphyxiated?" asked Emily.

"Heh. Why mess with a good thing? It's clearly working for him," said Detective Lopez.

"This stretch of road takes you out of the city. If we lose Steven now, it could take us months to catch up with him again," said Emily.

Morgan looked at something in the car.

"May I?" asked Morgan.

"Knock yourself out," said Detective Lopez.

Morgan grabbed a piece of paper out of a bag.

"What is it?" asked Rossi.

"Some kind of scraps of paper. Looks like a fast-food wrapper," said Morgan before he opened up the piece of paper, "It's a receipt for a youth hostel. It's dated last night. The name on it is Michael Aldridge," said Morgan.

Rossi looked at Michael.

"From the looks of his sunburn, it's a good guess this young man was hitchhiking," said Rossi.

"Assuming Steven has taken over Michael's identity, he didn't drive?" asked Spencer.

"Not if Michael didn't," said Rossi.

"He's not becoming his victims by choice. It's his illness. He'd have to travel the exact same way," said Spencer.

"Hostels," said Rossi.

"There's a few hostels in North Miami Beach, four miles that way, and in Seneca, five miles west," said Detective Lopez.

"Ok. We'll have to split up. We'll take Seneca. You take North Miami Beach," said Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer smiled as he stood with Morgan and Emily as they watched JJ and Will kiss each other.

"Well, finally," said Morgan.

"Mm. I thought she was never gonna admit it," said Emily.

"Yeah. At least I've known for about a year because Will's the one to convince JJ to apologize to Clarissa about how she treated my wife," said Spencer.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" asked Morgan.

"I don't like sharing secrets unless the secret is harming someone or I'm asked to keep a relationship a secret," said Spencer before looking at Morgan, "Even though you've been dating Garcia since November and have known her for nearly four years, have you thought about going engagement ring shopping and ask Garcia to marry you yet?" asked Spencer.

"I have, but was planning on asking you to help me find a ring," said Morgan.

"I used my mom's engagement ring to propose to Clarissa, so why don't you ask your mom for her engagement ring," said Spencer.

Emily looked at Morgan.

"Reid's right that Garcia might like to wear your mother's engagement ring, so why don't you find time to call your mom and ask her to send you the ring," said Emily.

Morgan smiled as he quickly pulled out his phone and dialed his mother's number before walking away.

Xxxxxxx 

A few hours later Spencer quietly entered Diana's bedroom and smiled as he watched his four-year-old daughter sleep for a few minutes before he gave his oldest daughter a gentle kiss.

"Daddy loves you, bumble bee," whispered Spencer before he left Diana's room.

10 seconds later Spencer entered Bridget's nursery and shook his head when he saw Bridget laying awake in her crib while playing with her feet.

"What are you doing up, Bridget Mackenzie?" asked Spencer.

Bridget grinned when she saw her daddy.

"Dada," said Bridget before she made a sign for her diaper.

"Need a diaper change?" asked Spencer as he lifted his youngest daughter out of her crib and felt her diaper, "What has mommy and Lucy been feeding you?" asked Spencer as he laid his youngest daughter onto her changing table and started removing Bridget's pajamas so he could change her diaper.

A minute later Spencer was sitting in the rocking chair in Bridget's nursery and smiled at Bridget who was awake in his arms.

"Even though I don't want you to date until your 30-years-old, I don't care if you fall in love with a girl instead of a boy because I only care for your happiness and that includes your big sister Diana and your soon to be born baby brother Evan too," said Spencer before he started to sing one of his favorite lullabies to get Bridget to sleep.

A few minutes later Spencer entered the master bedroom to find Clarissa getting out of the bathroom.

"Hey," said Spencer.

"You didn't tell me that you were coming home tonight," said Clarissa.

"I know, but I thought that you should wake up to find me in bed with you," said Spencer.

"I heard you talk to Bridget through the baby monitor, and I agree with you about caring for our children's' happiness when it comes to falling in love," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband, "Instead of taking a shower, how about you take a bubble bath and I join you?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded, and a few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were taking a bubble bath together while Spencer told Clarissa that JJ and Will were finally together while Clarissa told her husband about how the past two days went.


	37. The Crossing

Nearly 30-week pregnant Clarissa who was sporting maternity scrubs looked at her husband as she tied her hair back into a ponytail.

"I'm sorry that I won't get to spend today with you, Diana, and Bridget," said Clarissa.

"Its OK, Clarissa," said Spencer.

"Please take a lot of pictures of the girls for me today," said Clarissa.

"I will, and at least you have six more weeks before you start maternity leave until the first day of school," said Spencer as he rubbed Clarissa's nearly 30-week baby bump, "You be nice to mommy today, Evan," said Spencer before he grinned when he felt a kick.

"Talking to our son isn't really helping because he's messing with my bladder," said a glaring Clarissa as she hurried towards the bathroom.

Xxxxxxxx 

After Clarissa left the house, Spencer looked at Diana who was playing peek-a-boo with Bridget.

"We're going shopping for mommy's Mother's Day gifts today," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"Mrs. Lee had me make a card and paint a picture of mommy and me for Mother's Day and I gave the card and picture to Lucy to hide in her house," said Diana.

"Even though you made two gifts for mommy, I still want you and Bridget to make a card and a gift for mommy while picking out a store bought gift together too," said Spencer.

"OK," said Diana before looking over at Lucy who was dusting the fireplace mantle, "Can daddy hide the gifts I made for mommy in his office?" asked Diana.

"He can, and do you want me to fetch them right now?" asked Lucy.

"Yes please," said Diana.

Three minutes later Spencer was looking at the card and picture that Diana made before smiling to Diana.

"Mommy's really going to cherish the card and picture you made for her," said Spencer.

Diana beamed while Lucy looked at Spencer.

"Need any help during your shopping trip with Diana and Bridget?" asked Lucy.

"I should be fine, and I'll take the girls out for lunch too so you can have a few hours to yourself," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Diana looked up at her daddy as she helped her daddy push the shopping cart that contained gifts that she and Bridget picked out for their mommy to the checkout.

"Will mommy like our gifts for Mother's Day?" asked Diana.

"She'll love them," said Spencer.

Bridget who was in sitting in the seated area of the shopping cart that her daddy and big sister were pushing started looking around for her mommy.

"Mama?" asked Bridget.

"Mommy's working at the hospital right now, but you'll be seeing mommy at dinner time," said Spencer as they got in line.

A few minutes later the cashier smiled when she started to scan everything before looking at Diana who was on her daddy's hip.

"You helped your daddy shop for Mother's Day gifts for next weekend?" asked the cashier.

"Yes, ma'am," said Diana.

"How old are you, sweetie?" asked the cashier.

Diana's eyes went back and forth as she did the math causing Spencer to smile.

"I'm four years, four months, and 12 days old," said Diana.

"You must be really smart to know how old you are like that," said the cashier.

Diana beamed at her daddy.

"I'm a genius like my daddy, and I like math," said Diana.

The cashier looked at Bridget who was happily chewing on a teething ring.

"How old is she?" asked the cashier.

"Bridget's going to be nine-months-old next Wednesday," said Spencer.

"I have a two-year-old daughter myself," said the cashier as she scanned the last item before giving the price.

A few seconds later Spencer handed a $50 bill to the cashier, and a few minutes later Spencer had Diana and Bridget in the back seat of Lucy's car before looking at Diana.

"Should we go out for lunch before we go home for Bridget's afternoon nap and get started on the homemade cards for mommy, Grandma Alex, and Lucy?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Diana.

"Where should we go out for lunch?" asked Spencer.

"McDonald's so I can have a Happy Meal," said Diana.

Spencer shook his head as he thought about how he and Clarissa only allow Diana to have fast food in moderation.

"McDonald's it is, and we can go to one that has an indoor playground," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

"Aye!" cheered Bridget while she clapped her hands.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two days later Spencer was sitting at his desk when Emily looked at him.

"How was your weekend?" asked Emily.

"Clarissa got called into Children's National on Saturday morning, and I consider Clarissa getting called in a blessing in disguise because I didn't have to kick her out of the house for a few hours like I originally planned," said Spencer.

Morgan looked up from his own desk.

"Why would you kick Clarissa out of the house?" asked Morgan.

"This coming up Sunday is Mother's Day, and other than Diana making a card and painting a picture in preschool, I had to take the girls shopping for some art supplies for homemade cards and some gifts," said Spencer.

Emily groaned.

"With my mom being retired from being an ambassador, she expects me to come over for brunch on Sunday if we don't have a case," said Emily.

Spencer sighed sadly as he looked at a picture of his four-year-old self with his mom before looking at a 19-year-old self of him with his aunt Ethel on his 19th birthday.

"You OK?" asked Emily.

"Even though I call my godmother 'mom' now, Mother's Day is one of the days that I always end up missing my mom and aunt Ethel. So you should always cherish the time you have left with your mom because you'll never know if this upcoming Mother's Day will be the last one you would get to celebrate with your mom," said Spencer as he got up and took his empty cup of coffee with him.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day Spencer was sitting at the round table with Morgan when JJ and Emily entered the conference room.

"Where's mom and dad?" asked Morgan.

Spencer shook his head as he thought about all the times that he and Clarissa called Hotch 'dad' after the time Eric Miller asked him if Hotch was his daddy.

"Hotch and Rossi are still at the seminar in Boston. We shouldn't wait on this," said JJ as she sat down.

"JJ pulled me in early. I agree," said Emily.

JJ pulled up a picture of a driver's license.

"This is Keri Derzmond. Two years ago in Atlanta, she started receiving anonymous notes that meticulously described her whereabouts throughout the day. Local authorities never found out who was responsible. Recently, she moved to Maryland, brought the stalker with her," said JJ.

"They think it's the same person?" asked Morgan.

"He includes photographs of himself," said Emily.

JJ started to show pictures of the stalker.

"None of his face. That's very telling. He's either trying to protect his identity or he has self-image issues. He's controlling the parts of his body that he shows to her," said Spencer.

"He writes to Keri in these letters about their "future" together- having kids, growing old. He believes Keri is in love with him and just doesn't know it yet," said Emily.

"OK, so the guy's clearly delusional, but what makes this a BAU case?" asked Morgan.

"He is so obsessed that he tracked her over 600 miles away," said Emily.

"That is unusual. Typically, a stalker will change his focus to another woman if the object of his affection moves away," said Spencer.

"I mean, I get that, and he's way past the first level of escalation, but... still," said Morgan.

"When Keri received the first letter in Maryland, she went to the locals for protection. They told her they couldn't help her. This woman is in serious danger," said Emily.

"This case is in my hands now, and if we do nothing and something happens to her... I'll be the one notifying her family," said JJ.

"OK," said Morgan.

A few minutes later Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message.

OTHER THAN AARON AND ROSSI STILL BEING IN BOSTON, I'M GOING TO SILVER SPRINGS, MARYLAND. I DON'T KNOW IF I'LL BE COMING HOME TONIGHT, BUT I'LL LET YOU KNOW IF I'LL BE COMING HOME OR NOT. I LOVE YOU AND I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE. ~ SR

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer and Morgan approached Detective Barry and Spencer smiled at Detective Barry.

"Hi Steve," said Spencer.

"How are you doing, Spencer?" asked Detective Barry.

"Doing well, and I'm anxious for Evan's upcoming birth in 10 weeks," said Spencer.

"You two know each other?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Detective Barry is my friend's Peter's twin brother, so I saw Detective Barry at Darren and Courtney's birthday parties, occasional barbecues that Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and I are invited to, and my godson Dominic's Christening," said Spencer before he introduced Morgan and Detective Barry to each other before Detective Barry led Spencer and Morgan to the area he set up for them.

"So we can use this area until something bigger comes along. I set it up just like Agent Jareau requested. Is she coming, by the way?" asked Detective Barry.

"She and another agent are at Keri's office," said Spencer.

"Aren't you guys a little overqualified for this case? I mean, this guy's no serial killer," said Detective Barry.

"We construct behavioral profiles for a variety of investigative scenarios. That includes stalking," said Spencer.

"We've seen this kind of thing before, and it can get ugly real fast," said Morgan.

"Hey, I wanted to help this girl the day she came in. I just-I didn't have the manpower," said Detective Barry.

"Listen, we understand what it's like to be shorthanded. We're just here to help," said Morgan.

"Look, don't get me wrong. I got a sister Keri's age, and if some guy was doing this to her and I got my hands on him... I'd probably get thrown off the force," said Detective Barry.

Morgan thought about his own sisters.

"You and me both," said Morgan.

"I had a stalker when I was four, and if it wasn't for my mom realizing that my stalker was a serial pedophile and told my uncle who was a police officer, I probably wouldn't be here today while being happily married with two daughters under the age of five and have a son on the way," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Morgan was reading a file before he looked at Spencer and Detective Barry.

"OK. When Keri lived in Atlanta, the initial communication happened at her job. But then they got more personal and started going to her home," said Morgan.

Spencer stood up.

"The first card is likely an anniversary date of sorts. The first time he saw her or the first face-to-face meeting," said Spencer as he started to write on the whiteboard they were given to use.

Detective Barry looked at one of the cards.

"He actually wrote the date on the card. March 21, 2006," said Detective Barry.

"That was a Tuesday," said Spencer.

Detective Barry smiled a bit as he shook his head.

"OK, so we should look at other Tuesdays, previous months on the 21st, and March of 2005. If we can figure out what this date means to the stalker, it could trace his connection back to Keri," said Morgan.

Spencer was looking at pictures when Morgan returned to him and Detective Barry.

"OK, so every Tuesday, Keri's firm has a staff meeting. And it's catered by a lot of different restaurants," said Morgan.

"I'll add it to the list," said Detective Barry.

Spencer moved a photo causing Morgan to look at Spencer.

"What do you see?" asked Morgan.

"Look at the new photograph Keri received in Maryland," said Spencer as he placed the newest photo onto the table before showing an older one, "Now look at the old ones from Atlanta, the muscle tone has changed. The bicep is far more defined," said Spencer as he pointed at the newer photo.

"Also, skin color. He's tan," said Morgan.

"Why do we care if he's lifting weights and out in the sun?" asked Detective Barry.

Spencer looked at his friend's twin brother.

"Well, we're looking at this from a behavioral standpoint. He's making improvements to his appearance and it's likely to impress Keri," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Detective Barry.

"What does her fiance look like?" asked Morgan.

Detective Barry showed a photo before Spencer had a thoughtful look on his face.

"Reid?" asked Morgan.

"At least Clarissa loves me for who I am," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"There are days that I still think that you two are out of each other's leagues," said Morgan.

"I know, but one of the huge reasons why I ended up asking Clarissa to marry me was because of her inner beauty, her sweet nature, being straightforward, her free-spirited personality, and being attentive to children and adults," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

The next day Morgan was pinning up a photo of Ryan onto the bulletin board.

"This guy's definitely trying to mirror Ryan. He's even got the same haircut," said Morgan before he joined Spencer who was staring at the bulletin board.

"He's trying to replicate what Keri's attracted to," said Spencer.

"He starts feeling good about himself, he's gonna find the courage he needs to actually meet her," said Morgan.

Detective Barry joined them with a photo of a dog.

"We charging him with dog napping now, too?" asked Detective Barry as he pinned the photo.

"Taking the dog might not seem like much to you, but it tells us that he's desperately trying to feel close to her. He was bold enough to break in her backyard. Add that to his proven determination and we've got ourselves a serious escalation here," said Morgan.

"I thought he was just messing with her," said Detective Barry.

"We had Keri put fliers up. We may get him to call to return the dog," said Spencer.

"Would he do that?" asked Detective Barry.

"He wants to prove how much he cares," said Spencer.

"Or he won't call if he's jealous of how much attention the dog is getting. If he really believes that he's ready to eliminate all of his competition, Ryan could be next," said Morgan causing all three men to look at a picture of Ryan.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer and Morgan stood in front of the Silver Spring Police Department.

"This man's an incompetent suitor seeking intimacy with a woman unavailable to him. He thinks he's courting his soul mate who in reality is a total stranger to him," said Spencer.

"He's making some physical improvements. But even if he's able to get enough confidence together to speak to Keri, she'd find it more like talking to a 12-year-old boy," said Morgan.

"A very dangerous one. His obsession has heightened, as indicated by his following her to Maryland and the amount of detail in those letters. He writes instead of calls, which could mean that he's afraid of how he'll sound. He might be less educated or have some sort of physical issue, like a speech impediment," said Spencer.

"He wouldn't have written March 21, 2006, in that first letter if that date didn't actually mean something to him," said Morgan.

"It could be the first time he saw her at the bank or the movies. I mean, the possibilities are endless," said Spencer.

"Their paths crossed somewhere in Atlanta, he followed her. So we need to focus on what she's doing here and how she's living. He's watching," said Morgan.

"His move here means that he's committed, and unless he's caught, he'll never break that commitment," said Spencer.

"Yet if he perceives that she has... We all know domestic disputes can be some of the most violent," finished Morgan.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer was sitting across from JJ and Morgan was by the board when Emily joined them.

"Thanks. That was Detective Barry. He just took Ryan's police report. He's got about $500's worth of damage to his car," said Emily.

JJ sighed causing Emily to look at JJ.

"Hey, why are you taking this so hard?" asked Emily.

JJ thought about the baby that she's currently pregnant with.

"Keri's life has been turned upside down for the past two years, and then we just come on in and tear it up some more," said JJ.

"But to catch her stalker, we have to ask those questions. She knew it would be uncomfortable," said Emily.

"That's an understatement," said JJ.

Spencer thought about JJ telling him that he was right about her being pregnant.

"JJ, you fought for this case," said Spencer.

"You wanted to help Keri. That's what we're sitting here trying to do," said Morgan.

"Then why do I feel like we violated her, too?" asked JJ as she got up and left the room.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer, JJ, Morgan, Emily, and Detective Barry listened to Keri while a sketch artist drew Keri's stalker.

"I knew I'd seen him before- at my dry cleaners, at a restaurant. I didn't know where else to go," said Keri.

"You did the right thing coming here," said Detective Barry.

"Keri, you're gonna get through this. You're strong," said JJ.

"You've been smart. You're taking every necessary precaution. You're not helpless, Keri. You're prepared and you're protected," said Morgan.

Keri sighed.

"I needed to hear that," said Keri.

Detective Barry looked at Spencer, JJ, Emily, and Morgan.

"Sounds like he's gonna try to talk to her," said Detective Barry.

"It could be a risky situation for him," said Spencer.

Keri looked at Spencer.

"Why him?" asked Keri.

"He's setting himself up for rejection, and if he feels anger or shame, there's a possibility he could turn violent," said Spencer.

The sketch artist passed his drawing to JJ.

"All right, I'm going to get this picture out," said JJ before she left the room while Keri answered her phone.

Morgan looked at Emily.

"JJ OK?" asked Morgan.

Spencer kept his mouth shut as he thought about knowing why JJ is acting the way she is.

"Yeah, she will be, once we get a lead," said Emily.

A sighing Keri approached Spencer, Emily, and Morgan.

"That was Ryan. He's taking off for a couple of days to clear his head. But he wants to talk first. I'm going to meet him at the house," said Keri.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting in front of a laptop while Garcia talked to them on the phone.

"There aren't any vans in Georgia that have been transferred to Maryland, so I am sending you registrations and ID's for both states. Pictures coming at you," said Garcia.

Spencer looked at the photos of possible stalkers.

"Let's start with Jeffrey Cramer, Chris Geezy, and Mike Hicks," said Spencer.

"Ok. Cramer works at a grocery store. Geezy is a heating and air tech, and Hicks is on unemployment. But he's an IT guy last employed at Legal Grind, tech support for law firms," said Garcia.

"Keri's a lawyer. He might have worked on her computer," said Spencer.

"He's got no criminal record. And his social's listed at a bank there. And the account lists... Mike Hicks, 404 Lark Lane, Silver Spring," said Garcia.

"Thanks, baby girl," said Morgan before he hung up and looked at Detective Barry, "All right, we got a name and an address," said Morgan.

"Would he really take Keri to his place?" asked Detective Barry.

"It's unlikely, but we should still check it out," said Morgan.

"All right, I'll send a cruiser," said Detective Barry before he walked away.

"Every second we're here, she's alone with him," said Ryan.

"His obsession with Keri define he wants to make her happy. He wouldn't take her where he wants to go, he would take her where she wants to go," said Emily.

JJ looked at Ryan.

"Maybe someplace that means something to the both of you?" asked JJ.

"I proposed to her at Chesapeake Beach," said Ryan.

Spencer, Emily, JJ, and Morgan exchanged glances before they hurried out of the house.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer approached JJ, Emily, and Keri with a piece of paper.

"I found this in his van along with about 100 photos of Keri. February 21, 2006. A month later, he sent his first letter," said Spencer.

Emily sighed.

"He thought it was their anniversary," said Emily before she and Spencer walked towards an SUV.

Xxxxxxxx 

As Spencer closed his last case file, Rossi approached him.

"Your brother-in-law is feeling a bit down, so can you call a certain four-year-old girl and ask her to help cheer up her uncle Aaron?" asked Rossi.

"I can," said Spencer as he quickly called Clarissa who answered on the second ring.

"You're on speaker because Lucy and I are giving Diana and Bridget their baths right now," said Clarissa.

"OK," said Spencer.

"Is Aaron back?" asked Clarissa.

"He is, and before I leave the office, I need Diana to talk to him," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Diana.

"Your uncle is feeling a bit sad, and I want you to cheer him up," said Spencer.

"Will asking uncle Aaron to read me a bedtime story cheer him up?" asked Diana.

Spencer shook his head as he thought about the times that Diana would prefer her uncle Aaron to read her a bedtime story instead of him.

"I think having uncle Aaron read you a bedtime story will cheer him up," said Spencer.

"Can you please put uncle Aaron on the phone?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled.

"Just give me about 30 seconds and you can ask him, Diana," said Spencer as he got up from his desk and headed towards Hotch's office.

20 seconds later Spencer stepped into his brother-in-law's office.

"Why are you still here, Reid?" asked Hotch.

"I backed out on going out for drinks with the rest of the team because I want to go home and tuck in Diana and Bridget before watching a movie with Clarissa," said Spencer.

"Then you should go home and tuck in my nieces and spend time with my sister," said Hotch.

"I will, but one of our three favorite girls wants to talk to you," said Spencer as he put his cell phone on speaker, "I'm in the room with Hotch right now," said Spencer.

"Can you please come over and read me a bedtime story, uncle Aaron?" asked Diana.

Hotch shook his head before he smiled a bit.

"I'll come home with your daddy and read you a bedtime story before I go home," said Hotch.

"Aye!" cheered Bridget before Spencer and Hotch heard Bridget clapping her hands over the phone causing Spencer and Hotch to smile at each other.

"I'm going to get the girls out of the tub right now, so you two should start heading home now," said Clarissa.

"I'll see you girls in about an hour," said Spencer before he hung up and looked at his brother-in-law who was packing up for the day, "I can't believe that Bridget turned nine-months-old while you were in Boston and I was in Silver Springs," said Spencer.

"Me too, but are you ready to go?" asked Hotch.

"I'm pretty much ready to go, and you should probably bring your go bag with you just in case Clarissa decides to have you sleep in the guest bedroom," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

An hour later Spencer was exiting Diana's bedroom with a sleeping Bridget in his arms while Hotch laid in Diana's bed with Diana reading "The Frog Prince" to Diana. 10 minutes later Spencer found Clarissa standing in the doorway of Diana's bedroom taking a picture of Hotch and Diana sleeping together in Diana's bed with an open book on top of Hotch's chest.

A minute later Spencer and Clarissa were in their bedroom changing into their pajamas.

"You do know that Aaron is not going to be happy about you taking a picture of him sleeping with Diana," said Spencer.

"I know, but that scene was so damn cute," smirked Clarissa as she sent the picture to a few certain people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: You readers can imagine who Clarissa sent the photo she took to, and Clarissa's Mother's Day gifts will be revealed in the next chapter!


	38. Mother's Day & Tabula Rasa

Clarissa woke up to a tiny hand squeezing her nose and as soon as she had her glasses on, she was looking at Diana and Bridget who were both dressed for church while sitting on hers and Spencer's bed.

"What are you girls doing in here?" asked Clarissa.

"Happy Mother's Day, mommy," said Diana as she gave her mother a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Diana," said Clarissa as she gave Diana a kiss.

"Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama," said Bridget before she gave her mommy a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

A teary-eyed Clarissa looked at her youngest daughter.

"Thank you for the kiss, Bridget," said Clarissa before gave her brown-eyed and curly haired mini-me's a kiss on the cheek before noticing that her husband wasn't in the room, "Where's daddy?" asked Clarissa.

"Right here," said Spencer as he brought a tray that was filled with breakfast into the room, "The natives and myself have already eaten breakfast and got dressed for church, but while I feed you breakfast, Diana and Bridget want to cuddle with you," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I need to use the bathroom first before you feed me and I open up my gifts," said Clarissa as she looked at the wrapped presents.

"OK," said Spencer as he put the tray filled with breakfast onto the nightstand before he helped his nearly 31-week pregnant wife get out of bed.

Five minutes later Clarissa was cuddling with Diana and Bridget while her husband fed her breakfast when Diana looked at her mommy.

"How much longer until Evan comes?" asked Diana.

"About nine more weeks, but he might be born a few weeks early like you and Bridget were," said Clarissa as she rubbed her growing stomach and smiled when she felt a kick before she gently took her nine-month-old daughter's hand and allowed Bridget to feel her baby brother kick.

A few seconds later Bridget's eyes went wide when she felt her baby brother kick before she laughed causing Spencer, Clarissa, and little Diana to laugh.

Xxxxxxxx 

20 minutes later Clarissa was tearing up at the painting that Diana painted for her and Diana together, Diana's homemade card, the necklace from Diana and Bridget, smiling at the massage oil that Spencer promised to use on her after Evan's birth before giving Spencer, Diana, and Bridget each a kiss.

"Thank you guys," said Clarissa.

"Your welcome, mommy," said Diana.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Even though I'll be nine-months-pregnant on Father's Day, be prepared for you to be spoiled," said Clarissa.

Spencer laughed.

"I know, but next year Mother's and Father's Day will be even better," said Spencer.

Diana rubbed her mommy's growing stomach.

"Because of Evan being here?" asked Diana.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

A few hours later a smiling Spencer was laying on his back on a blanket with a grinning Bridget sitting on his chest while he held one of Diana's hand while before looking at Clarissa who was holding Diana's free hand while rubbing her nearly 31-week pregnant belly with her free hand.

"Doing OK, love?" asked Spencer.

"Evan's been kicking a lot today," said Clarissa as she rested her free hand on her growing stomach as she smiled at her smiling husband and daughters while the growing family didn't realize that Reverend Alden was taking a picture.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day Spencer holding a picture of Emily who was dressed like a goth as he looked at Garcia.

"It's remarkable. Something like this makes you question everything you thought you knew," said Spencer before he gazed at old pictures of himself as a child and a teenager on his desk before looking at a picture of him and Clarissa from over seven years ago.

"Yeah. It's like the Monolith in 2001," said Garcia sadly.

Emily glanced at Spencer and Garcia before she shook her head.

"So there was actually a time when something like this was socially acceptable?" asked Spencer.

Garcia rested a hand on Spencer's shoulder.

"Oh...you're young," said Garcia as she took the picture from Spencer, "The eighties left a lot of people confused. This is, uh, especially sad, though," said Garcia as she held up an old picture of Emily.

Emily instantly realized what Spencer and Garcia were looking at before seeing the smirks on Spencer's and Garcia's faces.

"All right, very funny, you guys. Very funny," said Emily while Spencer and Garcia laughed as she took the picture, "What did you do to it?" asked Emily.

"Do?" asked Garcia.

"Well, you obviously altered it in photoshop or something. That hair?" asked Emily as she showed her hair in the picture.

"Oh, no, pussycat. That's all you. Garfield high, class of '89," said Garcia while Spencer smirked.

Emily looked at the picture.

"You really didn't change anything?" asked Emily.

"I hacked it, as is. You're seriously trying to tell me you don't remember rocking that look?" asked Garcia.

"Perhaps your lack of recognition stems from a dissociative fugue suffered in adolescence," said Spencer as he pressed his lips together as he thought about one of Clarissa's favorite bands, "Say, at a Siouxsie and the Banshees concert," said Spencer before he and Garcia laughed.

Emily looked at the photo as Spencer and Garcia noticed Hotch approaching them.

"It's so weird. It's like some other life," said Emily before she noticed her boyfriend approaching them causing her to hide the picture, "What was that about?" asked Emily.

"Brian Matloff," said Hotch as he noticed recognition spark in his brother-in-law's eyes.

"Who?" asked Garcia.

"Uh, aka the Blue Ridge Strangler," said Spencer.

Garcia instantly remembered about the Blue Ridge Strangler case being her first case with the BAU.

"Oh, right. That was, like, four years ago," said Garcia.

Emily thought about the file that she read.

"Three victims in the Blue Ridge Parkway," said Emily.

Hotch nodded.

"Allegedly. He was never convicted. He slipped into a coma before he could be tried," said Spencer.

"Looks like they're finally gonna get their chance. He just woke up," said Hotch.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"How did you know the band name Siouxsie and the Banshees?" asked Garcia.

Spencer and Hotch both smirked.

"They're one of Clarissa's favorite bands, and Clarissa insisted that some of their songs would be played during our wedding reception," said Spencer before looking at his and Clarissa's wedding photo, "Clarissa and I got to adjust to married life for nearly six months while I finished my third Ph.D. before I had to report to the academy for training," said Spencer.

"How long were you in this unit when you first worked this case?" asked Emily.

"Seven months," said Spencer.

"This was my first case as their technical analyst," said Garcia.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Wasn't Diana four-months-old when we first worked this case?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"And Diana just started crawling prior two days prior to working this case," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer and Morgan were briefing JJ and Emily who never worked the case with them about the time they worked the case.

"After the raid on Matloff's apartment, we discovered he had another area of interest. Native American mythology," said Morgan as he sat down with a cup of coffee, "We realized our profile wasn't complete," said Morgan.

"There's a Native American belief that says burying a body face down traps the soul and prevents it from haunting the killer," said Spencer.

"That's why he buried them like this?" asked Emily.

"That was the theory," said Spencer.

Emily looked at the crime scene photos.

"Three women in shallow graves. I don't see any progression. There's no learning curve," said Emily.

"Do you think there could have been more, earlier victims when he was honing his skills?" asked JJ.

"We considered it a possibility. It turned out Matloff worked in Blue Ridge Parkway for the forest service. He had free reign over the entire park," said Morgan.

JJ looked at the file that she was reading.

"It says here he was raised Polish Catholic. Any idea what led him to identify with Native American culture?" asked JJ.

Spencer and Morgan shook their heads.

"We didn't get that far," said Morgan.

"Another thing we never got was any physical evidence at his apartment tying him to the crimes," said Spencer.

"What about the jewelry he took, the souvenirs?" asked Emily.

"No trace," said Morgan.

"So what did he do with him?" asked JJ just as Hotch came into the conference room.

"Well, if we didn't need the answer to that before, we do now. it turns out our star witness has been dead for two years," said Hotch.

Everyone looked at each other in shock.

"He was the only one who could put Matloff at the scene," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about the technology that is available.

"There might be another way," said Spencer as he started to explain what they could do.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer was sitting across from his brother-in-law on the jet as he looked at a picture of four-month-old Diana before looking at his most recent photo of Diana causing him to sigh.

"You OK?" asked Hotch.

"When it comes to first working this case when Diana was four-months-old, I can't believe how fast Diana has grown since the four years we first worked this case," said Spencer.

"I can't believe how fast my nieces are growing too, but there are days that I'm shocked about how much you and my sister have grown since the day my sister brought you along for lunch over seven years ago," said Hotch before both adults decided to review the case files they brought with them.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was walking down the hallway of the courthouse when he heard a voice he could never forget.

"Dr. Reid," said Mr. Corbett.

Spencer stopped walking and turned around.

"Mr. Corbett. I didn't see you in there," said Spencer as he shook Mr. Corbett's hand "How have you been?" asked Spencer.

Mr. Corbett sighed.

"Oh... not bad, Considering. Um... You aren't not buying this amnesia thing, are you?" asked Mr. Corbett.

"I'm trying to figure that out," said Spencer.

"It's probably something the lawyer thought up. It won't work, will it?" asked Mr. Corbett.

"We have a pretty strong case," said Spencer.

"Good. That's good," said Mr. Corbett before taking in Spencer's appearance, "You look different. Your hair," said Mr. Corbett.

"It's been four years," reminded Spencer.

"Right. I forget. Sometimes I feel like Darci's just... Ah-It messes with time, this thing. You know? You lose time," said Mr. Corbett.

Spencer thought about everything that he has gone through.

"Yeah. I know," said Spencer.

"You always hear about closure, you know? And you never really know what that means. Maybe now I can... Get on with things, you know?" asked Mr. Corbett.

Spencer nodded as he thought about Clarissa being the reason why he was able to move on from his aunt's and uncle's deaths.

"How's Mrs. Corbett doing? Is, uh, she here?" asked Spencer.

"Oh, no, no, no. She's, uh... We split up. It... Was hard to... It was my fault, really," said Mr. Corbett.

Spencer thought about his brother-in-law and Haley divorcing.

"I'm sure it was just, you know... It happens," said Spencer.

"Yeah. It's OK. Everything's gonna be OK now," said Mr. Corbett before he noticed Spencer's wedding band, "I remember you telling me that your married and a father when I first met you," said Mr. Corbett.

Spencer nodded.

"I celebrated my five-year wedding anniversary last November and my daughter Diana turned four last December," said Spencer.

"Did you have any more kids with your wife?" asked Mr. Corbett.

Spencer beamed as he pulled out his phone and showed Mr. Corbett the picture that was taken after church on Sunday.

"The baby girl on top of me is my nine-month-old daughter Bridget Mackenzie Reid, Diana is between Clarissa and me, and Clarissa's 31-weeks pregnant with my firstborn son, Evan," said Spencer.

"Congratulations on the newest and upcoming edition and Diana and Bridget are so beautiful while looking like perfect mixtures of you and your wife," said Mr. Corbett.

"Thank you, and I can't wait to see how Evan turns out in about nine weeks," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting on top of his desk while Morgan, JJ, and Emily sat around him when Hotch and Rossi joined them.

"And that's why I distrust all technology," said Rossi.

"So how'd he get over? I thought nobody could beat this test," said Morgan

"The damage to his parietal lobe must have been more extensive than previously thought. The brain injury could have literally deleted his memories," said Spencer.

"Oh, he did the murders, and we'll prove it. What he remembers doesn't matter," said Rossi.

"Doesn't it? I mean, if those experiences are gone forever, doesn't that sort of make him, I don't know, like…," said Emily.

Spencer realized what Emily was trying to say.

"Different person?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah," said Emily.

"No, not at all," said Morgan.

"It's interesting," said Spencer.

"Not to me," interjected Rossi.

Spencer ignored Rossi.

"It goes to core arguments about the nature of identity. There's a western philosophical concept, causal dependence, that says that a psychological connection to the past plays a key role in defining who we are," said Spencer.

"Reid, what are you saying, that this guy shouldn't be tried?" asked Morgan.

"I'm not saying that," said Spencer.

"But one could make the argument that in his current condition he's no longer a danger to society," said Emily.

"Not until he gets his memory back," said Rossi.

"But it's not just about this guy being a danger. It's about making sure somebody pays for what happened to those girls," said Morgan.

"Well, it's not up to us to decide to what extent he should be punished. That's for the courts. Where are we with Matloff's mystery visitor?" asked Hotch.

"Prentiss and I contacted every recorded Nina Moore within 500 miles of the hospital. 71 in total, no takers," said JJ.

"Matloff's a textbook loner. No meaningful relationships, no family, no girlfriends. But anyone who would visit a coma patient-," said Hotch.

"A triple murderer coma patient," interjected Morgan.

"We're talking about somebody who feels connected to him," said Hotch.

"Maybe connected enough to know the truth," said JJ.

"The truth could be she's just a fan. Every serial killer's got 'em," said Rossi.

"Let's go back to the hospital and interview the staff. We need to build a profile and help locate this woman," said Hotch before he looked at his brother-in-law, "Do you, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget have anything events or doctor appointments scheduled for the next couple of days that you can't miss?" asked Hotch.

"I have no appointments. No important school functions other than figure skating lessons and swimming lessons for Diana that either Clarissa or Lucy can take her to. I already attended Bridget's nine-month checkup last week because I ended up holding her while she received her third dosage of the Hepatitis B vaccination. Clarissa doesn't have her next bi-weekly doctor appointment until next week, but she doesn't expect me to attend every appointment while she finishes up the last nine weeks of her pregnancy as long as I'm in the delivery room when she goes into labor. Why?" asked Spencer.

"You'll be going to Roanoke with me for the trial, but instead of coming back every night we're staying in Roanoke until after the trial," said Hotch.

"OK," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Over two hours later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Lucy, and Hotch were sitting around the dining room table eating dinner when Spencer looked at Clarissa and Diana.

"I'll be staying in Roanoke for a few days," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Diana.

Spencer glanced at Bridget who was eating pureed peas, mashed potatoes, and tiny pieces of baked chicken on her own causing him to feel sad about his nine-month-old daughter already self-feeding herself.

"You know that I occasionally have to go away for a few days and testify against a really bad man or woman that I helped put away?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Diana.

Hotch looked at Diana.

"Your daddy is going to help me make sure that a man we tried to catch when you were a baby ends up in jail for a really long time because he went into a very deep sleep for four years before he woke up yesterday," said Hotch.

"This bad man was in a coma?" asked Diana.

"Yes," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter.

"To save the FBI money on travel expenses, uncle Aaron and I will be staying in Roanoke, Virginia for the duration of the trial," said Spencer.

"OK daddy," said Diana.

Clarissa looked at her husband and brother.

"What time are you guys leaving?" asked Clarissa.

"The trial doesn't start until 1 PM tomorrow, but I'm thinking about hitting the road around 5 AM," said Hotch.

"What about breakfast?" asked Lucy.

Spencer shook his head.

"We'll grab breakfast on the way," said Hotch.

Clarissa looked at her brother.

"You're staying in the guest bedroom tonight," said Clarissa.

"I had a feeling that you were going to have me stay the night, so that's why I already checked out a Bureau SUV so we can start our long drive from here," said Hotch just as Bridget started laughing.

All four adults and Diana to turn their heads to Bridget who was sitting in her high chair with her bowl of pureed peas over her head causing all of the adults to hold back their laughter so they couldn't encourage future behavior while Diana giggled at the sight of her baby sister.

"Bridget's silly, uncle Aaron," said Diana seriously.

Hotch nodded at his oldest niece.

"I know," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few days later Spencer was sitting with the audience as Brian's lawyer Lester Sterling looked at Hotch.

"Now, my client ran from the police, a behavior that you called a strong indicator of his guilt," said Lester.

"Yes, that's correct," said Hotch.

"Were you aware that he had an outstanding warrant at the time of his arrest?" asked Lester.

"Yes. I believe it was for an automobile accident, a hit and run," said Hotch.

"So isn't it possible that Mr. Matloff fled not because he was guilty of murder, but because of this other warrant?" asked Lester.

"There were eight law enforcement officers in bulletproof vests. I doubt any reasonable person would assume-," said Hotch.

"A yes or no answer will do," interrupted Lester.

"Yes, it's possible," said Hotch.

Spencer sighed from his seat and studied Lester who was checking his phone again until he locked eyes with his brother-in-law and started blinking in Morse code about Lester Sterling checking his vibrating phone every 20 minutes before he would become agitated.

"So, you've stated that it was your profile of the killer that led you and the police to my client's door that night," said Lester as he gestured to Brian.

"Behavioral analysis was a factor in our investigation, yes," answered Hotch.

"And was behavioral analysis also a factor in the Olympic Park bombings case in Atlanta?" asked Lester.

"Yes, it was. And was that suspect you identified, Richard Jewell, ever convicted of the bombings?" asked Lester.

"Objection. Relevance," said Cece.

Lester looked at the judge.

"Goes to the credibility of the witness and his field," said Lester.

"I'll allow it," said the judge.

"No, he was not convicted," said Hotch.

"Because he was innocent. Your profile led you to the wrong man," said Lester.

"Jewell was not the perpetrator, but if you look at the real Olympic Park Bomber, Eric Rudolph, you'll see that our profile was dead on," said Hotch.

Lester headed over to his spot and looked at his phone causing Spencer to quickly blink a message to his brother-in-law.

"Well, how about if we look at the Baton Rouge killer? Your unit said that he was white And living in the city. He was black and from the suburbs. You said that Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer, was divorced and impotent. He turned out to be married with two kids," said Lester.

Cece looked at the judge.

"Objection, your honor. He's giving a sermon," said Cece.

The judge looked at Lester.

"Do you have a question in there somewhere, counselor?" asked the judge.

"Having been wrong on those cases, isn't it possible that you were wrong about Brian Matloff?" asked Lester.

"No," said Hotch.

"The fact is, behavioral analysis is really just intellectual guesswork. You probably couldn't tell me the color of my socks with any greater accuracy than a carnival psychic," said Lester.

Cece stood up.

"Objection," said Cece.

Lester looked at Cece.

"Withdrawn," said Lester.

Hotch quickly looked at Lester.

"Charcoal gray," answered Hotch.

"Well, look at that," said Lester as he showed off a sock, "He got one right," said Lester.

"You match them to the color of your suit to appear taller. You also wear lifts and you've had the soles of your shoes replaced. One might think you're frugal, but in fact, you're having financial difficulties. You wear a fake Rolex because you pawned your real one to pay your debts. My guess is to a bookie," said Hotch.

"I took this case pro bono. I am one of the most successful criminal attorneys in the state," said Lester.

"Your vice is horses. Your Blackberry's been buzzing on the table every 20 minutes, which happens to be the average time between posts from Colonial Downs. You're getting race results. And every time you do, it affects your mood in court, and you're not having a very good day. That's because you pick horses the same way you practice law- by always taking the long shot," said Hotch as he noticed his brother-in-law smirk at Lester's silence.

"Well, you spin a very good yarn, agent, but as usual, you've proven nothing," said Lester.

Hotch looked at his watch.

"If I'm not mistaken, the results from the fifth race should be coming through any minute," said Hotch while Lester's phone started to vibrate while the judge sighed, "Why don't you tell us if your luck has changed?" asked Hotch.

Lester looked at the judge.

"Your honor, this is-," said Lester.

"What do you want me to do? Either show us your Blackberry or cut him loose, counselor," said the judge.

A few seconds later Lester was sitting down.

"Nothing further," said Lester.

"Wise decision. Court will be adjourned until 9 AM tomorrow," said the judge before he banged his gavel.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer hurried towards Mr. Corbett.

"Mr. Corbett," said Spencer.

Mr. Corbett stopped walking causing Spencer to quickly meet up with the older man.

"Hey, uh, I just wanted to make sure you knew that cross-examination wasn't as bad as it sounded," said Spencer.

"I'm not worried," said a calm Mr. Corbett.

"Oh. Good," said Spencer.

"I have a better understanding of things now," said Mr. Corbett.

Spencer gave Mr. Corbett a confused look.

"Understanding?" asked Spencer.

"After Darci died, I started to see a therapist. Had a lot of guilt, you know. Thought that I should have been there for her, saved her somehow, I don't know. This guy, this shrink, he always brought it back to control. He said I had to accept the fact that there were always gonna be things in life I couldn't control," said Mr. Corbett.

Spencer nodded in agreement as he thought about the grief counseling sessions he attended after his aunt and uncle died.

"I think that's wise," said Spencer.

"I realize I have no say over what goes on in that courtroom. See you later, Spencer," said Mr. Corbett before he walked away causing Spencer to stare at Mr. Corbett.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that night, a slightly agitated Spencer was pacing in his and Hotch's hotel room when Hotch who was sitting on his own hotel bed looked at his agitated brother-in-law.

"Did something happen to my sister, nieces, or unborn nephew that's causing you pace around our hotel room in frustration or are you stimming, Spencer?" asked Hotch.

Spencer stopped pacing and looked at his brother-in-law.

"Other than Diana having an asthma attack during preschool today, everything's fine at home, but it's about Mr. Corbett," said Spencer.

Hotch nodded as he thought about how Spencer did a great job with Mr. Corbett when they first worked the case.

"Did he say or do something that concerns you?" asked Hotch.

Spencer used his eidetic memory to repeat what Mr. Corbett told him earlier and when he was finished, he looked at his brother-in-law.

"You already know that your sister always calls me 'Spence' or a few other pet names unless I do something that irritates her causing her to call me 'Spencer'. You and I are always on first name basis unless we're on duty. So when it came to Mr. Corbett being way too calm and calling me by my first name today, I got concerned," said Spencer.

"What are you going to do?" asked Hotch.

"I'll keep a close eye on him tomorrow and make sure that he doesn't pull a reckless stunt that will either hurt someone else or himself," said Spencer.

"That's probably a good idea," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer saw Mr. Corbett reaching into the pocket of his suit jacket while watching Brian Matloff causing him to sprint over to the older man and stop Mr. Corbett from going after Brian.

"Mr. Corbett, it won't help. Think about what this would do. Think about Darci," said Spencer in a dangerously low voice as he made sure that possible reporters in the parking lot didn't see Mr. Corbett's gun.

"Think about? I am thinking about her," said Mr. Corbett as he watched a guard take Brian into the courthouse.

"If she knew what you were about to do, and depending on your belief system, maybe she does, do you think she'd want this? Give me the gun. You want him to suffer, but he'll be dead. He won't feel anything, you'll be in prison, and you will regret it, believe me," said Spencer firmly.

"I'm already in prison," said Mr. Corbett as he lifted up his arm.

Spencer quickly took the opportunity to take the gun from Mr. Corbett's suit jacket before putting the gun in the inner pocket of his suit jacket without reporters noticing what he was doing.

"How did you know?" asked Mr. Corbett.

Spencer looked into Mr. Corbett's eyes.

"Your affect, your behavior. You were too calm yesterday, and you called me by my first name," said Spencer.

"If you're so good at predicting things, how come you couldn't stop him before he took my Darci?" asked Mr. Corbett.

Spencer closed his eyes as he thought about the smiling faces of Diana and Bridget.

"Look, I shouldn't say anything, but... There's some new evidence," said Spencer.

"What evidence?" asked Mr. Corbett.

"The rest of the team found Brian's birth mother and she'll be testifying," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Over an hour later Spencer was keeping a close eye on Mr. Corbett while he listened to Nina Moore testify against her son.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer and Hotch stood by an officer as paramedics bandaged up a woman.

"She's a law clerk. Matloff stuck a gun in her face, pulled her out of her car, late model Nissan," said the officer.

"And you put out an APB?" asked Hotch.

"Statewide. We'll block every road out of town," said the officer.

"Don't forget service roads. He knows them all," said Hotch.

"You know this guy, right? Any idea where he might be headed?" asked the officer.

"All depends on who he is," said Spencer.

Hotch instantly saw Lester causing him to run towards Brian's lawyer.

"Hey. Hey! Did you know?" asked Hotch.

"Know what?" asked Lester.

"You talked to Matloff every day. Did you know that his memory was coming back?" asked Hotch as Spencer joined him.

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about," said Lester.

Spencer rested a hand on his brother-in-law's arm.

"Hotch, he can't help us. Matloff is a paranoid personality. Even if he was aware he wouldn't have told anyone," said Spencer.

Hotch rested a hand on his brother-in-law's arm and led him away from Lester.

"Get over to the jail and into his cell. Just look for anything, any clue that might tell us where he's headed," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded while he quickly ran off to find a car to use.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer donned some latex-free gloves and started to search through Brian's cell before he ended up finding pieces of notebook papers with journal entries and drawings of a waterfall before he called his brother-in-law.

"Find anything, Reid?" asked Hotch.

"Hotch, I think I know where he's going," said Spencer before he told his brother-in-law about the drawing.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer got out of the driver's seat of the car with his Kevlar vest in hand as he looked at his brother-in-law.

"Any sign of him?" asked Spencer.

"He's got about a half-hour head start on us," said Hotch.

Spencer approached Hotch and the police officer from the courthouse and placed the drawing on the car where a map was already in view.

"There's a waterfall near the site where we found Darci Corbett's body," said Spencer.

"Yeah, that's Linville Falls," said the officer.

Spencer started to put his Kevlar vest on himself.

"That's where we need to go," said Hotch.

"Figured this guy would have headed straight out of town. Why'd he come back here?" asked the officer.

"He's looking for something," said Hotch.

"For what?" asked the officer.

"Himself," said Hotch before he took off.

Spencer quickly followed his brother-in-law as he continued to secure his vest, and a few minutes later Spencer, Hotch, and a police officer found Brian sitting on the ground.

"That's him," said Hotch before he looked at another officer, "Glasses," said Hotch.

The officer handed Hotch some binoculars and 10 seconds later Hotch was looking at his brother-in-law and the officers that were with them.

"It's him. He's got a girl with him and she's not moving," said Hotch.

The officer looked at his team.

"All right, let's move in," said the officer.

"No, wait. If we rush him, he might try to kill her and himself," said Spencer.

The officer looked at Hotch.

"How do you want to do this?" asked the officer.

"I want to go in there myself. Get your shooters high and wide," ordered Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Think he's gonna shoot his way out?" asked Spencer.

"Well, I don't want to be the only gun in there if he does," said Hotch before he started to move closer to Brian before Spencer followed his brother-in-law at a slower pace.

"Brian. I want you to show me your hands. Hands, Brian!" ordered Hotch.

"Stop! Stop there, please," cried Brian.

Both Spencer and Hotch ended up seeing a decomposed body in Brian's arms causing Hotch to look at Brian.

"Who is she?" asked Hotch.

"She was my first. The minute my feet hit the ground, I knew right where to find her. I killed them," cried Brian.

"You remember," said Hotch.

Brian nodded as tears fell down his face.

"Everything. Every moment. Every... Tiny detail. I remember. But... It's still not real. It's like... The memories belong to someone else," cried Brian.

"Well, maybe in a way they do. But you still have to pay for what's been done," said Hotch.

Brian cocked his gun and pointed it at his own head.

"If I'm gonna be put to death, I might as well die right here," cried Brian.

"Brian. The court may show you mercy, but you have to earn it. If you believe you're a different person, then prove it and do the right thing," said Hotch.

10 seconds later Brian tossed the gun to the ground causing Hotch to grab the gun before Spencer took the gun from Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer and Hotch were both packing up the case files that they brought with us when Cece got off the phone.

"It's over. Matloff's pleading out," smiled Cece.

"Congratulations," said Hotch.

"I couldn't have done it without you," said Cece before she shook hands with Hotch, "First round's on me," said Cece.

Spencer and Hotch looked at each other.

"No, we're gonna take a rain check. We got a long drive," said Hotch.

"Sure. Another time," said Cece before she shook hands with Hotch again, "Lock up when you leave," said Cece.

"We will," said Hotch.

Cece looked at Spencer as she remembered Spencer and Hotch telling her that they're brothers-in-law over dinner while getting to see pictures of Spencer's daughters.

"When it comes to your brother-in-law having my email, I expect pictures to be emailed to me after your son is born," said Cece.

"I'll send you some photos," said Spencer before Cece left the room.

As soon as Cece left the room, Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Darci Corbett's father brought a gun to the courthouse today," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Spencer in shock.

"You're kidding," said Hotch before realizing that his brother-in-law was serious, "You think he was serious about using it?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"I think so, yeah. He was looking for closure," said Spencer.

"You think he'll get some now?" asked Hotch.

"I don't really think so. I mean, people's emotional lives aren't linear like that. To say that a killer's conviction, one single event can just suddenly bring peace to a man, I don't-I just don't think it's possible," said Spencer.

"Well, I guess he has to try. I mean, when it comes right down to it, what choice does he have?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"After Lou Jenkins was placed in prison for killing my parents, it still took me awhile to recover from my parents' deaths. When it comes to you meeting me two days after I lost my aunt and uncle, you already know how long it took me to recover," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer knocked on Mr. Corbett's door, and a minute later Mr. Corbett opened the door.

"Agent Reid," said Mr. Corbett.

"Sorry, I, uh, I know it's late, but, um, I wanted to give you the news before it hit the paper. Matloff's changing his plea to guilty. Everyone agreed to life without parole," said Spencer.

"You didn't have to come here," said Mr. Corbett.

Spencer reached into his suit jacket pocket and grabbed Darci's watch.

"I also came to return this," said Spencer as he passed the watch to Mr. Corbett, "I had them release it from evidence," said Spencer.

Mr. Corbett looked at the watch.

"It belonged to Darci's grandmother. They were very close," said Mr. Corbett.

Spencer nodded.

"I couldn't help but notice the inscription on the back. "Glory in a Flower". I ended up reciting that poem during my aunt's and uncle's funeral because "The Glory in a Flower" was a poem that my uncle would recite to me because he used that poem to help him get over his sister's death and I used this poem to help me over my aunt and uncle's deaths," said Spencer.

"Poetry was something they shared. It's Wordsworth," said Mr. Corbett before he started to recite part of the poem, ""What though the radiance that was once so bright be now forever taken from my sight... Though nothing can... Bring back…"," recited Mr. Corbett before he started to tear up a bit, "Thanks," said Mr. Corbett.

Spencer nodded, and a minute later Spencer was in the front passenger seat buckling himself in before Hotch drove away from Mr. Corbett's house. A few minutes later Spencer was fiddling with the watch that once belonged to his father causing Hotch to look at his brother-in-law.

"Did you insist on getting Darci's watch released from evidence and return it to Mr. Corbett because of you always wearing the watch that belonged to your father while carrying one of your mother's book in your messenger bag as one of your coping mechanisms?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, and luckily the inscription on the back of that watch was part of the same poem that uncle Gordon used to help him cope over the death of his sister while I used the poem to help me after my aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon's deaths," said Spencer before he started to close his eyes and recite "Glory in the Flower".

Xxxxxxxx 

Four hours later Spencer was quietly entering Bridget's nursery and watched his nine-month-old daughter sleep for a minute before he then went to Diana's bedroom and watched his four-year-old daughter sleep for a minute before he entered the master bedroom where he quietly stripped down into his boxers and joined Clarissa in bed.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning at 5 AM Spencer woke up to Clarissa slapping his shoulder.

"You didn't even call to tell me that you were coming home," said Clarissa.

Spencer laughed.

"I wanted to surprise you," said Spencer.

"With it being 5 AM on a Saturday morning, I really need a quickie because of how my hormones were the past few days before Diana and Bridget wake up and want to spend time with you," said Clarissa.

Spencer laughed.

"Well it's a good thing that I locked the bedroom door before I joined you in bed," said Spencer just as Clarissa locked her lips with his own.


	39. Lo-Fi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make changes when it comes to the way JJ ends up revealing her pregnancy because I didn't like how Will ended up forcing JJ to bring up that she's pregnant to Spencer, Hotch, and Emily.
> 
> This is the last chapter that deals with season three before we enter season four of Criminal Minds in my Spencer/Clarissa universe. There will be major AU changes made when it comes to The Instincts and Memoriam because Spencer knows the entire truth about Riley Jenkins murder because his uncle caught Gary Michaels while Lou Jenkins ended up killing Spencer's parents and uncle Daniel by making the mistake of drinking and driving the night that Diana and William were driving home from the airport.
> 
> Clarissa is 32-weeks pregnant in this chapter, so Evan will be born within the next couple of chapters!

Spencer entered the house and placed his wet umbrella into the umbrella stand before he noticed Clarissa and Lucy who had Bridget settled on her hip were laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa smiled at her husband.

"Come look out the door," said Clarissa.

"Dada," said Bridget.

A few seconds later Spencer was holding Bridget on his hip before he looked outside and noticed an overall dress and pink t-shirt clad Diana dancing in the rain causing him to laugh.

"Diana's so your daughter, Clarissa," laughed Spencer.

Clarissa playfully glared at her husband.

"If you didn't have Bridget on your hip, I would have smacked your shoulder," said Clarissa.

Spencer sobered up.

"How long has she been out there?" asked Spencer.

"I believe that she's been out there for about 20 minutes because Lucy and I were both upstairs with Bridget when Diana snuck outside," said Clarissa just as she, Spencer, and Lucy heard knocking on the back patio door causing all three adults to find a soaking wet Diana.

Spencer slid open the door and looked at Diana.

"Having fun, Diana?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as her soaking wet curly pigtails bounced.

"Do any of you want to join me before we eat dinner?" asked Diana.

"If I wasn't carrying Evan in my tummy right now, I would join you," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at Lucy.

"Dinner will be done in 40 minutes, so I need to keep an eye on dinner," said Lucy.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"Can you please dance in the rain with me, daddy?" asked Diana as she used her eyes while pouting.

Spencer shook his head before he looked at Clarissa and Lucy.

"Do you two promise not to take any pictures for blackmail material or tell anyone?" asked Spencer.

"I promise, Spencer," said Lucy.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"I didn't tell anyone about the time you danced in the rain with Diana when you were on paternity leave after Bridget's birth because I don't like to give anyone another reason to tease you," said Clarissa.

Spencer quickly passed Bridget over to Lucy before he kicked off his socks and shed his suit jacket before he joined Diana outside.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day Spencer smiled at Bridget who was standing up as she used the couch to support herself.

"Do you want a hug and kiss from daddy before I leave for work?" asked Spencer.

Bridget grinned at her daddy as she let go of the couch and took 12 wobbly steps towards her daddy causing Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy to gasp just as the nine-month-old baby girl toppled into her daddy's arms.

"Daddy's so proud of you for taking your first steps, Bridget Mackenzie," said Spencer as he hugged and kissed his youngest daughter.

"Mommy's proud of you too," said a teary-eyed Clarissa as she kissed her youngest daughter.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer entered the conference room with his teammates to find his brother-in-law watching something on the TV.

"Don't get comfortable. There will be time to debrief on the plane," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Where are we headed?" asked Spencer.

"New York," said Hotch.

"Five shootings in two weeks. It's about time we got the call," said Rossi.

"I want to take Garcia with us. Hopefully, they'll give us access to their surveillance systems," said Hotch.

"What do we know?" asked Emily.

"All the killings are mid-day. Single gunshot to the head with a .22," said Hotch.

"Any witnesses?" asked JJ.

"No," said Hotch.

".22-caliber pistol's only 152 decibels. New York streets and subways are routinely well over 100. It could be people aren't even registering the gunshot until the unsub's already leaving the scene," said Spencer.

"They sound like Mob hits," said Morgan.

"Except none of them have ties to organized crime," said Hotch.

"Do they have any connection to each other?" asked Emily.

"None they've found," said Hotch.

"How about communication with the police? Has the unsub tried to make contact?" asked Morgan.

"Surveillance cameras have captured video of three of the murders," said Hotch before he played the footage that he was sent, "This is the latest," said Hotch.

"That's the best image they have?" asked JJ.

Hotch played more videos.

"They're all the same. He wears a hood and keeps his head down," said Hotch.

"This guy's bold. Crowded areas, broad daylight," said Emily.

"So they're completely random?" asked Rossi.

"It seems that way," said Hotch.

Spencer watched a replay of the video.

"Son of Sam all over again," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message.

GOING TO NEW YORK CITY BECAUSE WE FINALLY GOT THE CASE ABOUT THE RANDOM SHOOTINGS THAT WE WATCHED ABOUT ON THE NEWS. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU, DIANA, BRIDGET, AND EVAN. ~ SR

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting on the jet with his brother-in-law and Rossi when Garcia, Morgan, and Emily came onto the jet.

"How come I only get to travel with you guys like once every 2 years?" asked Garcia.

"Trust me, mama, it can get old," said Morgan as he passed Garcia her bag.

"Oh, right, like the way that spa treatments in 5-star hotels can get old," said Garcia.

"Remember the time we got on board and they hadn't chilled the Cristal?" asked Emily.

"Ooh. I almost quit the BAU that day," said Morgan.

Spencer, Hotch, and Rossi exchanged amused looks before they focused on the files and map in front of them.

"OK, you know what? You guys can joke all you want, 'cause I am never leaving this plane," said Garcia before Rossi became serious.

"The victims?" asked Rossi.

"Each killed in a completely different neighborhood. Hell's Kitchen, Murray Hill, Lower East Side, Chinatown, East Harlem," said Hotch.

Spencer scratched his chin.

"It doesn't make any sense. There's no common victimology, no sexual component, no robbery, no geographical connection. Do the police have any leads?" asked Spencer.

"He's killing roughly every two days. The press is having a field day, and it sounds like the mood on the street's getting pretty edgy," said Hotch.

"It's a joint FBI-NYPD Task-force?" asked Rossi.

Hotch nodded.

"Kate Joyner heads up the New York Field Office. She's running point on the case and called me directly," said Hotch before looking over where JJ was sitting deep in thought, "JJ, would you tell them we're ready to go?" asked Hotch.

"Right," said JJ as she got up and walked away.

"Kate's starting to butt heads with the lead detectives and wanted a fresh set of eyes," said Hotch.

"Joyner, I know her. She's a Brit, right?" asked Morgan.

"Well, dual citizenship. Her father's British, her mother's American. She was a big deal at Scotland Yard before coming to the Bureau," said Hotch.

"I heard she can be a little bit of a pain in the ass," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"I didn't think so," said Hotch.

Emily looked at her boyfriend.

"You know her?" asked Emily.

"We liaised when she was still at Scotland Yard," said Hotch.

"And she's good?" asked Emily.

"I think we're lucky to have her," said Hotch.

"And we're cleared For takeoff. Please take your seats," said the pilot causing everyone to move to different seats and buckle themselves in.

As soon as the jet was in the air and everyone was getting comfortable, Emily looked at her boyfriend.

"Am I going to need to be worried about Kate hitting on you?" asked Emily.

"Not at all because I told her over the phone that I have a girlfriend when she asked me about Haley," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"Now that everyone is together, I thought that I should tell you guys that Bridget started walking this morning," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law/youngest agent with pride showing in his eyes.

"Really?" asked Hotch.

"Clarissa, Diana, and I were all getting ready to leave the house and Bridget was using the couch to hold herself up and I asked her if she wanted a hug and kiss from me before I left the house. She gave me a huge grin before she let go of the couch and took 12 wobbly steps over to me in front of Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy before falling into my arms," said Spencer just as his cell phone vibrated causing Spencer to smile when he realized that Lucy sent him a text message to check his email, "Lucy just texted me about checking my email, so I have a feeling that she sent me a video of Bridget walking," said Spencer.

"Please play it," said Garcia.

Spencer reached into his messenger bag and grabbed his laptop, and three minutes later Spencer was showing his teammates a video of Bridget walking around the backyard chanting "Dada".

"So cute," cooed Garcia.

Spencer smirked at Morgan.

"It seems like your girlfriend is dealing with what my wife calls "baby fever"," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"How are you feeling about the birth of your third child only being two months away?" asked Rossi.

"I'm excited and anxious about getting to hold my firstborn son," said Spencer before shuddering a bit, "Dealing with Jack when he was a baby taught me why taking care of baby boys are way different than taking care of baby girls," said a shuddering Spencer.

JJ took a deep breath and looked at her teammates.

"I need to tell you guys something," said JJ.

"Is everything OK?" asked Hotch.

"Three weeks ago I found out that I'm pregnant and Detective LaMontagne Jr. is the father, so this November I'll need to go on maternity leave for three months," said JJ.

Emily and Garcia both gasped.

"Oh my gosh," said Emily and Garcia in unison as they got up before Emily hugged JJ, "Congratulations," said Emily.

Garcia hugged JJ.

"Now there's another BAU child for me to spoil," said Garcia.

"Congratulations," said Rossi.

"Congratulations," said Morgan.

Hotch looked at JJ.

"Congratulations and I hope that your aware that you'll no longer be participating in occasional raids," said Hotch.

"I know," said JJ.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"Aren't you going to congratulate her?" asked Garcia.

Spencer chuckled.

"When it comes to being a dad three times over, I realized that JJ was showing symptoms and confronted her," said Spencer.

JJ looked at her teammates.

"When I told Spence that he was right, he hugged me while I made him promise not to tell you guys until I was ready to tell you guys myself because I wasn't expecting to get pregnant with someone who I was in a long distance relationship with," said JJ.

"Its OK," said Hotch.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"Did you tell Clarissa?" asked Garcia.

Spencer and JJ both laughed.

"She knows because we ran into JJ when we were leaving Clarissa's 30-week doctor appointment, and she promised not to tell anyone," said Spencer before looking at JJ, "Be prepared for a lot of hand me downs because Clarissa and I saved everything that Diana and Bridget grew out of and we're also going to save Evan's clothes too," said Spencer.

"I would appreciate that," said JJ.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer followed his teammates into the New York City Field office a blonde woman approached them.

"Kate," said Hotch as he shook hands with Kate.

"Aaron. How have you been?" asked Kate.

"Well, thank you," said Hotch as he gestured to his teammates, "This is my team. Kate Joyner, this is David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, Penelope Garcia, Derek Morgan, and Spencer Reid," said Hotch while everyone nodded at Kate.

"Thanks for being here. Anything that you need, just tell me. Please don't stand on protocol," said Kate.

"What can you tell us about the city's surveillance system?" asked Garcia.

"Um, it's run by the NYPD. It's still In the infant stages. It's been rather controversial. American privacy laws. Um, but they've had some success," said Kate.

"And I'll have complete access?" asked Garcia.

"They're already expecting you," said Kate before looking at her assistant, "Shelly?" asked Kate.

As Garcia was led away, Spencer looked at Kate.

"I'd like to get a map of the borough. I want to do a comprehensive geographical profile of the area in order to ascertain the unsub's mental map before it's clouded by our own linkage blindness," said Spencer just as Detectives Brustin and Cooper approached them.

"I see you brought your own computer," said Detective Brustin.

Kate looked at Detectives Brustin and Cooper.

"Detectives Brustin and Cooper. I'll let you do the introductions," said Kate.

Rossi looked at the two detectives.

"You caught the first shooting? They've all been in different precincts. It wasn't until the third murder that anyone even made the connection," said Detective Cooper.

"I guess this is where we play nice and ask you what you need," said Detective Brustin.

Kate chuckled.

"I'll let you all figure out what that is. I just ask that you run everything back through me. It's been my experience that having one butt on the line is enough," said Kate.

"Yes, ma'am," said Detective Brustin.

Kate looked at Hotch.

"Can I have a word with you in private?" asked Kate.

"Sure," said Hotch as he looked at his team before walking away, "Excuse me," said Hotch.

Emily noticed a look on JJ's face.

"They, um... Liaised when she was at Scotland Yard," said Emily.

"Of course," said JJ.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer approached Detective Cooper.

"Hey, so, uh, what's your partner's problem?" asked Spencer quietly.

Emily quickly joined them.

"Uh, well... Well, by the fourth murder the FBI was brought in. Good. We can use all the help we can get. But, uh, all of a sudden she's taking meetings with the mayor and calling in you all without us knowing anything about it," said Detective Cooper.

"We're only here to help. Think of us as a resource," said Emily.

"OK. Profile me. What am I thinking?" asked Detective Cooper.

Emily laughed.

"It's never gonna happen," said Emily.

Detective Cooper lowered his voice.

"No offense, but we've had five murders. Hope it gets better than that," said Detective Cooper before walking away.

Xxxxxxx 

For the next couple of hours, Spencer spent time working on a geographical profile.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer looked at Detective Cooper.

"We're gonna need records over the last six months for any arrests on gun violence or gun possession in every borough except the ones where the shootings have taken place," said Spencer.

Detective Cooper looked at Spencer's geographical profile.

"Uh... I don't get it," said Detective Cooper.

"He won't strike near where he lives," said Spencer.

"What makes you so sure?" asked Detective Cooper.

"It's anti-geographical profiling," explained Emily.

"Now it's anti-geographical profiling? Yeah, come on. You wonder why we're so skeptical?" asked Detective Cooper.

Emily laughed.

"This unsub's organized. He strikes at the same time of day. He knows where the cameras are placed. That means he's doing his own pre-surveillance," said Emily.

"A need-motivated killer operates within his own comfort zone. An organized killer with some other motivation will make sure to strike outside that zone," said Spencer.

"Not where he lives," said Detective Cooper.

"Exactly," said Emily as she looked at the map, "Unfortunately, that means that every other Neighborhood in the city has a reason to be terrified," said Emily seriously.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that evening Spencer was sitting on a desk near Emily and JJ when Hotch, Morgan, Rossi, and Kate joined them.

"What have we got?" asked Hotch.

"The latest shooting," said JJ while Emily started to play the footage.

"This was the previous murder," said Emily as she played another video, "OK, do you see anything weird here?" asked Emily.

"He sprints off in one and walks calmly in the other. It's two entirely different demeanors," said Morgan.

"Six kills in, his behavior should be set," said Rossi.

"Look at this," said Spencer as he leaned towards the land-line phone, "Garcia, are you still there?" asked Spencer.

"Would I ever leave you?" asked Garcia before she became serious as she showed everyone what she found, "OK, check it out. I did a digital perspective analysis rendering on the shootings where we have footage. Now, the first two are inconclusive, but the last two I found something tres weird. your calm walking type, he is about 6'1". But your sprinter, he's like 5'9", 5'10", tops," said Garcia.

Everyone exchanged glances.

"We've got more than one unsub," said Hotch.

"So, we have more than one unsub. What does that tell us?" asked Rossi.

"Most teams stick together. Uh, Ng and Lake, The Krays. Bittaker and Norris. They don't usually kill separately," said Spencer.

"Could be some kind of gang initiation," said Morgan.

"Gangs will kill you if they encroach in your territory, not random people all over the city," said Emily.

"I'll coordinate with the gang task-force, make sure we have an overview by morning," said JJ as she stood up and walked away.

"Do you think we have enough for a working profile?" asked Kate.

"Broad strokes," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at the time and decided that everyone needed to get some sleep.

"Dave, you and Reid talk to the agents here. Morgan and Prentiss, brief the police when each shift comes on duty tomorrow," said Hotch.

"I think we should get out on the streets," said Morgan.

"I brought you here to create a profile," said Kate

"Which we can give in the morning, and then they can share it with the afternoon shift," said Morgan.

"We've allocated every extra man we have. This is York City. It's not like a few more people is going to blanket the city," said Kate.

"I understand it's a long shot, but these guys, they hit at mid-day. We could target ingress and egress to particular neighborhoods. Position us near express stops- 14th, 42nd, 59th-," said Morgan.

Hotch glared at Morgan.

"Morgan, it's not your call," scolded Hotch.

"I'd like to join you in the profile if that's not stepping on your toes," said Kate.

"No problem," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at his girlfriend.

"Let's see it again," said Hotch.

After watching the video, Hotch looked at his teammates.

"Are any of you ready to head to the hotel like me?" asked Hotch.

"I am," said Spencer.

"Me too," said Emily.

"Me three," said JJ.

Rossi looked at Spencer, Hotch, JJ, and Emily.

"How about you guys head to the hotel and I'll play chaperone for the two lovebirds," said Rossi causing some chuckles.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer entered the hotel with Emily, JJ, and Hotch when Emily picked up a newspaper and held it up.

"Look at this. Late edition doesn't miss a beat," said Emily before Spencer recognized a familiar face with a luggage with him.

"JJ," said Spencer.

JJ gave a tense smile when she made her way towards Will.

"Will," said JJ.

"Took a shot and flew to DC, but that didn't work out. I figured a train ride to New York was only a few more hours," said Will.

"Detective," said Hotch while he gave Will a tight handshake.

"I'm sorry for showing up like this. I know you're working," said Will as he sighed and looked at JJ, "But, um... I can't stand you being on this case and me not being there. Not with what's going on," said Will.

JJ glared at Will.

"I already told everyone that I'm pregnant, so you didn't have to take the train up here and spill the beans," said JJ.

Hotch shook hands again with Will.

"I already warned JJ that she's on light duty from now on until she goes on maternity leave," said Hotch.

"I've asked JJ to marry me," said Will.

JJ glared at Will.

"Will," warned JJ.

Will looked at his girlfriend's teammates.

"We're working out some kinks," said Will.

Hotch looked at Spencer and Emily and motioned them to follow him.

"We'll, uh, give you both some privacy, and we're meeting at 7 AM tomorrow morning if you still want to work this case," said Hotch before he, Spencer, and Emily squeezed JJ's shoulder.

Spencer looked at Will.

"Even though Evan's not born for another eight weeks, he'll be between four and five-months-old by the time your son or daughter is born. So like I told JJ earlier, be prepared for a lot of hand-me-downs because Clarissa and I saved everything that Diana and Bridget grew out of and we'll be saving everything that Evan grew out of too by the time baby LaMontagne arrives," said Spencer before he walked away with his brother-in-law and Emily.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer and Rossi stood in front of agents in the New York City Field Office.

"In the case of the DC Snipers, there was actually one intended victim," said Rossi.

"John Muhammad wanted to kill his ex-wife, but he knew if he did, he'd be the prime suspect, so he created a spree in order to mask his primary motivation," said Spencer.

"Muhammad and Malvo also left a death card at one of their scenes, just like this unsub," said Kate.

Xxxxxxxx 

"Most teams have a dominant and submissive member. Because of the relative intelligence of these unsubs and the fact they stick to a set time pattern, we believe at least one of them has a steady job," said Spencer.

"We've asked the police to canvass their precincts, check businesses that open and close around the time of the shootings. We're hoping someone will be able to identify a father-son or coworkers that fit the dominant-submissive profile," said Rossi.

Spencer noticed a female agent raising her hand causing him to nod at her.

"And what's the other theory?" asked a female agent.

"It's less likely, but it could be some sort of gang initiation," said Spencer before he walked towards a desk.

"We've asked the police to put every available undercover on the streets," said Rossi.

Spencer grabbed a stack of papers and started to pass them around.

"These are all known gang members in Manhattan. Most of them are out of Chinatown and Clinton. We'd like you to study these and keep an eye out for anyone who looks suspicious," said Spencer.

"I'll also be detailing a number of you as well. Stay behind when the agents have finished and I'll give you your assignments," said Kate before she walked away.

Xxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer and Rossi were studying the maps of the city together when Rossi looked at Detective Brustin.

"Detective... The Son of Sam- This case still pisses you off like it was yesterday," stated Rossi.

"Yeah, it does," said Detective Brustin.

"There have been a lot of killers in this city. Why him?" asked Rossi.

"He was laughing at us and we couldn't catch him. The only way we grabbed him was through a parking ticket," said Detective Brustin.

Spencer looked at Rossi.

"What are you thinking?" asked Spencer.

Rossi looked at the Tarot card that he was holding.

"He hasn't contacted us again," said Rossi.

"So?" asked Detective Brustin.

Rossi shook the card.

"This doesn't fit. These unsubs are organized. They use pre-surveillance. They strike in the heart of the day and yet they haven't done anything to seek out media attention," said Rossi as he shook the card again, "And then this," said Rossi.

"You said it was to tell you they knew you were here," said Detective Brustin.

"We profiled that he was trying to open a line of communication, create panic, but if that was the case, his correspondence should escalate," said Rossi.

"After they left their death card, Muhammad and Malvo demanded an ATM card with a million dollars in a bank account just to taunt the police. Berkowitz wrote rambling letters about hunting the city, describing himself as a monster," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at the crime scene photos.

"These unsubs are more disciplined than that. The fact that they haven't contacted the press tells me... That this was private. It's only for us," said Rossi.

"So what does that mean?" asked Detective Brustin.

"They're ramping up to something, and they want us to know that they're watching us," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at the pictures as his eyes went wide.

"If you saw all of these traits completely out of context, what would be the first profile to pop into your head?" asked Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Who do we have out on the streets?" asked Rossi.

Spencer quickly got Garcia on the phone.

"Talk," said Garcia.

"Garcia, do you have eyes on everyone on the team?" asked Spencer.

"I can get them," said Garcia.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer and Rossi walked towards the man that Emily shot.

"He's not gonna live to tell us anything," said Rossi.

"Any ID on him?" asked Spencer.

"Nothing," said Rossi.

"This is not good," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Hotch and Kate joined them.

"We think we might have a serious problem," said Rossi.

"What is it?" asked Hotch.

"We have multiple unsubs. They're disciplined. They're using Counter-surveillance. They know the FBI movements. There's a hierarchy. What does that usually equal?" asked Rossi.

"Terrorism," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

A short while later everyone was gathered at the field office when Morgan looked at his teammates and Kate.

"So how does this work?" asked Morgan.

"The murderers simulate a bombing. From there they station someone to watch and gauge police response time," said Spencer.

"At which point they know when to bring in the second bomb," said Morgan.

"The goal is always to take out the first round of civilians, followed by a second wave of emergency responders," said Kate.

"It's crazy, but it's ingenious. They get a practice run, and if someone catches the shooter, they think they just have a murderer. The cell isn't compromised," said Spencer.

"It's lo-fi. The smartest way to plan for a terrorist event," said Kate.

"Creating panic ensures that they see the most urgent response times short of a bombing," said Hotch.

"So there's been seven different shooters?" asked a shocked JJ.

"Having followers do the shootings would ensure they're willing to kill or be killed for the cause," said Rossi.

"It fits the profile. There is something larger at play. It's similar to gang initiation," said Emily.

"Especially if they're home-grown. They haven't had a chance to prove themselves," said Hotch.

Spencer held up his marker.

"I think they're targeting points of entry. All the murders have taken place near a bridge or a tunnel," said Spencer as he pointed at his geographical profile.

Emily looked at Spencer's geographical profile.

"Holland Tunnel, Midtown Tunnel, Manhattan Bridge," read Emily.

"If bombs went off, emergency response would shut down any ability to get In or out of the city. It's like people would be trapped on the island," said JJ seriously.

"Keep in mind it's still a theory, just like any profile," said Hotch just as Garcia called Morgan.

"Talk to us, Garcia," said Morgan.

"We got a problem. I went through and checked All 4, 468 cameras. They hacked into the surveillance system. They've got footage of every crime scene. They've been watching since the beginning," said Garcia seriously.

"How could we not have caught that?" asked Hotch.

"They were smart. It wasn't system-wide. You had to check each camera individually," said Garcia.

"And this is from every crime scene?" asked Emily.

"I'm afraid so. They hacked into one camera at every scene," said Garcia.

"Thanks, Garcia," said Morgan before he hung up.

"So much for theory," said Rossi.

"We need to hit the ground running," said Kate.

Emily grabbed her FBI issued windbreaker.

"I'm gonna head to the hospital. I'll check on Cooper and brief Detective Brustin," said Emily.

"Good," said Hotch before looking at Rossi, "Dave, will you go talk to the commissioner, and, Morgan, you brief Homeland Security," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"JJ and I will talk to the Port Authority Police," said Spencer as he grabbed his messenger bag.

"Kate and I will go talk to the mayor and we'll meet back here as soon as possible," said Hotch.

"One advantage that we have right now is that they don't know we know they're watching," said Kate.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was slinging his messenger bag around his shoulder as he watched Shelly approach JJ with a manila envelope.

"Agent Jareau," said Shelly.

"Thank you," said JJ.

Spencer watched JJ read a note.

"From Will?" asked Spencer.

"He's going home to New Orleans tonight," said JJ as she started to tear up a bit.

Spencer studied JJ as he wondered if he, Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan would have to go after Will for hurting JJ.

"You OK?" asked Spencer.

"He doesn't want to be in the way," said JJ before she pulled out his badge causing Spencer to connect the dots.

"He's quitting his job?" asked Spencer.

JJ nodded before a concerned Hotch approached them causing JJ to look at Hotch.

"Do you need everyone in the field?" asked JJ.

"Reid, you can go brief Port Authority Police by yourself," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded before hurrying away so he could collect keys to an SUV, and a short while later Spencer was getting into the driver's seat of an SUV while not realizing that one of his teammate's borrowed SUV was being bombed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know that this is not much of a cliff hanger because you readers have seen Lo-Fi and Mayhem, but I originally planned to combine Lo-Fi and Mayhem before realizing how long the chapter would be. But what I have planned for the next chapter deserves to happen during chapter 40,.


	40. Mayhem

Spencer rushed into the bullpen and instantly ran to Rossi.

"David, I heard on the radio. I tried the others, but-," said Spencer.

"The cell phone system is crashing," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at the TV.

"A car bomb. Did they say where?" asked Spencer.

"No. Can you recall every site where the shootings occurred?" asked Rossi.

Spencer quickly used his eidetic memory to recall the places where the shootings occurred.

"Uh, Hell's Kitchen, Murray Hill, Lower East Side, Chinatown," recited Spencer.

"All right, if our profile is correct and all eight murders were tests to gauge response times, we're looking at eight suicide bombers who are about to hit every one of those locations," said Rossi as he didn't notice a look that indicated that the wheels in Spencer's brain were turning, "Call Homeland Security. Tell them to pour troops into all of those sites," ordered Rossi.

"Actually, if we're correct, there will be 16 suicide bombers," said Spencer.

"16?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah, we predicted that they'll hit the second wave of emergency responders also," said Spencer before they focused on the TV.

"Breaking news now. We are just getting an update. The bomb is now reported to have been inside an SUV. A black SUV parked just blocks from 26 Federal Plaza. Now, it is un…," said a reporter causing the oldest agent and the youngest agent on the team to exchange shocked looks before Rossi grabbed the phone causing Spencer to listen to Rossi's side of the conversation with Garcia.

As soon as Rossi hung up, he looked at Spencer.

"If it turns out that it's your brother-in-law who was in the SUV that got bombed, can you please promise me that you'll stay objective?" said Rossi.

"I'll try, but I know that there's no contacting Clarissa or Sean to let them know what's going on until we know what's going on," said Spencer.

"Exactly," said Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer and Rossi were looking at a map together.

"These are stills from all the murder sites," said Rossi just as Emily joined them.

"Garcia had us on conference and the system crashed," said Emily as she sighed in relief when she saw Spencer and Rossi just as JJ joined them.

"Emily," said JJ.

Spencer, Emily, and Rossi all sighed in relief when JJ approached them.

"Oh, thank God you're all right. Where's Will?" asked Emily.

"He's stuck at the airport. As soon as I heard, I went straight to 26 Fed. They're evacuating the building," said JJ while Spencer nodded before she noticed no Hotch, Garcia, or Morgan, "Where is everyone?" asked JJ.

Spencer took a few breaths as he worked on staying calm at the thought of his brother-in-law possibly being dead.

"Morgan's all right, but there's no word from Hotch," said Spencer just as Garcia's face popped on the laptop.

"The bomber! The bomber! Derek's chasing after him," said Garcia frantically as Spencer, Rossi, JJ, and Emily hurried to the laptop.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"The bomb-it was in Kate's SUV or under it. Hotch is out there with her. He seems OK, but she looks really hurt. He hasn't moved her," said Garcia.

Everyone sighed in relief.

"Where was Kate's SUV parked?" asked Rossi.

"Two blocks east of Federal Plaza," said Garcia.

Spencer hurried to his geographical profile while Emily looked at Garcia.

"Two blocks east and they target Kate's SUV?" asked Emily.

"Have you ID'ed the bomber?" asked Rossi.

"Lisa's running him and dead guy through VICAP," said Garcia.

Rossi looked at JJ.

"Call Homeland Security. They should be at all the murder sites. See if they found anything," ordered Rossi.

"I'm on it," said JJ before she hurried away.

Rossi looked at Garcia.

"Garcia, find out how we can help Morgan," ordered Rossi.

"Yes, sir," said Garcia.

A few seconds later Spencer and Emily were hugging each other in relief about Hotch being OK.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was staring at the map mumbling to himself while JJ concluded a phone call.

"Yes. I understand. Thank you," said JJ before she hung up.

"Homeland security has poured tactical teams into all of those locations. Uh, swat, bomb techs, HRT, hazmat, the works. They found nothing," said JJ as she watched Spencer make a mark on the map "Reid," said JJ.

"All except one. Kate's SUV- none of the shootings were anywhere near it," said Spencer.

"Maybe it's personal," said JJ as she lifted up a death card, "This death card they gave us- they delivered on it," said JJ as she set down the card and rubbed her eyes.

"That's just it- they haven't. With a cell as large as this one and multiple targets to choose from, they target a single SUV?" asked Spencer as JJ's eyes went wide.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer accepted some papers from an officer when Emily concluded a phone call.

"Morgans' safe," said Emily.

"Good," said Spencer.

"Thank God," said Rossi.

Spencer held up a photo.

"This is the unsub Morgan chased into the subway," said Spencer before he pointed at the board, "This is the one Prentiss shot. Garcia's running them through VICAP," said Spencer.

"These are smart, well-educated kids, hand-picked and trained to be martyrs. They're not gonna be in any government file and they won't have rap sheets," said Rossi just as JJ approached them.

"Hotch and Kate are at St. Barclay's Hospital," said JJ.

Rossi decided to ask the important question for Spencer's and Emily's sake.

"How are they?" asked Rossi.

"Well, Hotch is in the ER, Kate's in surgery. Morgan's on his way down there now," said JJ.

"The media's reporting this as a failed attack on 26 Federal Plaza," said Emily.

"Well, it's not," said Rossi.

"They're not the only ones. Homeland Security feels the same way," said Detective Brustin.

Rossi looked at Detective Brustin.

"They're wrong," said Rossi.

"They found nothing at any of the sites that you told them that these guys were targeting. Maybe this thing is over," said Detective Brustin.

"Or maybe that's exactly what they want us to think," said Rossi while Spencer took a seat next to Emily, "As soon as the bomb techs identify the device, I want to know about it," said Rossi.

"Of course," said Detective Brustin.

Rossi looked at the laptop that was in front of him.

"Can you get in tighter on the bomber?" asked Rossi.

Spencer watched from the laptop in front of Emily as he saw a phone in the video.

"Here, in his hand. He's using his cell phone," said Rossi.

"Joyner and Hotch approach the van," said Detective Brustin.

"Why not wait until they both get in?" asked Emily as she thought about that bomb almost made her lose her boyfriend.

"Guess he figured he was close enough," said Detective Brustin.

Emily glared at Detective Brustin.

"Wouldn't you wait until they were in it?" asked Emily.

"So far these guys have accomplished nothing," said Spencer.

Detective Brustin glared at Spencer.

"Nothing? My partner was shot-Cooper? Eight innocent people were killed. Two agents blown up. Not to mention Emily's suicide by cop. Is that not enough?" asked Detective Brustin.

Rossi gestured to a picture of the Twin Towers.

"That was memorable," said Rossi before looking at the laptop, "This isn't," said Rossi.

At that moment Spencer's cell phone rang causing him to see that it was Clarissa.

"I'm OK, love," said Spencer.

"SPENCER TRISTAN REID, WHY IS AARON IN THE HOSPITAL!" yelled Clarissa.

Spencer winced as he removed his phone from his ear and rubbed it before he placed his phone against his ear.

"You need to stay calm right now, Clarissa. Your 32-weeks pregnant with our third child and it's a bit too early for Evan to be born unless he spends a couple of weeks in the NICU. So please take a few deep calming breaths before I tell you what happened to your brother," said Spencer.

Clarissa took a few breaths before she calmed down.

"What the fuck happened?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer winced as he realized that his wife was still hormonal.

"You didn't hear about the bombing in New York City?" asked Spencer.

"I was asleep and I got a call because of being Aaron's next of kin and emergency contact to let me know that Aaron has acoustic trauma in his ear and a shrapnel pulled from his leg. Don't you even think about lying to me or I'll cancel the recordings of your favorite TV shows that you're currently recording right now," said Clarissa.

"The SUV he and Kate Joyner were going to ride in got bombed, but luckily both of them weren't in the SUV when it happened. Right now Aaron is being treated at the ER, and as soon as I see him, I'll have him call you to let you know himself that he'll be OK. And when this case is finally over, Aaron and I will make sure to visit Sean before we come home," said Spencer.

"You better or you'll be sleeping on the couch for the remainder of my pregnancy with Evan," said Clarissa before she hung up.

Spencer looked at Emily and Rossi.

"Clarissa's very hormonal right now because she just found out that her brother has acoustic trauma and had a shrapnel in his leg," said Spencer.

"Don't blame her," said Emily.

A few seconds later Detective Brustin looked at Spencer.

"Did you just admit that your married to your unit chief's sister?" asked Detective Brustin.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Detective Brustin.

"I made Reid promise me that he'll stay objective for the remainder of the case," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at Detective Brustin.

"Last year I was held captive for over two days by an unsub we were chasing, and Hotch stayed objective," said Spencer before he focused on the laptop in front of Emily.

Xxxxxxxx 

Rossi looked at Spencer and Detective Brustin.

"Everything-everything they've done so far has appeared to be something it's not," said Rossi.

"I don't follow," said Detective Brustin.

"The seemingly random acts of murder, the attempt to hack into our security surveillance systems," said Spencer.

Emily pointed at a map.

"The suicide by cop to make us all believe that it was over," said Emily.

JJ held up a death card.

"Don't forget the death card telling us they know we're watching," said JJ.

"All diversions," said Rossi.

"To ensure our attention and analysis of any given situation would then incorrectly inform our profile," said Spencer.

"So the first responders were not the real target?" asked Detective Brustin.

"Hotch and Kate were a diversion, too?" asked Emily.

"From what?" asked Detective Brustin just as JJ looked at them.

"Morgan. Hotch wants you guys over there now," said JJ.

Spencer, Emily, and Rossi quickly grabbed their belongings.

"What do we tell Homeland Security?" asked Detective Brustin.

"Tell them if they love this city as much as you do to keep it locked down. It's about to get hit," said Rossi before he ushered Spencer and Emily to come with him.

Xxxxxxxx 

A Kevlar vest clad Spencer gave his brother-in-law a quick hug.

"Clarissa got a call from the hospital and she's very hormonal and angry right now, so you should highly think about calling her," said Spencer.

"I will when this is over," said Hotch.

Emily looked at her boyfriend.

"Are you OK?" asked Emily.

"Yeah. I just want to understand why I'm still alive," said Hotch.

"I think the idea was to maim, not to kill," said Spencer.

Hotch started to put on his Kevlar vest as he looked at his brother-in-law.

"Did you identify Sam, the bomber?" asked Hotch.

"Garcia put Sam and the other dead unsub into every known database. Nothing," said Spencer.

"We know how terror cells evolve. They learn from one campaign to the next. How to stay off the radar like the London bombers," said Rossi.

"Yeah, but they, uh, they hit at 8:50 in the morning with a series of coordinated blasts aimed at London's transportation system, and this cell targeted a lone SUV where the only people on the street are two federal agents," said Hotch.

"It's not multiple targets, it's one target. One target, one bomb," said Morgan.

"Garcia said the device was placed under Kate's SUV," said Rossi.

Spencer nodded as he thought about his Ph.D. in chemistry.

"It was likely made using oxidizing agents, including chromates, peroxides, perchlorates, chlorates, and red mercury, all jammed into a device no larger than a cell phone," said Spencer as he watched his brother-in-law press tissue against his ear.

"Imagine what a bomb the size of an oil drum could do," said Morgan.

"Yeah, but to make something that big, you'd need a chemical engineer," said Hotch.

"Like the recently deceased Dr. Azahari Husin, Asia's most-wanted bomb-maker? Authorities dubbed him the, uh, demolition man. He treated each bomb like a work of art. One wrong move... He becomes a victim of his own creation. He'll be more revered than all of the people who died as a result of his devices," said Rossi.

"Stop the bomber, stop the bomb," said Emily.

"To do that, we need to know how they would deploy something that big," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at a replay of the video before looking at his brother-in-law.

"Hotch," said Spencer as he gestured to the laptop.

Hotch turned his head towards the laptop before realizing what his brother-in-law was thinking.

"Did you ever find Sam's cell phone?" asked Hotch.

"Yes," answered Morgan.

"Did he call 911?" asked Hotch.

"No. He dialed one number six times every few minutes," said Morgan.

"It was a disposable cell," said Rossi.

"Garcia tracked the number, but it went dead minutes after Sam died. Whoever had it destroyed it," said Spencer.

"Well, if he didn't have a secondary device to detonate, there's only one reason that he stayed with us," said Hotch.

"To make sure the ambulance got to you," said Rossi.

"And in a city on lock-down, an ambulance with its siren blaring and lights on, It's gonna make it through every roadblock virtually uncontested," said Emily just as Hotch flashbacked to earlier causing his eyes to go wide.

"And straight into a hospital with a bypass order on it," said Hotch.

"What?" asked Emily.

"Secret Service has a bypass on this hospital," said Hotch.

"Secret service? Who are they protecting?" asked Rossi.

"That's who Sam was calling, the paramedic on the ambulance," said Spencer.

"The ambulance which I drove in here. This hospital is their target. Let's go," said Hotch as he motioned everyone to follow him so they could find some Secret Service agents.

A few minutes later Spencer, Hotch, Emily, Morgan, and Rossi approached a few Secret Service agents.

"Hey. Who you got in here?" asked Morgan.

"Why is that information important to you?" asked a Secret Service Agent.

"The ambulance I drove in here- where is it now?" asked Hotch.

"In the basement. Why?" asked the Secret Service Agent.

"There's a bomb in it," said Morgan.

"What?" asked the Secret Service Agent.

"It's rigged," said Hotch.

"It's rigged to assassinate whoever it is you're protecting. You need to get them and everyone else out of here right now," said Emily.

"We can't do that. He's undergoing surgery as we speak," said the Secret Service Agent.

"The paramedic I came in with- do you have eyes on him?" asked Hotch as the Secret Service Agent checked the footage, "That a cell in his hands?" asked Hotch while Rossi got Garcia on the phone.

"Garcia, can you remote access the cell phone grid I'm in and jam all the frequencies?" asked Rossi before he listened to Garcia before replying, "There's a bomb in the basement of this building," said Rossi.

A few seconds later Emily noticed the paramedic.

"Look, he's coming back. He's gonna detonate the bomb manually if he has to," said Emily.

"Where did Morgan go?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at the footage and saw Morgan.

"He went to find the ambulance," said Spencer.

"Alone?" asked Hotch.

"Let's head down," said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer and Rossi had their guns out as they led Hotch and Emily to some stairs.

"He's going to the basement," said Hotch.

"Stairs," said Emily.

Spencer quickly opened up the doorway to the stairs before the foursome quickly went down the stairs as they made sure that the paramedic wasn't in the stairway. A minute later Spencer and Rossi were sweeping down the hallway watching their fronts while Hotch and Emily followed behind them as they checked the doors before Spencer climbed up a few stairs to see dead Secret Service members and security guards and some bloody footprints.

"Prentiss," said Spencer as he gestured to the footprints.

Emily quickly followed Spencer and a minute later Spencer, Hotch, Emily, and Rossi were pointing their guns at the paramedic.

"FBI," said Rossi just as the paramedic held a knife to his own throat.

"Put it down. Its over," said Hotch just as the paramedic pulled the blade across the neck causing Spencer to close his eyes.

Xxxxxxxx 

A half-hour later Garcia glared at Morgan when everyone entered the lobby of the hotel.

"Derek Morgan, I can't believe that you were that stupid. If you didn't escape that ambulance when you did, I could have lost you," ranted Garcia.

"I'm so sorry, Penelope," said Morgan as he hugged and kissed Garcia.

"Its OK, Derek, but I don't ever want to hear about you pulling a stunt like that again," said Garcia.

"I promise, baby girl," said Morgan before he took a deep breath and knelt down and pulled a jewelry box out of his pocket causing Emily and JJ to gasp while Spencer, Hotch, and Rossi had knowing smiles, "Penelope Garcia, when it comes to being my God given solace would you have the honor of being my wife?" asked Morgan.

Garcia instantly burst into tears.

"Yes," said Garcia as she allowed Morgan to put the ring on her left ring finger before the newly engaged couple kissed each other.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning at 9 AM Spencer, Hotch, Emily, JJ, Morgan, Garcia, and Rossi entered the hotel lobby with their bags to find Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Lucy standing with their bags and an additional luggage.

"Daddy! Uncle Aaron," cried Diana as she ran straight towards her daddy and hugged him.

Spencer instantly lifted up his four-year-old daughter and hugged her tightly before he passed Diana to Hotch just as Clarissa approached him with a toddling Bridget.

"What are you doing here?" asked Spencer as he scooped up his youngest daughter.

"The doctor at the ER told me over the phone and Aaron can't fly back to DC. So I called Chief Strauss who decided to put you, Aaron, and Emily on vacation for the next few days and I called the school and told them that Diana and I won't be back until Monday before Lucy drove us up here so we can spend some much needed time with Sean before Evan's born," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband.

"I like the idea of spending a few days in New York City, but I don't have a lot of clean clothes with me unless I use the laundry facility here," said Spencer.

Lucy held up a bag.

"Clarissa and I got you some casual clothes before we raided Aaron's apartment so Clarissa could pack a bag of Aaron's and Emily's clothes," said Lucy.

Clarissa went towards her oldest brother and hugged him.

"I was so scared when I got a call from the hospital, but I'm glad that your going to be OK," said Clarissa before she reached into her purse and slipped something into Hotch's suit jacket pocket, "Wait until your alone to see what I placed in your pocket," said a whispering Clarissa.

"OK," said Hotch as he kissed his sister's cheek.

Diana looked at her favorite uncle.

"Are you going to be, OK?" asked Diana.

"I will be," said Hotch as he kissed his niece.

Diana kissed one of the bandaged cuts on Hotch's head.

"All better," said Diana.

"Aww," chorused Clarissa, Emily, JJ, and Garcia before Clarissa noticed the ring on Garcia's hand.

"I see that Derek finally popped the question," said Clarissa as she hugged Garcia, "Congratulations," said Clarissa.

"Thank you," said Garcia before looking at Diana, "When Derek and I get married, I want you to be the flower girl," said Garcia.

Diana grinned.

"I'll be the best flower girl ever because I've been a flower girl for mommy's friend Jasmine last year," said Diana.

Hotch looked at Morgan, Rossi, JJ, and Garcia.

"I guess you four are flying back to Virginia while Spencer, Emily, and I stay behind for a few days for a mini vacation," said Hotch as he felt a ring in his suit jacket pocket.

Rossi looked at Hotch, Spencer, and Emily.

"JJ and I will make sure that the newly engaged couple don't join the mile high club on the jet," said Rossi just as Clarissa slapped his arm causing all of the adults laughed.

"There are children here," scolded Clarissa.

"Sorry," said Rossi.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"Daddy?" asked Diana.

"Yes, Diana?" asked Spencer.

"What's the mile high club?" asked Diana.

Spencer's and Clarissa's eyes bulged out in horror while everyone laughed.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later the Reid family, Hotch, and Emily entered the restaurant where Sean was working in, and a minute later Sean's eyes went wide when he saw Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Hotch, and Emily before looking at Hotch's appearance.

"What on earth happened to you?" asked Sean as he hugged his older brother before he greeted his little sister, "You look as beautiful as ever, Clarissa," said Sean.

Clarissa gave her Hotchner glare to Sean.

"For someone who is 32-weeks and has to come up here to visit you instead of coming down to DC," snapped Clarissa.

Sean backed up a bit before he scooped up Diana for protection.

"Please protect me from your mommy because she's angry with me," said Sean.

"That's because you only come down to visit during Christmas while mommy, daddy, Bridget, and I have to come up here to visit you," said Diana.

"I'm sorry about that," said Sean before smiling at Bridget who was on her daddy's hip, "You've gotten so big since the last time I saw you, Bridget, and I saw the video of you walking," said Sean as he kissed his youngest niece's head.

Bridget buried her face into her daddy's neck.

"I don't think she remembers you, Sean," said Spencer.

"I know," said Sean.

Diana looked at her uncle Sean.

"Can you please come down to DC for Father's Day because Bridget and I will be getting you presents," said Diana.

"I already arranged a few weeks off for next month because I want to spend part of Father's Day with you while staying in town for Evan's birth," said Sean.

"Pinky promise?" asked Diana as she held out her pinky.

Sean linked his pinky with Diana's.

"Pinky promise," said Sean.

Hotch looked at Sean.

"I want to introduce you to my girlfriend Emily Prentiss," said Hotch.

"Nice to meet you," said Emily as she shook hands with Sean.

"Nice to meet you too, and you better not break Aaron's heart like Haley did," said Sean.

"I know," said Emily.

A few minutes later the Reid family, Hotch, and Emily were sitting down for lunch.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day Hotch was sitting on a bench in a park with Diana as they watched Spencer push Bridget on a baby swing while Emily and Clarissa went shopping when Hotch looked at his oldest niece.

"We need to talk, Diana," said Hotch.

Diana looked at her uncle.

"Am I in trouble, uncle Aaron?" asked Diana.

Hotch shook his head.

"Would you like me to make Emily officially your aunt?" asked Hotch.

"Like aunt Haley was?" asked Diana.

"Yes and Jack already gave me the OK to make Emily his step-mommy, but do you want Emily to become your step-aunt and your mommy's sister-in-law?" asked Hotch.

"Will Emily know that mommy, Bridget, and I always come first when it comes to your girls?" asked Diana.

"She knows about the package deal," said Hotch as he took a deep breath, "I know that your daddy has been teaching you how to do slight of hand tricks, so I need you to help me with something," said Hotch as he started to explain what he wanted her to do.

When Hotch was finished, Diana hugged her favorite uncle.

"I will propose for you, but you and Emily better make me your flower girl if she says yes," said Diana.

"We will," said Hotch before he allowed Diana to practice doing a slight of hand trick with the late Bridget Hotchner's engagement ring.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that evening Spencer, Clarissa, Hotch, and Emily were walking through Central Park while Spencer pushed a stroller that contained Bridget when Hotch knelt down and whispered in Diana's ear.

"Can you ask Emily the question I asked you to ask her?" asked Hotch.

Diana giggled as she nodded before looking at Emily.

"Emily?" asked Diana.

"Yes Diana?" asked Emily.

Diana knelt down to the ground and looked up at Emily causing Clarissa to gasp while Spencer grinned.

"Will you marry my uncle Aaron so you can become my auntie Emily and my cousin Jack's step-mommy?" asked Diana as she did the slight of hand trick that she practiced before revealing a vintage diamond ring in her hand.

A teary-eyed Emily gasped before looking at Hotch.

"Yes, I'll marry you," said Emily as she accepted the ring from Diana before she placed it on her finger before hugging and kissing Hotch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Despite the Hotchwump that happened in this chapter, I hope that the two marriage proposals and a family reunion in New York City made this chapter very action packed.


	41. A Haircut & The Angel Maker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarissa's 33-34 weeks pregnant in this chapter, so Evan is arriving very soon and I already planned out when and where he'll be born.  
> Spencer doesn't get the 'boy band' haircut in this chapter (so no "Did you join a boy band" from Hotch yet), but I'm already brainstorming why Spencer would have the boy band haircut in The Internet is Forever through The Longest night and much shorter hair in JJ because I think that Bridget or Evan can be the reasons why their daddy will have short hair at the end of season 5 and again in season 6.  
> There is some possible "M" rated content in this chapter.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"With us having dinner with Ambassador Prentiss tomorrow evening, I think its time for me to give your hair a haircut that is much more than a trim," said Clarissa before looking at Diana who was reading a book while blowing her growing bangs out of her eyes, "Your overdue for a trim too, Diana," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her baby sister who was sitting on a blanket babbling to her teddy bear while taking in the sight of Bridget's nearly black curly hair that was put up in pigtails.

"Will Bridget get her first haircut too?" asked Diana.

Clarissa looked at her oldest daughter.

"Bridget will go to a barber for her first haircut because I took you to a barber for your first haircut," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at Diana.

"Do you want to go first or should I?" asked Spencer.

"I want to go first, daddy," said Diana.

A few minutes later Clarissa was washing Diana's hair before she started to trim her oldest daughter's hair.

xxxxxxx

When Clarissa removed the blanket that she had around Diana, Spencer looked at Diana while Lucy swept up Diana's hair.

"You look really beautiful, Diana," said Spencer.

Diana admired her freshly trimmed hair in the mirror that her mommy was holding in front of her as she thought about the new dress that her mommy, Lucy, and Emily helped her pick out during their few days in New York City.

"Will I look like a princess tomorrow when I meet Emily's mommy tomorrow?" asked Diana.

"You sure will," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I want to cut your hair upstairs in our bathroom, said Clarissa.

"OK," said Spencer.

Lucy who was throwing the hair into the trash took one glance at Clarissa and noticed a mischief gleam in Clarissa's eyes before looking at Diana.

"While mommy is washing and cutting your daddy's hair, we'll take Bridget outside and I'll push you and Bridget in your swings," said Lucy.

"OK," said Diana as she quickly closed her book before running to the patio door while Lucy collected Bridget.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting on a chair over the bathtub while Clarissa washed his hair.

xxxxxxx

Nearly an hour later, Clarissa turned off the blow dryer and removed the blanket that she had around her husband and smirked at the tent that formed in her husband's pants as she grabbed her handheld mirror and placed it in front of her husband so he could see all of her work with the help of the bathroom mirror.

"What do you think, honey?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer took a look at his much shorter hair and smiled.

"I love it," said Spencer before he noticed what his wife was staring at as his face turned beet red, "You were really evil while washing and cutting my hair," said Spencer.

Clarissa smirked.

"It was my intentions to make sure that I turned you on. After you clean up the bathroom, I might as well help you deal with the little problem that formed in your pants before you cook dinner on the grill tonight," grinned Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head as he grabbed the broom and dustpan that he brought into the bathroom and started to clean up his hair before he allowed Clarissa to help him with his problem.

xxxxxxx

The next evening Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget were let into a large house and 30 seconds later the Reid family approached Hotch, Emily, Jack, and Ambassador Prentiss.

"Sorry we're late, Ambassador Prentiss. Bridget ended up needing a diaper change before we could leave," said Spencer.

"Its OK, and its finally nice to meet you under better circumstances, Dr. Reid," said Elizabeth as she shook hands with Spencer.

"You too, Ambassador Prentiss," said Spencer before gesturing to Clarissa, "This is my wife Clarissa. The little girl between us is our four-year-old daughter Diana and the baby girl on my hip is our nearly 10-month-old daughter Bridget," said Spencer.

Clarissa shook hands with Elizabeth.

"Nice to meet you," said Clarissa.

"Emily told me that your six weeks from giving birth to a baby boy," said Elizabeth.

Clarissa rubbed her 34-week pregnant stomach.

"I am, and we're excited about Evan's upcoming arrival," said Clarissa.

Elizabeth then smiled at Diana who was standing patiently between her parents.

"Emily and Aaron have told me a lot about you, Diana," said Elizabeth as she held out her hand to shake.

Diana shook Elizabeth's hand.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," said Diana.

"Please call me aunt Elizabeth, Diana," said Elizabeth.

"OK," said Diana.

Elizabeth then turned to Bridget who was still on her daddy's hip.

"Hello, Bridget," said Elizabeth.

Bridget grinned and waved at Elizabeth.

"Hi," said Bridget.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"You got your hair cut," said Hotch.

"I ended up cutting Spence's hair yesterday, Aaron," said Clarissa as she hugged her brother before groaning when she felt Evan kick, "Mommy really wants you to ease down your kicking, little man," said Clarissa as she rubbed her growing stomach.

"Dinner will be done in five minutes, so why don't we all wash up and sit down," said Elizabeth before looking at Diana, "I hope that you like spaghetti," said Elizabeth.

Diana nodded.

"I love spaghetti," said Diana.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"You should go grab Bridget's high chair from my SUV," said Clarissa.

Spencer handed Bridget over to Hotch just as Elizabeth looked at him.

"There's no need to bring a high chair with you because I had someone get Emily's old high chair out of storage," said Elizabeth.

Clarissa looked at her brother.

"Would you mind getting Bridget out of her sundress while leaving her in her diaper?" asked Clarissa.

"Sure," said Hotch as he looked at Diana and Jack, "Let's go wash up for dinner, kiddos," said Hotch.

A few seconds later Elizabeth looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Bridget's a messy eater?" asked Elizabeth.

Spencer and Clarissa both nodded.

"When Bridget started to self-feed herself, we took the liberty of undressing Bridget down to her diaper and place a large mat underneath her high chair to make cleaning up the messes she would make much easier," said Spencer.

"Good thinking," said Elizabeth.

xxxxxx

Halfway through dinner, Elizabeth looked at Diana who was sitting between her father and uncle Aaron while Bridget sat in a high chair between her parents.

"Where do you go to preschool?" asked Elizabeth.

"Washington International School," said Diana before she started to squirm in her seat causing her to look at her parents, uncle Aaron, Emily, and Elizabeth, "May I please be excused to use the bathroom?" asked Diana.

"Yes you may," said Clarissa.

Emily looked at Diana.

"I'll take you," said Emily

As soon as Diana and Emily were out of the room, Elizabeth looked at Spencer and Clarissa who were keeping an eye on Bridget as the nearly 10-month-old baby placed a spaghetti noodle in her mouth.

"Diana is very well mannered for a four-year-old," said Elizabeth.

Clarissa took a sip of water before looking at Elizabeth.

"As soon as Diana's language skills started to grow, we started teaching her about manners," said Clarissa.

"She's also very smart too," said Elizabeth.

Spencer blushed a little bit.

"Even though Diana has Clarissa's personality, she has an IQ of 168, an eidetic memory like me, while reading at a speed of 19,000 words per a minute," said Spencer.

"And you decided not to let her skip a few grades?" asked Elizabeth.

"I ended up graduating high school when I was 12. My aunt and uncle encouraged me to follow my interests as they made sure that I had a normal childhood and get to act like a regular teenager by socializing with other kids my age through church and the children of my aunt and uncle's coworkers because I couldn't socialize with my classmates," said Spencer before sipping his glass of water, "Since Diana started preschool, her preschool teacher and us created a lesson plan to keep Diana from getting bored and act out while Diana goes to Sunday School, figure skating lessons, and swimming lessons," said Spencer.

"In a few weeks Diana will be attending a day camp that's being held at Georgetown for academically gifted children between the ages of four and seven before she starts attending a residential summer camp for gifted children," said Clarissa just as Diana returned with Emily.

xxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was sitting at the conference table with his teammates.

"This is Delilah Grennan. She was bludgeoned and raped during the night at her home in Lower Canaan, Ohio," said JJ.

"Lower where?" asked Emily.

"Small town 40 miles outside of Cincinnati," said JJ as she sat down.

"Staging the body face-up with the arms across the chest like that," said Spencer.

Morgan walked towards Spencer.

"Ritual. Nice hair, by the way," said Morgan as he messed with Spencer's bangs.

Spencer scowled.

"Thanks," said Spencer as he worked on fixing his hair into the way that Clarissa styled it as they were getting ready for work.

"Uh, there's more," said JJ as she pulled up a picture, "Small puncture wounds on her stomach. Note the lack of blood," said JJ.

Emily read the coroner's report.

"They were inflicted post-mortem. Were there any other victims?" asked Emily.

"Kind of," said JJ as she pulled up more pictures, "Victimology and signature match a serial killer from the same town 10 years ago- six   
victims spanning over 10 called himself-," said JJ.

"The Angel Maker. I remember the case," said Hotch.

"They caught that guy," said Spencer.

"And executed him," said Rossi.

"That's right. He was put to death by lethal injection a year ago yesterday," said JJ.

"Yesterday," said Emily.

"So we're looking for a copycat," said Morgan.

"Honoring the anniversary of his hero's death," said Rossi.

Spencer finished smoothing back his hair.

"It says here they found semen at the crime scene. Perhaps locals will get a DNA match when they run it through VICAP?" asked Spencer.

"Well, that's where it gets weird. They ran it already and they got a match, too," said JJ as she passed the results to Rossi.

"Well, if they already have a name, why'd they call us?" asked Emily.

Rossi read the report before his eyes went wide.

"They've got to be kidding," said Rossi as he looked at his teammates, "The match they got back on the DNA is to a Cortland Bryce Ryan, otherwise known as... The Angel Maker," said Rossi causing everyone to look at a picture of Cortland.

A few minutes later Morgan looked at Spencer.

"What led to getting your haircut and where do you go for your haircut?" asked Morgan.

"Clarissa decided to cut my hair on Saturday because yesterday evening Ambassador Prentiss invited Clarissa, Diana, Bridget and me to her house for Sunday dinner with Hotch, Emily, and Jack so she could meet Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget," said Spencer.

"Clarissa was the one to cut your hair?" asked Morgan.

Spencer nodded.

"Clarissa's been cutting my hair since I joined the BAU because its easier to have Clarissa cut my hair than schedule an appointment that I might end up missing due to a case or I'm forced to wait over an hour for a walk-in appointment," said Spencer before he walked away and sent Clarissa a text message.

GOING TO LOWER CANAAN, OHIO. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU, DIANA, BRIDGET, AND OUR UNBORN SON. ~ SR

xxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting between his brother-in-law and the aisle of the jet while JJ stood behind Spencer and Hotch as he read the coroner report.

"The Angel Maker's victims were beaten with the assailant's bare hands," said Spencer as he thought about what Delilah could have been   
beaten with, "Delilah Grennan was bludgeoned with a heavy instrument, maybe a hammer," said Spencer.

"OK, so this unsub's a weaker guy, but at least someone who perceives himself that way," said Morgan.

"So he brought along the hammer to make certain his victim wouldn't fight back?" asked Emily.

"They have parachutes on-board, right?" asked Rossi.

"They should. It's standard on all federal air transport," said Spencer.

"Maybe we can give one to the elephant in the room, get him out of here?" asked Rossi.

"That'd be the elephant with the dead man's DNA," said Morgan.

"Well, obviously somebody planted the semen on the victim," said Hotch.

"In the victim," corrected Morgan.

Spencer squinted a bit.

"That's one theory," said Spencer.

"There's another?" asked JJ.

"Think about who shares the exact DNA makeup of another person," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Reid, you're not seriously floating around the idea of an evil twin, are you?" asked Morgan.

"No, I'm not. I'm floating the idea of an eviler twin. Traditionally, the concept is a good twin and an evil twin. But in this case, it's evil twin, eviler twin," Spencer.

After a few seconds of silence, Morgan noticed Hotch ducking his head as he rubbed his forehead.

"Hotch?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah," said Hotch.

"You have been cleared to fly, haven't you?" asked Morgan.

Spencer's personal phone vibrated causing Spencer to see a text from Clarissa.

JUST HAD MY FIRST BRAXTON HICK CONTRACTION. ~ CR

"Is everything OK?" asked Hotch.

"Clarissa just had her first Braxton Hick contraction," said Spencer.

"Does that mean that she's in labor?" asked Morgan.

"Not at all because its normal for a pregnant woman to deal with Braxton Hicks contractions before the 37th week of their pregnancy, and Clarissa told me that the contractions that she dealt with when she was in labor with Diana and Bridget are much more painful than Braxton Hicks contractions," said Spencer.

"Will Clarissa be getting an epidural this time?" asked JJ.

Spencer shook his head.

"Clarissa wants to do a natural birth without drugs again, so I'm mentally preparing myself for dealing with an aggressive Clarissa," said Spencer.

"How does it feel to be six weeks away from holding your firstborn son?" asked Rossi.

"I'm still excited and nervous. Other than the nursery being finished and Jack's old baby clothes being washed and put away, Clarissa and I are pretty much ready for Evan's arrival except for washing the clothing that Clarissa will be receiving during next week Saturday's baby shower," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

Spencer followed his brother-in-law and Sheriff Dobson into Delilah's house.

"Before Cortland Ryan, this town hadn't seen a homicide in over 30 years. He didn't just kill those 6 women. He killed a way of life. Now this thing's got people thinking he's come back," said Sheriff Dobson.

"They don't really think that, do they?" asked Spencer.

"I guess when you've been scared by something, I mean really scared, that fear's in you forever," said Sheriff Dobson.

"Let's stick to the facts. Were there signs of forced entry?" asked Hotch.

"None that we could find, but whoever killed Delilah Grennan opened up every window in this house before he left," said Sheriff Dobson.

Spencer walked towards the table.

"That's a signature from the previous murders," said Spencer.

"A detail we never released to the public," said Sheriff Dobson.

"And it came out at the trial?" asked Hotch.

"No, sir. Prosecution had Ryan nailed nine ways to Sunday. Didn't need it. So I'm hard-pressed to know how this copycat knew about those windows," said Sheriff Dobson.

Hotch started to lead his brother-in-law and Sheriff Dobson towards the bedroom.

"The man we're looking for is most likely a fan who exhaustively studied the first killings and used them to form his own murder fantasies," said Hotch.

"He knows this case as well as us; better, maybe, if he had actual contact with Ryan while he was incarcerated," said Spencer.

"We sent one of our agents to Hawkesville Prison to look into it," said Hotch.

"And the semen?" asked Sheriff Dobson.

"Smuggled out of the prison, kept on ice, brought out on the anniversary of the execution," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Sheriff Dobson.

"There's an entire cottage industry based on serial killer effects and memorabilia. You can find absolutely anything if you know the right people," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was holding the letter that was sent to the police department as he read the letter out loud.

""I give you a legacy, a breath of life from the angel maker himself. Those who prayed to forget me will one day see my face and shrink in fear."" read Spencer.

"That's the last thing people need right now," said Sheriff Dobson.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Reid, how's it compare with the original correspondence?" asked Morgan.

Spencer walked towards a table.

"They share some compelling characteristics. I'd obviously like to look at it under magnification with a better light," said Spencer as he set the letter on the table.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Best guess, Reid?" asked Hotch.

Spencer studied the letter for a second.

"Say it's authentic," said Spencer.

Sheriff Dobson put on some glasses and quickly read the letter before looking at Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan.

"How can this letter be authentic if the guy's been dead for a year?" asked Sheriff Dobson as he removed his glasses.

"Could be an elaborate forgery," said Hotch.

"Or it could be the genuine article, just written before his death," said Spencer.

"Well, mail here isn't that slow," said Sheriff Dobson.

"Or released through an intermediary," said Spencer.

"You mean the copycat?" asked Sheriff Dobson.

Spencer nodded.

"We're going over the prison visitor logs to check who had multiple visits with Ryan, try to narrow our suspect pool," said Morgan just as Sheriff Dobson saw his wife come into the room.

"Sela? What are you doing here?" asked Sheriff Dobson.

"Is it true? There's a letter?" asked Sela.

"How did you know?" asked Sheriff Dobson.

"You didn't really think you could keep that quiet around here," said Sela.

"The letter's not from him, not the way people might be saying," said Sheriff Dobson.

"What does that mean?" asked Sela.

"It... It means we think he has someone on the outside, a friend," said Hotch.

Sela looked at Hotch.

"What if you're wrong?" asked Sela as she looked at her husband, "What if-," stuttered Sela.

Sheriff Dobson realized what his wife was about to say.

"There's no such thing as ghosts, Sela," said Sheriff Dobson.

"I'm not talking about a ghost. I am talking about those rumors about the execution, how there were problems, how it didn't work right,"   
said Sela.

"What are you suggesting?" asked Hotch.

Sela looked at Hotch.

"What if he's still out there?" asked Sela before looking at her husband, "Don't do that. You think I'm the only one? Look outside," said Sela.  
Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, and Sheriff Dobson noticed people coming towards the station.

"They want proof that he's dead," said Sela.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer stood next to his brother-in-law as he, Hotch, and Morgan looked at the officers that they were assisting.

"There have been some strange happenings in this case, But I urge you not to abandon reason in the search of the truth. This is not the work of a ghost, and it's not the work of a killer come back from the dead. This is the work of somebody who lives right here in Lower Canaan, and this person is a woman," said Hotch.

"Her last victim, Sid Rutledge- he was The Angel Maker's mule. He smuggled items out of Hawkesville Prison, including the semen that was planted at the first crime scene," said Morgan.

"She killed Rutledge because he knew she was the copycat, and also because he was blackmailing her," said Spencer.

"We now know that Rutledge was transferred to Hawkesville from a female prison, in the wake of allegations that he was using his position to leverage sexual favors from inmates," said Morgan.

"And we think he did the same thing to our unsub; in exchange for his silence, he wanted sex," said Hotch.

"Because she shot him in the junk, right?" asked Deputy Price.

"That, and the fact that he took a PD-5 inhibitor shortly before his murder," said Spencer.

"A what?" asked Sheriff Dobson.

"Viagra," clarified Morgan.

"We're looking for a white woman in her mid-30s and she's highly intelligent. And she's not just a fan, she's a groupie," said Hotch.

"Now, she's not what you would normally expect. More often than not, they're attractive, they're well-educated, They're successful; some are even married," said Morgan.

"Generally, they fall into types. Some are reformers. They're on a mission to save or rescue these murderers. Often, this type of groupie has been raised in a repressive, religious environment and specifically have been exposed to the ideals of sexual repression and subjugation of women," said Spencer.

"Our unsub is a different type, one who suffers from hybristophilia. It's a sexual attraction to men who commit violent crimes. They give her a power that she lacks, which stems from low self-esteem and a need for a father figure," said Morgan.

"Well, the victims were raped. How do you explain that?" asked another deputy.

"She's using an instrument to simulate the sexual assault... This is something that she keeps in her rape kit, along with the weapon that she's using to bludgeon her victims," said Morgan.

JJ held up some papers.

"This is a list of women who visited and wrote The Angel Maker while he was in prison. We've started to track these leads, but the list is extensive, so we're gonna need your help," said JJ.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer was going through the letters with Rossi when he grabbed another one.

"Here's another one to dove- November 2, 2006," said Spencer as he thought back to Diana still being two-years-old during the time.

"Same thing?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah," said Spencer as he started to read the letter, ""Weather is good here. Out in the garden all day. Birds land on the fence. The moon is full now."" read Spencer as he passed Rossi the letter before he started to quickly read the other letters.

"He got an hour a day in a concrete yard. There was no garden. There were no birds. Death row haiku. I mean, you have to try to write this bad," said Rossi.

Spencer quickly noticed something.

"I think he did. He tried very hard to put each word, each letter, even, in the right order," said Spencer.

"So it's a code," said Rossi.

"This steganographic method would allow him to write letters that don't appear enciphered. The real message would be hiding in plain sight," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer and thought about hearing that Spencer is one of the fastest code breakers.

"What do you need to crack it?" asked Rossi.

"The ability to clone myself and a year's supply of Adderall," joked Spencer.

"I'll put on the coffee," said Rossi before walking away.

xxxxx

Spencer worked on decoding the letters as he listened to Emily tell everyone about why the puncture wounds were all different.

"The puncture wounds on the victim's stomachs represent constellations," said Emily.

"Constellations? Don't tell me this guy was following the zodiac," said Rossi.

Emily pointed at the information that she pulled up on a laptop.

"No, these are from a family of constellations known as the Heavenly Waters," said Emily.

"Well, I guess we know how he came up with the nickname," said Morgan.

"That's why he'd open up all the windows after each kill, so their souls could be released into the sky," said Rossi.

Emily pointed at a picture.

"Delphinus, the dolphin; Equuleus, the little horse. Anything sound familiar?" asked Emily.

"His origami things," said Morgan.

"There are nine constellations in the Heavenly Waters. The Angel Maker killed six," said Hotch.

"Yeah, our unsub continued where he left off," said Emily as she showed the recent crime scene pictures to Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi, "First she did Vela, and then last night she did Carina. The only one left is Columba, the dove," said Emily.

"One more kill and she completes his set," said Rossi.

"She knew the meaning of the stomach wounds, something even we didn't know," said Hotch.

"She must have been a lot closer to Ryan than we thought," said Morgan.

Spencer who finished with deciphering the letters decided to tell his teammates that he finished.

"They weren't just close. They were in love," said Spencer as he turned around and capped his marker.

Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, JJ, and Emily instantly noticed the work that Spencer spent the past couple of hours doing.

"How'd you crack it?" asked Rossi.

"I profiled the author. Cortland Ryan was on death row with several high-ranking members of the Aryan Brotherhood," said Spencer.

"He got the code from the Aryans?" asked JJ.

"Either that or he read a lot of 16th-century literature. The Aryans liked to use a cipher based on a 400-year-old code written by Sir Francis Bacon," said Spencer.

"So it's a binary code," said Morgan.

"Yeah. Bacon used a 21-letter alphabet. This one's 24. Each letter is assigned a bit string of five binary digits. This combination yields 32 possible encodings. Normally you'd use a computer to run all these combinations, but it was quicker just to do it longhand until I found the right one," said Spencer.

Everyone stood in silence before Emily reached out and poked Spencer's cheek causing Spencer to look at her.

"He's so lifelike," said Emily.

JJ laughed a bit before Spencer walked towards the table.

"Now we don't have a complete record of their correspondence, but I was able to make a chronology," said Spencer as he passed some of the letters to his teammates, "The woman he calls "dove" established contact shortly after the trial," said Spencer.

Emily looked at one of the letters.

""My dearest Cortland, thank you for writing back to me. The day the verdict was read, we shared a silent moment..."" read Emily as she continued to read the letters.

xxxxxxx

After Emily was finished reading the letters out loud, she looked at her teammates.

"What do you think she meant by that last line: I will bring a part of you back?" asked Emily.

"The murders? She brought him back to life," said Morgan.

JJ thought about the baby that she is currently pregnant with.

"What if she was talking about his child?" asked JJ.

Spencer nodded in agreement as he thought about Diana, Bridget, and his unborn son.

"Well, she did say "us"- watch over us from the stars," said Spencer.

"She used the semen samples to plant evidence, not to get pregnant," said Rossi.

"What if she did both?" asked Hotch.

"Well, if she actually had his kid, we might be able to track her through birth records," said Emily just as Sheriff Dobson approached them.

"Agent Hotchner? We just got a report of a woman attacked in her house by a female assailant," said Sheriff Dobson.

"Is she OK?" asked JJ.

"Sounds like it, but I can't say the same for the attacker, though. Neighbors heard cries for help, pretty soon half the block was on her," said Sheriff Dobson.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was going through birth records with Hotch, Morgan, and Sheriff Dobson when Sheriff Dobson looked at Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan.

"Hannah Dreyfus was in an auto accident. She could barely walk. Shannon Conway moved away when the plant closed a year ago," said Sheriff Dobson.

"Any other names you recognize?" asked Morgan.

"No. - I don't-," said Sheriff Dobson when he recognized a name, "Whoa," said Sheriff Dobson.

"What is it?" asked Hotch.

"Well, this one here sounds familiar, but I can't really place it. Chloe Kelcher," said Sheriff Dobson.

"Chloe Kelcher. That is familiar," said Spencer as he hurried towards a box and grabbed it and carried it to the table before finding a file and opened it, "Chloe Kelcher. She was on the jury," said Spencer as he made eye contact with his brother-in-law.

"Well, that makes sense. She would have been exposed to the case evidence, seen firsthand what he did to his victims," said Morgan.

"That's when she fell in love with him, sitting across the courtroom every day," said Hotch.

"Well, it's one thing to have a relationship with a killer, it's another to become one," said Sheriff Dobson.

"There might have been an incident that prompted the transformation," said Spencer while Hotch opened a file.

"I think I know what it was," said Hotch as he passed the file to his brother-in-law.

"It's a death certificate. Microvesicular steatosis. Her baby died at the hospital," said Spencer as he quickly pulled out his personal phone and pulled up the latest picture of Bridget.

xxxxx

A Kevlar vest clad Spencer stood by Emily and Rossi when Emily looked at her fiancé.

"Hotch, I don't think you can get through to her," said Emily.

"No, but maybe you can," said Hotch as he passed the megaphone to Emily.

Spencer looked at Hotch and Emily.

"Profile's clear. You can't talk this woman down," said Spencer.

"No, but just to occupy her. If we're right about the MOs she's left a window open somewhere. Morgan will find a way in. We just need to buy him some time," said Hotch.

A minute later Hotch looked at Sheriff Dobson.

"Hit the lights," said Hotch.

Sheriff Dobson quickly turned on the lights causing everyone to hope that they woke up Faye.

"Chloe, this is the FBI. We know you're in there, and we know what you're trying to do," said Emily as she waited a bit to speak, "I know you think that finishing what Cortland started will bring you closer to him, but first you should know who he really was," said Emily.

Spencer quickly used his eidetic memory and wrote what he remembered from the letters.

"I know you thought you were special, but the truth is, the same things he wrote to you, he wrote to many other women. I've seen the letters," said Emily while Spencer showed Emily what he wrote, "Dozens read the same lines: without the flesh, there is only the soul. You don't need to touch me to feel the love I have for you. Does that sound familiar?" asked Emily.

Spencer started writing again.

"Cortland wasn't who you thought he was. He-he was a narcissist, Chloe. He wasn't capable of loving anyone but himself. To Carla Kettinger, he wrote, ever since your visit, I am crazed with thoughts of you... "" read Emily as she continued to read the passages of the letters that Spencer quickly wrote down.

A few minutes later Spencer, Emily, Hotch, Rossi, and Sheriff Dobson heard Chloe yell.

"No!" shouted Chloe as Morgan came running over to them with Faye.

"It's over, Chloe. We have Faye. You have nowhere to go," said Emily before she shook her head.

Sheriff Dobson looked at Hotch.

"I think we got some tear gas. I'm assuming it's still good," said Sheriff Dobson.

"We're not gonna need it. She doesn't have any place to go," said Hotch.

"Well, maybe she'll do us all a favor and put herself down," said Sheriff Dobson.

"She's not gonna do that, either. She's not done," said Hotch just as Chloe came outside causing Spencer, Hotch, Emily, Rossi, and Sheriff Dobson to point their guns at Chloe.

"Chloe, drop the gun," said Hotch while Chloe continued to come to them, "Chloe, drop the gun," ordered Hotch.

Sheriff Dobson looked at Chloe.

"Damn it, lady, drop it!" demanded Sheriff Dobson.

Chloe looked up at the sky.

"I'm coming to you, baby," said Chloe as she pointed her gun at the BAU team and Sheriff Dobson causing Sheriff Dobson to shoot his gun while Hotch walked away and clutched his ears in pain.

"Hotch," said Rossi as he quickly went to Hotch.

A few seconds later Spencer was joining his brother-in-law and Rossi before Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Clarissa's going to need to talk some sense into him," said Rossi.

"I know," said Spencer quietly.

xxxxxx

The next morning Spencer smiled when he heard Clarissa answer her phone as he made sure that he packed everything that he took out of his go bag laying around his hotel room.

"Good morning, Spence. You are on speaker with Diana, Bridget, and me," said Clarissa.

"How are my favorite girls doing?" asked Spencer.

"Dada!" exclaimed Bridget over the phone.

"I miss you, daddy," said Diana.

"We all missed you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"At least you ladies won't be missing me tonight because I'm heading to the airport in an hour, so I'll be home in time for dinner tonight," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

"Aye!" said Bridget as she clapped her hands.

"How's Aaron doing?" asked Clarissa.

"I'll only tell you as soon as your off speaker and your away from the girls just in case you can't censor your language," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Clarissa spoke up.

"What the hell happened to Aaron this time?" asked Clarissa.

"He caused more damage to his ears the past few days," said Spencer as he explained about Emily telling him about what happened at the cemetery and what happened during the take down.

When he was finished, Clarissa spoke up.

"As soon as you guys are home, I want to talk to him about taking better care of himself," said Clarissa.

"I'll let him know, but I have to meet up with the rest of the team for breakfast before I fly home," said Spencer.

"I'll see you later on today, and I love you," said Clarissa.

"I love you too," said Spencer before he hung up.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was leaning against a police car chatting with Morgan and Emily when JJ joined them.

"Anyone get directions back to the airstrip?" asked JJ.

"Town's only got one road. We'll find it," said Morgan.

"Yeah, Morgan doesn't like to follow directions. You didn't know about that?" asked Emily.

"Yeah, he likes to vibe it," joked Spencer.

"OK, smart ass. You drive," said Morgan as he tossed the keys that Spencer easily caught.

Spencer grinned as he thought about how rare it was for Morgan to allow him to drive even though he had his license for over 10 years and is a careful driver when it comes to Diana and Bridget and the driving tests he had to pass in the academy.

"Sweet," said Spencer as he caught the keys.

A few seconds later Spencer was opening up the door for JJ.

"Thank you," said JJ just as Hotch approached Emily and passed her some brownies.

"For the flight," said Hotch as he watched his brother-in-law climb into the driver's seat and buckled himself in without closing the door.

"What?" asked Emily.

"Just gonna grab my bag," said Hotch.

"You're not coming?" asked Rossi.

"I, uh, think I'm gonna drive," said Hotch.

Emily sighed.

"Oh, it's over seven hours back to Quantico," said Emily.

"I really shouldn't be flying," said Hotch.

Emily looked at Hotch.

"Then I'm coming with you," said Emily.

"I was about to ask you if you wanted to come," said Hotch.

Rossi looked at Hotch and Emily.

"I've done that drive before. You'll see a lot of pretty country along the byways. You two might consider…," said Rossi as he smirked at Hotch and Emily, "Stretching it out a day or two," said Rossi.

Hotch and Emily smiled at each other.

"Maybe we will," said Hotch as Spencer started the SUV.

Spencer looked at Hotch and Emily.

"When you two get back, Clarissa wants to talk to you, Aaron," said Spencer.

Hotch groaned.

"Clarissa's definitely going to be yelling at me about damaging my ear more," said Hotch.

"I don't think she'll be yelling at you because she's less than six weeks away from giving birth to Evan, and too much yelling isn't good for her or your nephew. She might calmly lecture you about damaging your hearing," said Spencer before smirking a bit, "You two better not elope during the drive back to DC because there's a certain four-year-old who is really looking forward to being your flower girl while everyone else will be upset," said Spencer causing some laughter.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Make sure to drive safely to the airport," said Hotch.

Spencer rolled his eyes at his brother-in-law before giving a cheeky grin.

"Yes dad," joked Spencer causing everyone to laugh.

Hotch shook his head as he closed the driver side for Spencer before Spencer pulled out of the parking lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Last chapter that deals with episodes for awhile because the moment that everyone is waiting for is happening very soon!


	42. Father's Day Surprise

Spencer woke up to small chubby hands squeezing his nose.

"Dada!" exclaimed Bridget.

Spencer reached over for his glasses and slipped them on. As soon as his vision was clear he smiled at Diana and Bridget who were currently in his and Clarissa's bed while noticing that his 36-week pregnant wife was missing.

"What's with the wake up call?" asked Spencer.

"Happy Father's Day, daddy," said Diana as she kissed her daddy's cheek before 10-month-old Bridget gave her daddy a sloppy cheek.

Spencer hugged and kissed his daughters before looking at Diana.

"Thank you for the kisses, girls," said Spencer before looking at his oldest, "Where's mommy?" asked Spencer.

"Mommy is in the kitchen cooking breakfast and Lucy, and Lucy helped Bridget get up here and wanted me to tell you to come down here as soon as you are dressed for church," said Diana.

"Just give me about 10 minutes so I can shave and get dressed," said Spencer.

"I will stay with Bridget," said Diana.

"Thank you," said Spencer as he got out of bed and grabbed the pair of dress pants, a dress shirt, and a tie that he laid out before heading to the bathroom to get dressed.

10 minutes later Spencer entered the kitchen with Bridget on his hip as he looked at Clarissa who was putting breakfast on the kitchen island with Lucy.

"Good morning," said Spencer as he placed his 10-month-old baby girl in her high chair.

"Happy Father's Day, Spencer," said Lucy.

Clarissa waddled over to her husband and pecked him on the lips.

"Happy Father's Day, Spence," said Clarissa as she rubbed her back.

"You OK?" asked Spencer.

"Dealing with lower back pain right now," said Clarissa.

"Was that why you left our bed at midnight?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"I couldn't sleep last night due to Evan's constant kicking, so I ended up on the couch," said Clarissa.

Spencer rubbed his wife's 36-weeks pregnant stomach and smiled when he felt a kick.

"Do you want to stay home from church today because of you being 36-weeks pregnant?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa shook her head.

"I want to get out of the house today because Diana and I decided that we'll go out for lunch before a trip to the zoo with Aaron, Sean, and Jack so Aaron and Sean can spend time with Diana and Bridget while you spend time with Jack," said Clarissa.

"OK, but I don't mind canceling plans so you can rest," said Spencer.

A few minutes later the growing Reid family were eating their breakfast.

xxxxxxxx

Over an hour and a half later Spencer was sitting on a pew with Bridget on his lap while he rubbed Clarissa's lower back just as Clarissa shifted in her seat causing the 26-year-old genius to whisper in his wife's ear as he paid attention to Reverend Alden's sermon.

"You OK, love?" asked Spencer.

"I'm still dealing with the lower back pain that kept me up all night," whispered Clarissa just as she felt a burst of pain as her underwear started to feel wet before she felt one of the strongest contractions ever causing her to look at her husband, "My water just broke, and I don't think there's enough time to get to the hospital because I feel like I have to push," whispered Clarissa before cried out in pain.

Spencer's eyes went wide as Reverend Alden looked towards them.

"Is everything OK?" asked Reverend Alden.

Spencer passed Bridget over to Lucy as he got out of the pew and started to help his wife out.

"I'm sorry that we're interrupting your sermon, but Clarissa's water just broke and Clarissa doesn't think there's enough time to get into the hospital," said Spencer.

Reverend Alden instantly became alert before running towards the Reid family while Sarah and another member of the church ran over to them.

"Let's get you two over to the cry room where you guys will have some privacy," said Reverend Alden before looking at his congregation, "Everyone stay seated for now, but as soon as Spencer and Clarissa get into the cry room, I want everyone to go outside while I gather the rest of the children and have them come outside," said Reverend Alden.

Everyone nodded in agreement while the young woman who joined them looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"My name is Rebecca and I just became a paramedic who moved into the area, but I'm going to help you guys. So I'm going to head to my car and grab my bag that contains a few things before I join you two," said Rebecca before she ran off.

Sarah who had her cell phone pressed to her ear looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"I called 911, but there's currently a pile-up on the Beltway so it's going to be awhile before paramedics come, but the operator promised me that an ambulance will be here as soon as possible," said Sarah.

"I know what to do because I've read labor and delivery manuals just to be safe," said Spencer as he and Sarah both wrapped arms around Clarissa and led her towards the cry room.

A few minutes later Clarissa was sitting in a wooden chair in the cry room while Spencer who rubbed his hands with hand sanitizer before he grabbed a pair of latex-free gloves from his messenger bag and knelt down in front of his wife.

"I'm just going to see how far you are, Clarissa," said Spencer calmly as he slipped on his gloves.

"OK, Spence," cried Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer was lifting up his wife's dress before he pulled down Clarissa's underwear, and five seconds later Spencer mentally calculated how far Clarissa was dilated.

"You are already dilated 10 centimeters, love," said Spencer just as Clarissa screamed in pain.

"I need to push," said Clarissa as she grabbed Sarah's hand.

"Go ahead, love," said Spencer just as Rebecca entered the room.

"I have some blankets to clean the baby up with," said Rebecca before she took her place on the other side of Clarissa.

"I really need to fucking push right now," shouted Clarissa.

"Hold my hand while you push as hard as you can, Clarissa," said Sarah.

A teary-eyed Clarissa braced herself before she started to push as she screamed in pain.

"Your doing good, love," said Spencer.

Two minutes and two pushes later, Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I need to push again," cried Clarissa.

"Go ahead," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Clarissa pushed with all of her might as she screamed, and a few seconds later Spencer looked at his wife.

"I think Evan's going to have my hair, love," said Spencer.

"You see the head?" asked Clarissa.

"Part of his head is already out, but I don't see his eyes, nose, and mouth yet. So push as hard as you can so I can pull him out as soon as his shoulders are out," said Spencer calmly.

"OK," said Clarissa as she braced herself before she pushed as she screamed.

A few seconds later there was a gasp and loud cry as Spencer gently pulled his son out before he quickly accepted scissors from Rebecca and cut his crying son's umbilical cord.

"Its a boy!" exclaimed a teary-eyed Spencer.

Rebecca quickly grabbed a space blanket and unfolded it.

"Let's get your son into this blanket, Spencer," said Rebecca.

A few seconds later Spencer gently placed Evan into the space blanket and started to clean up his son a bit before he smiled at Evan as he held his son.

"Hello Evan, I'm your daddy. Let's take you over to your mommy so she can meet you," said Spencer as he gently placed Evan into his crying wife's outstretched arms.

"Thank you for delivering our son safely, Spence," said Clarissa as she took in the sight of her baby boy, "Even though he's a mess, he looks just like you," said Clarissa.

"I know," said Spencer before looking at Sarah, "I'm glad that you were here, Sarah," said Spencer.

"Me too, and Peter and I are excited about being Evan's godparents," said Sarah.

Spencer looked at Rebecca.

"Thank you for your help," said Spencer.

"Your welcome, and congratulations on the birth of your son," said Rebecca just as two paramedics came into the room with Reverend Alden.

"I see that my newest member of the church safely arrived before I led the paramedics in here," said Reverend Alden.

"Thanks to all the reading that Spence did so he can deliver Evan safely," said Clarissa.

One of the two paramedics gently took Evan from Clarissa and started to check him over while Spencer and the other paramedic helped Clarissa get onto a gurney.

"Let's get you guys to the hospital," said the female paramedic before looking at Rebecca and noticed how sweaty her coworker was, "You want a ride to the hospital so you can clean up, Rebecca?" asked the female paramedic.

"Yes please," said Rebecca.

Reverend Alden looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"While you guys head to the hospital, I'll head outside and let everyone know that Evan safely arrived because there's a four-year-old girl who's anxious about knowing why her mommy and daddy aren't outside," said Reverend Alden.

"I'm sorry about the mess I made after my water broke and while giving birth to Evan in here," said Clarissa.

"It's OK, Clarissa. At least your son was born here than in your SUV," said Reverend Alden.

A few minutes later Spencer and Sarah were joining Clarissa and Evan in the back of an ambulance while Lucy followed behind them to the nearest hospital with Diana and Bridget in the backseat.

xxxxxxx

An hour later a freshly showered and scrub-clad Spencer was sitting by Clarissa's hospital bed where a freshly showered and hospital gown clad Clarissa was holding Evan when Dr. Larson smiled at Spencer.

"If you didn't become a profiler for the FBI, you would have become a good gynecologist because you did a really good job delivering your son," said Dr. Larson.

Spencer smiled.

"I don't think that the FBI would appreciate me resigning so I could go to medical school and become a gynecologist, Dr. Larson," said Spencer.

Dr. Larson smiled down at the baby boy who was in his mother's arms before looking at the 26-year-old married couple.

"I'll let you two bond with Evan for a bit before Diana and Bridget meet their baby brother," said Dr. Larson before smiling at Spencer, "Happy Father's Day, Spencer," said Dr. Larson.

Spencer smiled a bit as he thought about Dr. Larson being married for over 15 years while having 10-year-old fraternal twins with his wife.

"You too, doctor," said Spencer before Dr. Larson left the room allowing the 26-year-old father of three kids to smile at his wife, "I can't wait for your brothers and my teammates to find out that I delivered Evan," said Spencer as he ran a finger over his son's cheek.

Clarissa laughed.

"Me too," said Clarissa before looking down at Evan who had curly brown hair and her husband's eyes, "I was right about Evan looking just like you," said Clarissa just as there was a knock on the open door causing the young parents to grin at the sight of Diana, Bridget, and Lucy.

"Come on in," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Diana came running into the room with Lucy trailing behind with Bridget on her hip.

"Did you really deliver my baby brother, daddy?" asked Diana.

"I sure did, Diana," said Spencer.

"You really are a doctor and a superhero, daddy," said Diana as she hugged her daddy.

Spencer grinned before he stood up and lifted up Diana and placed her next to Clarissa in bed before he took a seat on Clarissa's bed.

"Diana, meet your new baby brother Evan Aaron Reid," said Spencer.

Diana grinned at her baby brother and gently kissed his forehead.

"Hi, Evan. I am your big sister Diana. You also have a big sister named Bridget, and the three of us will have a lot of fun together," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa who both had tears falling down their faces smiled at each other before they looked at a wide-eyed Bridget who was staring at the tiny bundle of blue in her mommy's arms.

"Ba?" asked Bridget.

Lucy placed Bridget on her daddy's lap.

"Meet your baby brother Evan, Bridget," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Bridget was giving Evan a kiss on the cheek causing Spencer, Clarissa, and Lucy to tear up before Lucy looked at the five Reids.

"Let me take a family picture of you guys and send it to Aaron, Sean, Emily, David, JJ, Penelope, and Derek because I have a feeling that you guys didn't call anyone because I didn't either," said Lucy.

A few seconds later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan were looking at Lucy who was taking a phone while Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget had large grins on their faces while Evan stared at the camera before Lucy sent a picture to everyone.

COME MEET MY NEWEST CHARGE AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL. ~ LR

A minute later Diana was taking a turn to hold her baby brother before Lucy took Diana and Bridget home.

xxxxxxx

20 minutes later Spencer grinned sheepishly at his teammates, Sean, and Jack as they entered Clarissa's hospital room.

"Hi guys," said Spencer.

"Unca Spence," said Jack.

Hotch and Sean made a beeline for their sister while Spencer accepted hugs and handshakes from JJ, Emily, Garcia, Morgan, and Rossi.

"Why didn't you call us as soon as you were in labor, Clarissa?" asked Hotch as he kissed his baby sister on the cheek before he placed Jack   
next to Clarissa in bed while Sean kissed Clarissa on the cheek.

Spencer and Clarissa gave each other tired grins.

"That's because we were in church when my water broke and Spence ended up delivering Evan himself with the help of our friend Sarah and an off-duty paramedic in the church's crying room. The reason why we didn't call was because we wanted to make sure that Evan and I were both OK and Diana and Bridget got to meet their baby brother before we called you guys to come here," said Clarissa before looking at Jack, "Meet your newest cousin Evan, Jack," said Clarissa.

"Hi Evan, I Jack," said Jack as he kissed Evan's cheek.

"Aww," chorused Clarissa, JJ, Emily, and Garcia.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"You really delivered your son by yourself?" asked Morgan.

Spencer blushed a bit.

"I read delivery manuals when Clarissa was pregnant with Diana and Bridget just in case I couldn't get her to the hospital in time, and luckily reading those manuals paid off," said Spencer.

Hotch pulled Spencer into a hug.

"Congratulations on becoming a father to three kids, Dr. Spencer Reid MD," said Hotch.

Spencer laughed at his brother-in-law's joke before looking at his two brothers-in-law.

"Happy Father's Day to you too," said Spencer as he gave Hotch and Sean a hug.

Clarissa looked at her oldest brother.

"You want to hold your firstborn nephew first?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, please," said Hotch as he took Evan from his sister.

"I better go second," said Sean.

"You will," laughed Clarissa.

Hotch looked down at Evan who was wide awake and staring at him and thought about the baby pictures he has seen of Spencer.

"He looks just like you, Spencer," said Hotch.

Spencer smirked at Rossi.

"At least I'll be having a mini clone of me running around since there's no scientific way to clone myself," said Spencer.

Rossi chuckled.

"The joke you made before I left you to crack that cipher nearly two weeks ago cracked me up," said Rossi before looking at Hotch, "Spencer has a dry sense of humor just like you," said Rossi.

"I know, but at least Spencer's less of a drill sergeant than me," said Hotch.

Morgan rolled his eyes while Clarissa looked at Rossi.

"Why do you think I fell in love with Spencer?" asked Clarissa while she watched her oldest brother pass Evan to Sean.

"At least I now have two nephews to balance out my nieces," said Sean.

Spencer and Clarissa laughed while Clarissa smirked at Sean.

"I'm still expecting you to make me an auntie because your 27 and still single," said Clarissa.

"I still haven't found the right girl yet, and it doesn't help that none of our brother's female teammates are single," said Sean causing laughter while Hotch glared at his brother.

"There are a few single nurses at Children's National who have seen a picture of you and developed a crush on you, Sean. So do you want me to call them up and play matchmaker?" asked Clarissa.

"Can you?" asked Sean.

"Sure," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Emily was holding her nephew.

"He's going to be a heart-breaker when he grows up," said Emily.

Spencer grinned.

"I know," said Spencer.

Emily passed Evan to JJ who smiled at Evan.

"I should have known that this little guy is the reason why the press is currently outside of this hospital," said JJ.

Hotch looked at JJ.

"You should probably go outside within the next couple of minutes and make a statement just in case word got out about Spencer being an FBI agent," said Hotch.

JJ laughed.

"I will," said JJ before she passed Evan to Garcia.

"I can't wait to have my own little Derek Morgans running around in the future," said Garcia before passing the baby boy to Morgan.

"I think I want my own mini Penelope Garcias running around," said Morgan as he looked at Evan, "I'll teach you how to win girls hearts in the future," said Morgan.

Clarissa glared at Morgan.

"Evan's not going to date until he's 30," said Clarissa firmly causing some laughter while Rossi accepted Evan from Morgan.

"He's beautiful," said Rossi just as Evan started to cry causing him to pass Evan to Clarissa causing the baby boy to stop crying, "It seems like you have a mama's boy," said Rossi.

Clarissa grinned.

"I know," said Clarissa.

"Who are the newest baby genius's godparents?" asked Garcia.

"Our friends Dr. Peter Barry and his wife Sarah," said Spencer.

Evan started to fuss some more causing Clarissa to look at her everyone.

"Evan's hungry right now so can you guys please leave the room?" asked Clarissa.

"Sure, and Sean and I will take Diana and Bridget on that promised trip to the zoo," said Hotch as he lifted his son out of Clarissa's hospital bed, "We need to leave Auntie Clarissa, uncle Spencer, and Evan be for a while, but we'll still go to the zoo with Diana and Bridget," said   
Hotch.

Jack grinned at his daddy before Hotch leaned Jack forward so Jack could kiss his aunt and uncle.

A few minutes later Clarissa was nursing Evan as she looked at her husband who was watching JJ speak to the press outside of the hospital live about the FBI having no comment about Spencer having to deliver his son in church.

"I'm sorry if the plans that Diana and I made for Father's Day after church today got canceled," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked into his wife's blue eyes.

"Evan being born today of all days makes this Father's Day the best Father's Day ever," said Spencer as he kissed his wife as he caressed his son's cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Evan's birthday is on June 15th of 2008, and the episode Gatekeeper inspired me to have it that Spencer should personally deliver his third child.


	43. Family Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are the ages of the Hotchner siblings
> 
> Aaron: 38 because Hotch said that it was the end of his junior year in high school in 1987 in The Fisher King Part 1 so that gives him a November 1969 birthday.
> 
> Sean: 27 because I have it that Sean was born in November of 1980.
> 
> Clarissa: 26
> 
> I'm going to have it that Emily lost her father while she was in college, so Emily's father won't appear at all.
> 
> This chapter starts two hours after the last chapter.

Spencer laid in his wife's hospital bed with Clarissa as they held their newborn son together.

"I can't believe when it comes to it being 2,754 days since the day you approached me, that we would be holding our third child and firstborn son in your hospital bed on Father's Day of all days," said Spencer.

"Me too, Spence," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband before taking in the curly brown hair underneath Evan's blue hat, "All of that heartburn I had to deal with was worth it," said Clarissa.

"Hopefully our next child is a boy who would end up being a male version of you," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband's brown curly hair.

"With your curly hair?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smiled as he shook his head as he thought about his eyes and hair being one of the reasons why Clarissa became attracted to him in the first place before Clarissa looked at her husband.

"When it comes to us becoming parents again, we did a damn good job creating three beautiful children together," said Clarissa.

Spencer softly chuckled before his stomach growled causing Clarissa to look at her husband.

"Why don't you go get something to eat," said Clarissa as she shifted Evan so their son can be in her arms.

Spencer started to get out of his wife's hospital bed as he smoothed out the khaki pants and white dress shirt that he changed into after Lucy brought Evan's car seat, his go bag, and Clarissa's hospital bag that contained everything that Clarissa and Evan needed during their hospital stay.

"Want me to bring you back anything?" asked Spencer.

"Some chips from the cafeteria please," said Clarissa.

"As you wish, buttercup," said Spencer before he pecked Clarissa on the lips before gently kissing Evan's forehead and grabbed his phone and wallet before leaving his wife's hospital room.

xxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, at the gift shop in the zoo, Diana grinned when she saw a stuffed frog before looking at her uncle Sean who was holding his hand while her uncle Hotch had his hands on the double stroller that contained Bridget and Jack who were both asleep.

"Can we please get this frog for my baby brother?" asked Diana as she worked her eyes on her uncles while pouting.

Sean laughed.

"We sure can," said Sean.

Hotch shook his head.

"I don't know who's worse when it comes to using the puppy dog eye and pouting trick to get what you want, you or your father, Diana," said Hotch.

Diana giggled before she looked at her uncle Sean.

"Are you going to have kids of your own like mommy and uncle Aaron did?" asked Diana.

Sean shook his head.

"At the moment I think that being an uncle to you, Jack, Bridget, and Evan satisfies me right now," said Sean.

"Daddy will be 27 on October 9th and he has Bridget, Evan, and me. Uncle Aaron will be 39 on November 7th and has Jack. You will be 28 on November 20th, so you better find a nice lady to give me cousins before you get too old to have kids," said Diana.

Hotch burst out laughing at his oldest niece's comment while Sean ignored his big brother's laughter.

"You know your mommy's birthday too?" asked Sean.

"December 15th, and I know that uncle Aaron is 12 years, one month, and 13 days older than mommy," said Diana.

xxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer was sitting in a nearby chair holding Evan when there was a knock on the open door causing Spencer to see Ambassador Prentiss causing him to put his fingers to his lips as he gestured to Elizabeth that Clarissa was sleeping before Elizabeth entered the room.

"Emily told me that you have had quite a Father's Day today, Spencer," said Elizabeth quietly.

Spencer gestured to Elizabeth to sit down.

"I know, but I'm glad that I was able to deliver my son safely," said Spencer.

As soon as Elizabeth was seated she looked at Spencer.

"May I please hold my new great-nephew?" asked Elizabeth.

Spencer nodded as he slowly stood up with his son in his arms and walked over to a sitting Elizabeth.

"Evan, I want you to meet your great-aunt Elizabeth Prentiss," said Spencer as he gently placed the baby boy in Elizabeth's arms.

Elizabeth smiled down at the wide-awake baby boy who was swaddled in a blue blanket while wearing a blue hat that covered Evan's brown curly hair in her arms.

"He's beautiful and he looks a lot like you, Spencer," said Elizabeth.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"Clarissa is definitely pleased that Evan looks like me, but I was hoping that he would end up being a male version of his mother," said Spencer.

"When it comes to you and Clarissa both being 26-years-old, are you two going to have more kids?" asked Elizabeth.

"We are planning on trying for another baby after Bridget's third birthday," said Spencer just as he noticed Clarissa waking up causing him to stand up and make his way towards his wife, "Hi there, beautiful," said Spencer softly before he pecked Clarissa on the lips.

"Hi there, handsome," said Clarissa as she slipped on her glasses.

"You two sure make a cute couple," said Elizabeth.

Both Spencer and Clarissa blushed while Clarissa looked at Ambassador Prentiss.

"Hello Ambassador," said Clarissa.

"How are you feeling?" asked Elizabeth.

"I'm feeling great because I'm no longer pregnant," said Clarissa just as Evan started to cry.

Elizabeth slowly stood up and walked towards Clarissa and passed her Evan who instantly stopped crying.

"Seems like you are going to be dealing with a Mama's boy," said Elizabeth.

Spencer and Clarissa both smiled at each other.

"I was hoping that Evan would end up being a Mama's boy," said Clarissa as she gently ran a finger over Evan's cheek while the five-hour-old baby boy cooed at his mother, "I bet you are going to be hungry soon, baby boy," said Clarissa.

Elizabeth looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"I'll let you three have some privacy," said Elizabeth before she shook hands with Spencer and Clarissa before leaving the room.

xxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer smiled when he saw his godparents enter the room.

"Hi, mom. Hi dad," said Spencer as he got up to hug Alex and James before looking at his godfather, "Sorry that dinner plans got canceled for today," said Spencer.

"Its OK, Spencer," said James.

Clarissa who was holding Evan looked at Alex and James.

"Would you two like to hold your grandson?" asked Clarissa.

A few seconds later Alex was holding James causing her to think about the times that she first held Spencer and Ethan.

"I remember you looking just like Evan when you were a baby, Spencer," said Alex before passing Evan to her husband.

James looked at Evan before smiling at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Holding my first grandson on Father's Day is the best gift for me," said James.

Spencer smiled at his godfather.

"I know, dad," said Spencer before sighing sadly, "Father's Day is always one of the days that I miss my biological father and uncle Gordon," said Spencer.

Alex and James looked at each other.

"We miss Ethan on Father's Day too," said James.

Spencer smiled sadly as he thought back to his aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon telling him that his nine-year-old god-brother Ethan died when he was 12 before they became healing factors for each other during the summer after his aunt's and uncle's deaths.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer and Clarissa woke up at the same time in Clarissa's hospital bed, and as soon as the young married couple had their glasses on a nurse came into the room while pushing a bassinet that contained a crying Evan.

"I'm glad to see that you two are awake because Evan wants his mommy," said Nurse Polly.

A few seconds later Spencer was getting out of his wife's hospital bed while Clarissa adjusted her hospital gown, and 10 seconds later   
Spencer handed Evan to Clarissa before Evan latched his mouth onto Clarissa's breast.

"I'll give you three some privacy," said Polly before she left the room and shut the door.

A few minutes into nursing Evan, Clarissa shook her head as she noticed that her husband was watching her feed their son in awe.

"Instead of spending all day here and spending another night here with me, I want you to spend a couple of hours with Diana and Bridget while sleeping in our own bed tonight," said Clarissa as she slowly moved Evan so her other breast could get used.

"When it came to breaking the promise I made to Diana about spending the afternoon with her and Jack, I'll be spending time with her and Bridget today while I sleep at home with them," said Spencer.

"Will there be another welcome home sign like you and Diana made after Bridget was born?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm not sure yet, but if Diana wants to make one, I'll make one with her so the neighborhood knows that their newest neighbor was born before they knock on our front door bearing homemade casseroles and other meals that we could freeze after Bridget was born," said Spencer.

Clarissa laughed while Spencer's phone vibrated causing Spencer to see a text from Lucy.

A BUNCH OF MEMBERS FROM OUR CHURCH WHO ARE ON THEIR WAY TO WORK, ALREADY STOPPED BY WITH CASSEROLES AND OTHER HOMEMADE MEALS FOR ME TO PUT IN THE FREEZER. ~ LR

"What?" asked Clarissa.

"A few families from church already brought meals over to our house to freeze until we're ready to cook them," said Spencer.

Clarissa giggled before she looked at Evan in her arms.

"I'm not surprised that some of our friends from church are already bringing us meals, but I think Evan wants his daddy to burp him," said Clarissa.

Spencer quickly grabbed a burping cloth and placed it over his shoulder before he gently took his son from Clarissa and started to burp his son as he softly sang a lullaby to his son before Clarissa took a picture and sent it to her brothers, Lucy, and all of their friends.

GOOD MORNING AND IT SEEMS LIKE EVAN LOVES TO BE BURPED BY HIS DADDY! ~ CR

xxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was holding Evan when Dr. Larson entered the room.

"How are you doing, Clarissa?" asked Dr. Larson.

"I'm in very little pain," said Clarissa.

"Good," said Dr. Larson before looking at Evan who was in his mother's arms, "Are you wanting Evan to be circumcised before I discharge you and Evan tomorrow morning?" asked Dr. Larson.

"Spence and I already agreed that we want Evan to be circumcised today," said Clarissa.

"After I finish my rounds, a nurse and I will take Evan away so I can do the simple procedure," said Dr. Larson before he started his check up on Clarissa and Evan.

After Dr. Larson left the room, Spencer looked at his wife.

"Do you want me to be here with you while Evan is getting circumcised?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa shook her head.

"You should go home now and spend a few hours with the girls before coming back with girls," said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am," said Spencer as he gave Clarissa a kiss, "I love you," said Spencer.

"Love you too, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer bent down and kissed his wide-awake son.

"Daddy loves you, Evan," said Spencer.

Evan cooed at his daddy before Spencer grabbed his messenger bag, cell phone, and wallet before he reluctantly left his wife's hospital room.

xxxxxxxxx

A half-hour later Spencer entered the house and smiled at the sight of Diana sitting on the floor with Bridget while reading a book out loud.

"How are two of my three favorite girls doing?" asked Spencer.

Diana and Bridget both grinned while Diana quickly scrambled to her feet while Bridget slowly got to her feet before Diana sprinted to her daddy while Bridget toddled to her daddy.

"How are mommy and Evan doing?" asked Diana.

As soon as Bridget reached them, Spencer scooped up his two little girls and kissed them on the cheeks before Diana and Bridget both kissed their daddy.

"They're doing great, but mommy kicked me out of her hospital room so I can make up our Father's Day outing for the next few hours before Lucy and I take you two to see mommy and Evan," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

"Aye," said Bridget as she clapped her hands.

"What should we do today?" asked Spencer.

"I want to go to the park," said Diana.

"Do you want to ride your bicycle while I run alongside you while pushing Bridget in a jogging stroller?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as her curly pigtails bounced.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer felt a dead weight in the arm that contained Bridget causing the 26-year-old father of three kids to look at his oldest daughter.

"Bridget just fell asleep, so can we hold off our trip to the park until after Bridget wakes up?" asked Spencer quietly.

"Yes," said Diana.

"I'll read to you while Bridget naps in her playpen," said Spencer.

A minute later Bridget was sleeping in her playpen while Spencer read the book that Diana was reading to Bridget.

xxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer fastened Bridget into a jogging stroller before he helped Diana strap on her helmet.

"Ready to spend about two hours at the park before we go home for lunch?" asked Spencer.

"Yes daddy," said Diana.

A few seconds later Diana was quickly riding her Barbie bicycle that sported training wheels while Spencer ran alongside Diana as he pushed a laughing Bridget in a jogging stroller.

xxxxxxx

Meanwhile, at Georgetown University Hospital, Sean entered his sister's hospital room and looked at his sister who was reading a book.

"Even though Aaron's at work, where's Spencer?" asked Sean.

"I sent him home for a few hours to spend time with Diana and Bridget," said Clarissa.

"Where's my newest nephew?" asked Sean.

"He's being circumcised right now, and I'm reading one of my favorite books to distract myself from thinking about how much pain my baby boy's going to be in," said Clarissa.

Sean looked at the book that Clarissa was reading.

"You always loved "Empty Planet" growing up," said Sean.

Clarissa smiled.

"Spence actually got to meet the author in Seattle over a year and a half ago when he, Aaron, Jason, JJ, and Morgan worked on that bombing case," said Clarissa.

"Do you know when Spencer will be bailing you and Evan out of here?" asked Sean.

Clarissa laughed at her brother's joke.

"Spence will be bailing Evan and me out of here at 8 AM tomorrow morning," said Clarissa.

Sean grinned.

"That's great, and should I expect news about you and Spencer making me an uncle again within the next couple of months?" asked Sean.

Clarissa blushed as she shook her head.

"When it came to me spending 18 months out of the past two years pregnant with my second and third child, Spence and I decided that we'll wait until Bridget starts preschool and Evan's nearly potty trained before we try for baby number four," said Clarissa.

Sean looked at his little sister.

"Even though I'm a year older than you and your closer to Aaron, I have to admit that I'm really proud of you, Clarissa," said Sean.

"Why?" asked Clarissa.

"After mom died, I was worried about you acting out like Aaron did after dad died because you were forced to retire from competitive figure skating," said Sean before smiling a bit, "Now nine years after the accident, you've been married for over five years to a great man, working as a nurse at Children's National, while your sitting up in a hospital bed over 24 hours after giving birth to my newest nephew and your third child," said Sean as he hugged his sister.

xxxxxxx

20 minutes later at the closest park to the Reid family home, Diana watched a little girl who was slightly older than her ride a bicycle without her training wheels before she looked at her daddy who was pushing a baby swing that contained Bridget.

"Can I try to ride my bicycle without training wheels?" asked Diana.

Spencer studied his oldest daughter for a moment as he thought about the conversation he and Clarissa had two days before about the possibility of him removing the training wheels off of Diana's bicycle while he's on paternity leave because of watching Diana riding her bicycle without her training wheels touching the ground while she rode her bicycle.

"Do you want me to call Lucy and ask her to bring the necessary tools and the video camera so we can surprise mommy when we go visit her and Evan after Bridget's afternoon nap?" asked Spencer.

Diana beamed.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer had Lucy on the phone.

"Is everything OK, Spencer?" asked Lucy.

"Yes, but do you think that you can grab my 15-millimeter wrench, the kickstand that I bought for Diana's bicycle, Diana's elbow pads, knee   
pads, and the video camera and come to the park closest to our house?" asked Spencer.

"Diana wants try and ride her bike without her training wheels?" asked Lucy.

"Diana rode her bicycle here without her training wheels touching the ground, and I thought that the park would be a good place to   
practice," said Spencer.

"I'll be there in 10 minutes," said Lucy.

"Thanks, Lucy," said Spencer before he hung up and looked at Diana as he continued to push Bridget, "Lucy will be here in 10 minutes," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

10 minutes later Bridget was sitting in her stroller while Spencer was flipping Diana's bicycle upside down as he used his 15-millimeter wrench to remove the pedals so he could put on the kickstand he bought as he explained the process to Diana while Lucy helped Diana put on her elbow pads and knee pads. As soon as he had the training wheels off and the pedals back on, he looked at his oldest daughter.

"I'll be hanging onto your bike until you tell me that you're ready to let me go, and when you're ready to stop, pedal backward before you quickly put your feet on the ground," said Spencer.

"OK, daddy," said Diana.

A few minutes later Diana was sitting on her bicycle with her feet on the pedals while Spencer balanced Diana and her bike before Lucy looked at Spencer and Diana.

"Ready?" asked Lucy.

"Yes," said Spencer and Diana in unison.

A few seconds later Lucy had the camera on recording mode while Spencer started to slowly run as he pushed his daughter's bike while   
Diana pedaled her bicycle, and after pedaling for 20 seconds, Diana looked at her daddy.

"Please let go, daddy," said Diana.

"OK," said Spencer as he let go of Diana and a handlebar on Diana's bicycle before Diana pedaled the next 10 feet on her own, "Go Diana!"   
cheered Spencer and Lucy in unison while Bridget who was unaware of what was going on clapped from her stroller.

A minute later Spencer was hugging Diana tightly.

"I'm so proud of you, Diana," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her Lucy.

"Did you record everything?" asked Diana.

Lucy wiped the lone tear that was falling down from her face while feeling saddens about Diana being nearly four and a half years old.

"I sure did, and I'm also proud of you Diana," said Lucy.

xxxxxxx

A few hours later Clarissa was holding a slightly in pain Evan before she beamed when she saw Spencer enter her hospital room with Diana and Bridget.

"Mommy missed you, girls," said Clarissa.

Spencer helped Diana get up into her mother's hospital bed.

"I missed you too, and daddy and I have a surprise for you," said Diana.

"Really?" asked Clarissa.

"I'll need to grab my laptop from my messenger bag because its a video," said Spencer as he placed Bridget on the other side of Clarissa.

"Please play it," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer had his laptop on the rolling tray in front of Clarissa, and after finding the video that he uploaded to his laptop, he looked at his wife.

"Ready?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Clarissa.

Spencer pressed play and a few seconds later Clarissa was tearing up as she watched the video of Spencer helping Diana ride her bicycle without training wheels for the first time before she looked at her oldest daughter.

"Mommy's really proud of you," said Clarissa before looking at Bridget who was chewing on her teething ring as she watched her baby brother stare at her, "Mommy's proud of you and Evan too," said Clarissa before she gave all three of her babies each a kiss as she felt the   
excitement of her and Evan going home to her husband and daughters in the morning.

xxxxx

The next morning Spencer looked at Diana as they ate the scrambled eggs and pancakes.

"As soon as grandma Alex comes to pick you up for your first day of day camp, Diana, I'll be heading to the hospital to pick up mommy and Evan," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

"Diana," said Spencer.

"Yes, daddy?" asked Diana.

"When you come home from day camp, I will need you to focus on being quiet just in case Evan is sleeping," said Spencer firmly.

"Yes, sir," said Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer was installing Diana's booster seat into Alex's SUV before he gave Diana a kiss before Alex looked at her godson.

"After day camp, I'll take Diana over to my house for the day until dinner," said Alex.

"Are you sure?" asked Spencer.

"I just want to spend time with my oldest granddaughter while you, Clarissa, and Lucy get Evan settled in," said Alex.

"I really appreciate it," said Spencer before looking at his oldest daughter, "Please be a good girl for grandma Alex and your summer school teachers today, Diana," said Spencer.

"I will," said Diana.

xxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer was loading up the flowers, balloons, and teddy bears that Clarissa received over the past 48 hours into Clarissa's SUV before he was pulling up in front of the hospital getting Evan into his car seat before he helped Clarissa get into the front passenger seat of the SUV.

"Ready to go home?" asked Spencer.

"Let's blow this Popsicle stand, Spence," said Clarissa.

30 seconds later Spencer was buckling himself into the front passenger seat of Clarissa's SUV before he pulled away from the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm ending this chapter here for now, but the next chapter deals with the Reid family settling in with Evan, more family fluff and the 4th of July.


	44. Paternity Leave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts the same day as the ending of the last chapter, but except its bedtime.  
> There is a little bit of "M" rated content in this chapter because I thought that you readers should know that Spencer and Clarissa do a little bit of BDSM and alternate between dominant/submissive roles to make their sex lives more interesting. Even though Clarissa hasn't had the all clear yet, that means that Spencer shouldn't have to deal with a dry spell like Clarissa.

After an exhausting day of settling Evan into the Reid family home, Spencer was tucking in Diana when Diana looked at her daddy.

"Do you have a special nickname for Evan yet, daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer's heart swelled at Diana's question.

"Not yet, but I would like your help," said Spencer.

"Because of Evan's nursery having a frog theme, what about tadpole?" Diana.

Spencer was about to open his mouth when Diana spoke up.

"Tadpoles are what we call baby frogs and Evan is a baby right now," said Diana.

Spencer grinned.

"Tadpole it is," said Spencer before looking at his daughter, "What do you want me to read to you tonight?" asked Spencer.

"Can you please make up your own story?" asked Diana.

Spencer grinned.

"I sure can," said Spencer as he took a deep breath, "It was a beautiful late autumn day when a lonely scholar who recently lost his adoptive parents was sitting on a bench crying when a beautiful princess who was walking through the park approached the lonely scholar and asked him if he was OK. After talking for a few minutes the princess asked the lonely scholar to join her for a meal causing them to become friends while the princess helped the scholar with his grief. A few weeks later the scholar learned that the beautiful princess's birthday was coming up, so he asked the king who was the princess's brother if he could court the princess," said Spencer.

"Did the princess say yes, daddy?" asked Diana.

"The princess did say yes. For the next couple of months, the scholar and the princess courted each other as they worked on finishing their education so they can start their three month holiday. The scholar and the princess had a wonderful summer together as they learned more about each other while the scholar continued to grieve over his adoptive parents deaths," said Spencer as he took a deep breath, "Sadly their holiday had to end and the scholar had to travel to another village to focus on his education while the princess returned to the university she was studying at. The scholar and princess made sure to visit each other every two weeks while they wrote daily letters to each other. When it was nearing the one year anniversary of the scholar and princess meeting, the scholar bravely went to the king and asked him for his blessing for the princess's hand in marriage," said Spencer.

"Did the king grant the scholar his blessing?" asked Diana.

"He sure did. On the one year anniversary of the scholar and princess meeting each other, the scholar took the princess to the bench they first met at and asked the princess to marry him," said Spencer.

"Did the princess say yes?" asked Diana.

"The princess did and one year later the scholar and the princess got married because they wanted to enjoy being married for six months before the scholar had to go through training to become one of the king's knights," said Spencer.

"Did the scholar become a knight?" asked Diana.

"He did become a knight because of knowing that his beautiful wife and unborn daughter had faith that he would survive training," said   
Spencer as he continued his story before concluding it, "After being married for over five years, the knight and the princess have a beautiful four-year-old princess, a nearly 11-month-old princess, and a three day old prince," said Spencer.

Diana's eyes went wide.

"Are you trying to tell me the story about yours and mommy's relationship?" asked Diana.

Spencer nodded as he looked at his daughter.

"Its time for you to go to sleep, young lady," said Spencer as he got off of his daughter's bed and kissed Diana's forehead, "I love you, bumble bee," said Spencer as he removed Diana's glasses.

"I love you too, daddy," said Diana as she closed her eyes.

Spencer placed Diana's glasses into its case before he turned on Diana's nightlight and turned off Diana's bedside lamp and left the room. 

After checking on Bridget, Spencer entered his and Clarissa's bedroom and found Clarissa reading in bed with tears falling down her face as he checked on Evan in his bassinet.

"Is everything OK, love?" asked Spencer quietly.

Clarissa nodded as she pointed at the baby monitor that woke them up if Diana's having an asthma attack.

"I was listening to you telling Diana her bedtime story, and your story was so sweet," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled sheepishly.

"There's nothing wrong with retelling the story about how we met in a different way," said Spencer as he started to undress, "We should get some sleep before Evan wakes us up," said Spencer as he pulled on a pair of pajama pants before joining Clarissa in bed.

"Good night and I love you, Spence," said Clarissa quietly as she removed her glasses and placed them on the nightstand.

"Good night and I love you too, Clara," said Spencer as he gave his wife a kiss before he removed his own glasses.

A minute later Spencer and Clarissa were asleep in each other's arms.

xxxxxxxxx

Two hours later, Spencer and Clarissa woke up to Evan crying in his bassinet causing Spencer to look at his wife as they put on their glasses.

"He must be due for a diaper change now, so I'll get up to tend to our son," said Spencer.

"Don't forget to use the pee cone that we were given by Sarah so Evan doesn't pee on you like he did to me during his bath," said Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head as he got out of bed, and a few seconds later Spencer gently scooped Evan out of his bassinet and his nose wrinkled when he realized that Evan did a number two.

"You definitely need a diaper change, tadpole," said Spencer.

Clarissa giggled.

"Tadpole is a cute nickname for Evan," said Clarissa.

"Diana suggested that my nickname for Evan is Tadpole and I loved it," said Spencer.

"I heard you talk about a nickname through the baby monitor," said Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head as he carried his crying son to Evan's nursery and switched on the light causing Spencer to smile at his son's frog themed nursery and Jack's old furniture that Haley gave him and Clarissa and gently placed Evan on the changing table and unwrapped his swaddled up son.

As soon as Spencer quickly got Evan's diaper off, he quickly grabbed a diaper change cone and placed it over the correct area before he quickly worked on cleaning Evan up while explaining what he was doing. As soon as Spencer had a clean diaper on Evan, he quickly swaddled Evan back up.

"Your finally swaddled back up, tadpole," said Spencer as he squirted some hand sanitizer onto his own hands and rubbed his hands.

As soon as Spencer's hands were dry, he gently lifted up Evan and carried his son to the rocking chair that Haley gave him and Clarissa to use in Evan's nursery and gently sat down.

"You're going to be growing up in a household full of love, Evan," said Spencer as he worked on rocking Evan back to sleep before he   
started to sing one of his favorite lullabies to his son.

When Spencer was done singing he looked at his sleeping son.

"When you get older I'm going to teach you about everything I know about basketball before I buy a basketball hoop to attach to our garage so we can shoot hoops together like I did with your late great-uncle Gordon. When Diana and Bridget become teenagers, your going to help me scare boys away from your big sisters while I teach you magic tricks to help you win girls hearts like I did to catch your mommy's heart," said Spencer as he continued to tell his son about what they would do together before he finally noticed Clarissa standing in the doorway of the nursery wiping the tears that were falling from her face, "What?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa made her way towards her husband and son.

"I'm glad that I fell in love with you because your such a great daddy," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband on the lips before Evan started to cry, "That's his 'I'm hungry' cry," said Clarissa.

Spencer stood up and passed Evan to Clarissa.

"Since I just had father and son time with Evan, I'll let you two have some mother and son time," said Spencer.

Clarissa shook her head.

"Please sit back down, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer sat back down before Clarissa sat down on his lap causing Spencer to wrap his arms around his wife's waist while Clarissa adjusted Evan in her arms as she unbuttoned Spencer's old short-sleeved dress shirt before placing Evan by her breast.

"Let's just enjoy this moment together," said Clarissa as she and Spencer watched their baby boy eat while Spencer rocked the chair back and forth.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was helping Lucy cook breakfast while Diana and Bridget both munched on Cheerios and drank apple juice as Diana focused on the small TV as she watched the opening credits of "Lazytown" on Nick Jr. when Clarissa entered the kitchen with Evan as she looked at the clock on the microwave saying that it was 8 AM.

"It felt good to sleep in on a weekday, Spence," said Clarissa as she placed Evan in his baby seat before giving Diana and Bridget a kiss.

"Bridget woke me up at 6 for a diaper change, so I took her on a run through the neighborhood with me," said Spencer as he kissed his wife.

Clarissa moaned at the taste of coffee on her husband's lips.

"I can't wait to have my first cup of coffee in one and a half years again in a couple of months, Spence," moaned Clarissa.

Spencer smirked at his wife.

"If you don't limit the amount of coffee I drink for the next couple of weeks, I'll let you have many coffee flavored kisses as you like while   
I'm home with you and our three beautiful babies," said Spencer as he kissed his wife again.

"Gross," giggled Diana.

Spencer broke out of the kiss and made his way to Diana and started peppering her with kisses causing the oldest Reid child to squeal with laughter while a laughing Clarissa decided to finish cooking the banana pancakes that Spencer was cooking.

"Daddddddddy!" squealed Diana.

A giggling Clarissa looked at Diana as she flipped a pancake.

"What do you say if you want daddy to stop?" asked Clarissa.

"Please stop, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer stopped kissing Diana and smirked at his daughter.

"If you believe that me giving mommy kisses are gross, do you think that me giving you kisses is gross too?" asked Spencer.

Diana shook her head as the hanging parts of the two French braids that her daddy pulled her hair into shook.

"The number of pathogens in a handshake is staggering so it's actually safer to kiss," recited Diana.

Spencer grinned.

"You are correct, but I hope that you aren't going to kiss any boys except your baby brother, uncle Aaron, uncle Sean, your cousin Jack, and me for a really long time, Diana," said Spencer seriously.

"I promise, daddy," said Diana as she kissed her daddy's cheek.

A minute later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Lucy were sitting around the kitchen island eating breakfast while a wide-awake Evan watched his family eat breakfast before Alex came to pick Diana up for day camp.

xxxxxx

An hour later at the BAU; Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, JJ, Emily, and Garcia were standing around Spencer's, Emily's, and Morgan's desk drinking either coffee or tea when JJ looked at Spencer's empty desk that contained a picture of the five Reids together in Clarissa's hospital bed that   
Garcia printed off and placed on Spencer's desk.

"I wonder how Spence and Clarissa handled their first night home with Evan?" asked JJ.

Hotch looked at the photo that JJ was looking at and smiled at the picture of his sister and brother-in-law looking at their three children with adoration showing on their faces.

"Other than Clarissa telling me in a text message that Evan woke them up four times last night, I believe they're going to cherish every minute with my nieces and nephew before Spencer comes back to work after the 4th of July," said Hotch.

Morgan looked at the photo that Hotch and JJ were looking at.

"I can't believe that at 26-years-old pretty boy has been married for over five years while being a proud father to three kids," said Morgan.

JJ rubbed her four-month-pregnant stomach.

"And I'm older than him and I'm only pregnant with my first child," said JJ.

Hotch looked at JJ.

"Before you know it, you'll be holding your son or daughter," said Hotch before looking at Morgan and Garcia, "Eventually you two will be holding your first child too," said Hotch.

xxxxxxx

An hour later at the Reid family home, Spencer was carrying Bridget through the back patio door just as the doorbell rang.

"Let's go see who's visiting us, Bridget," said Spencer.

"Aye," said Bridget as she clapped her hands.

A few seconds later Spencer was looking through the peephole and smiled when he saw Gideon causing him to answer the door.

"Come on in, Jason," said Spencer.

30 seconds later Spencer and Gideon were sitting on the couch while Bridget toddled around the living room causing Gideon to look at Bridget.

"You've gotten so big since the last time I saw you, Bridget," said Gideon.

"I can't believe that Bridget will be one in less than two months," said Spencer.

"Kids do grow up fast," said Gideon before noticing the lack of Diana, Clarissa, and Evan, "Where are Clarissa, Diana, and Evan right now?" asked Gideon.

"Diana is currently at a day camp for academically gifted children at Georgetown University. Clarissa is upstairs feeding Evan while I have daddy/daughter time with Bridget," said Spencer before Bridget toddled over to him causing him to tickle Bridget's stomach causing the baby girl to laugh.

Spencer laughed while Gideon smiled.

"Seeing you enjoy fatherhood is a reason why I have hope to find a belief in happy endings," said Gideon just as Spencer grinned when he saw Clarissa come downstairs with Evan.

"Look who's here, Clarissa," said Spencer.

Clarissa grinned when she saw Gideon.

"Hello Jason," said Clarissa.

Gideon looked at Clarissa who was wearing loungewear while her nearly black armpit length hair was pulled into a messy bun.

"How are you feeling?" asked Gideon.

"I'm feeling great because I'm regaining my strength every day, and did Spence tell you about Evan's birth?" asked Clarissa.

"He did over the phone, and I'm glad that both you and Evan are OK," said Gideon.

"Would you like to hold Evan?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Gideon.

A few seconds later Clarissa was placing Evan into Gideon's arms before she sat down on her husband's lap while Gideon took in the sight of Evan.

"Even though I've seen pictures, I agree that Evan looks just like you, Spencer," said Gideon.

Spencer smiled as Clarissa scooped up an exhausted Bridget and placed her on her lap.

"Hopefully in a couple of years we'll have a baby boy who looks just like Clarissa," said Spencer as he yawned.

Clarissa got off her husband's lap as she looked at her husband.

"Since Evan and I went back to sleep after breakfast, you should take a nap while Bridget takes her morning nap because Diana will be home for lunch and will want you to play with her," said Clarissa.

Spencer gave Clarissa a kiss.

"Yes, ma'am," said Spencer before looking at Gideon, "Sorry that I'm bailing out on your visit, but Clarissa's right that I should take a nap   
before Diana gets home," said Spencer,

"Its OK Spencer because your adjusting to being a father to three kids," said Gideon.

"Are you going to stay for a bit longer?" asked Spencer.

"I'm going to catch up with Clarissa before I cook lunch for you guys," said Gideon.

Spencer nodded as he stood up and looked at Bridget.

"After I change your diaper, you are going to take a nap with me, Bridget Mackenzie," said Spencer.

Three minutes later Spencer and Bridget were fast asleep in Spencer's and Clarissa's bed.

xxxxxx

The following Monday, Lucy entered the house with two bags of groceries only to find Clarissa standing by the back patio watching her husband effortlessly swimming laps in the swimming pool as she licked her lips causing her to click her tongue while shaking her head at Clarissa.

"Even though you gave birth to baby number three a week ago, you really have it bad, Clarissa," teased Lucy.

Clarissa blushed a bit.

"I know, and even though I love having my husband home for the next two weeks, I can't wait for Spence to go back to work so I don't have   
to think about breaking my doctor's orders," said Clarissa.

Lucy laughed just as both women heard Bridget's voice through the baby monitor.

"Mama? Dada? Lu?" asked Bridget.

Lucy smirked at Clarissa.

"Instead of ogling your husband, why don't you go tend to Bridget while I keep an eye on Evan as I put groceries away," said Lucy as she   
glanced that the bassinet that contained a sleeping eight-day-old Evan.

A minute later Clarissa smiled at her 10-month-old daughter who was standing up in her crib.

"Did you have a good nap, Bridget?" asked Clarissa.

"Aye," said Bridget.

Clarissa lifted her youngest daughter out of her crib and carried Bridget towards the changing table and quickly got Bridget out of her   
onesie and changed her diaper.

"Dada! Dada! Dada!" exclaimed Bridget.

"As soon as I'm finished changing your diaper, I'll go show you where daddy is," said Clarissa.

Two minutes later Clarissa was standing on the back patio with Bridget on her hip and Bridget's face broke into a huge grin when she saw   
her daddy.

"Dada!" exclaimed Bridget.

At that moment Spencer who was in the deep end of the pool stopped swimming laps and grinned at two of his three favorite girls as he   
stood up in five-foot-deep water.

"Did someone have a good nap?" asked Spencer.

"Aye," said Bridget as she made a sign for water.

"You want to go swimming, Bridget Mackenzie?" asked Spencer.

"Ya," said Bridget.

Clarissa looked at her husband as she admired her husband's body that became defined from all of the swimming and running that he does while not realizing that her husband was smirking.

"Get your mind out of the gutter Clarissa," teased Spencer.

Clarissa instantly blushed as she looked at her husband.

"I'll go get Bridget into a swim diaper, so I'll be back in a few minutes," said Clarissa.

"OK," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer getting out of the pool while Clarissa walked towards the pool with a toddling Bridget beside her causing   
Spencer to smirk as he pulled Clarissa into a tight hug as he shook his wet curls.

"You're getting me all wet, Spence!" squealed Clarissa.

"That was my plan because I can't throw you into the pool to cool you down," smirked Spencer.

"You are so going to get it after the kids are asleep," smirked Clarissa as she winked at her husband before heading inside to change her   
clothes.

Spencer blushed as he bent down and scooped up his 10-month-old daughter.

"Let's go swimming before you take a shower with me to get the chlorine off of us," said Spencer as he walked towards the stairs that led   
into the shallow end of the pool.

xxxxx

Later on that evening, Spencer entered the master bedroom finding Clarissa wearing lingerie as she held up a pair of fuzzy handcuffs, a blindfold, and a ball gag causing Spencer to gulp as he felt his body start to react.

"You've been a bad boy earlier today, and because all three kids are sleeping, its time for your punishment," said Clarissa in a voice that   
wouldn't wake up Evan.

"What did I do?" asked Spencer softly.

"Do you forget about what you did to me before you took Bridget swimming, Mr. Eidetic Memory?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smirked as he thought back to Clarissa's reaction.

"I didn't dry off a bit before I hugged you while I shook my wet hair," said Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"Strip naked and get into bed," said Clarissa as she held up the ball gag they had for over five years, "This ball gag will help keep you from   
making loud noises that could wake up the kids," said Clarissa.

Spencer gulped as he quickly removed his clothing and before he knew it, Clarissa was handcuffing him to their headboard before she put   
the ball gag on her husband.

"You doing OK, Spence? Blink twice for yes or blink once for no," asked Clarissa.

Spencer blinked two times for yes.

"I'm going to put the blindfold on you now. If you get too uncomfortable, just wiggle your fingers," said Clarissa softly.

Spencer blinked twice before he felt Clarissa put a blindfold on him.

xxxxxxx

A half-hour later Spencer and Clarissa were taking a quick shower together when Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Even though we couldn't have penetrative sex, did you enjoy your punishment?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, and I'm glad that you were patient with me last year when it came to you occasionally restraining me when we decide to be more   
adventurous in bed," said Spencer.

Clarissa smirked.

"After you told me about the goalpost and blindfold incident from high school, I did promise you that I would make being retrained or blindfolded fun for you again," said Clarissa before smirking, "At least Evan didn't wake up while I was punishing you," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"Speaking of Evan, we should finish up in here and get some sleep before Evan wakes up," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were fast asleep in their bed.

xxxxxxx

A few days later Spencer was standing in the conference room with two-week-old Evan in his arms while Garcia cooed over Evan when his teammates entered the conference room causing him to smile at the shocked looks on his teammates' faces.

"Welcome back, guys," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"I thought that I ordered you to stay away from here until July 7th, Spencer?" asked Hotch.

Spencer smiled a bit at the use of his first name.

"You did, Aaron," said Spencer.

Garcia looked at Hotch.

"It's my fault because I wanted to see Evan," said Garcia.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Where are my sister and nieces?" asked Hotch.

"Clarissa is spending time with Diana and Bridget while I'm having guy time with Evan," said Spencer before looking at his brother-in-law, "Want to be the first to hold your favorite nephew?" asked Spencer.

Hotch smiled a bit.

"Evan's my only nephew," said Hotch as he accepted his nephew from his brother-in-law and smiled down at Evan, "Your looking more like your father every day, Evan," said Hotch.

Evan cooed at his uncle Aaron before Spencer looked at his teammates.

"Are any of you wanting to come over to my house for the 4th of July for a cookout?" asked Spencer.

Morgan and Garcia shook their heads.

"We promised my mom that we would celebrate the 4th of July with her in Chicago while we work on wedding planning," said Morgan.

Hotch and Emily looked at each other while Hotch passed Evan to Emily.

"Emily and I will come because I have Jack for the 4th of July weekend," said Hotch.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"Aaron and I were going to watch the fireworks with Jack on the top of my brownstone, so you, Clarissa, and the kids are welcome to come so you guys can have a great view and a good distance away so Evan's hearing won't be damaged," said Emily.

"I'll talk to Clarissa," said Spencer.

Rossi who was now holding Evan looked at Spencer.

"I'm taking Mudgie up to my cabin for the weekend, but I'll come to the next cookout you and Clarissa have," said Rossi before he passed Evan to JJ.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"Will and I are going up to Pennsylvania so we can tell my mom that she's getting a grandson," grinned JJ.

Everyone grinned as Spencer, Emily, Garcia, Morgan, and Rossi each took turns hugging JJ and congratulating her while they avoided squishing Evan.

"You and Will are going to be expecting a lot of clothes from Clarissa and me," said Spencer.

"And I appreciate it," said JJ as she passed Evan to Morgan.

Hotch looked at JJ.

"Some of the clothes might be Jack's because Haley gave Spencer and Clarissa all of the clothes that Jack has already grown out of," said Hotch.

"Some of the clothes might have belonged to Chief Strauss's son too because Chief Strauss likes to give Clarissa and me clothing that her kids grown out of so Clarissa and I don't have to spend a lot of money on new clothes," said Spencer as he accepted his sleeping son back from Morgan and placed him in his car seat.

xxxxxx

A few days later a swim trunk and t-shirt clad Spencer was about to put burgers and brats on the grill when Hotch approached him.

"Ready to return to work on Monday?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked where Clarissa was sitting with Haley who was holding Evan before looking towards Diana who was swimming around in the swimming pool with a life vest clad Jack while Emily held a giggling and splashing Bridget in the water.

"I'm pretty much ready because we established a routine with Evan while Clarissa has most of her strength back from giving birth," said   
Spencer as he put a burger on the grill.

"Daddy!" shouted Diana.

Spencer turned around and looked at Diana.

"Everything OK, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"Please join me in the water," said Diana.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Go join your daughters and nephew in the pool while I cook these burgers and brats," said Hotch.

Spencer shook his head as he walked away from the grill and a few seconds later Spencer was removing his tee-shirt as he ignored Clarissa's loud wolf whistle before he joined his daughters, nephew, and Emily in the pool.

xxxxxxx

Later on that night the Reid family, Hotch, Emily, Haley, and Jack were sitting on the roof of Emily's brownstone watching the fireworks while Evan slept through them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The next chapter will take place a few weeks later because Spencer will be back to work and Minimal Loss is next!


	45. Family Fluff & Minimal Loss Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a chapter that a bunch of readers were anxious to read, and Minimal Loss will be in two parts because I'm going to include Hotch's and Clarissa's POV.
> 
> Spencer will be a bit out of character in the first half of this chapter, but remember that Clarissa broke Spencer out of his shell.

Spencer and Clarissa sat on the couch with six-week-old Evan sleeping against his father's chest as they watched Diana read "Pat the Bunny" to Bridget on the floor as they smelled the roast that Lucy was cooking.

"I can't believe that Bridget's going to be a year old in 10 days," sighed Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her curly haired and brown eyed mini-me follow her big sister's instructions on petting a bunny.

"Me too, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked down at Evan and smiled a bit.

"At least we have over 10 months and 18 days to enjoy Evan being a baby before he turns one," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Please don't remind me, Spence," sighed Clarissa.

xxxxxxxx

Later on that night, Spencer sat on Diana's bed as he looked at his daughter.

"Since I finished reading "Pollyanna" to you last night, do you want me to start "Mr. Popper's Penguins" or "A Little Princess" tonight?" asked Spencer as he held up the two books.

Diana looked at the two books and pointed at "Mr. Popper's Penguins".

"That one," said Diana.

"OK," said Spencer as he adjusted his glasses before he began to read the first two chapters of "Mr. Popper's Penguins" out loud to Diana.

xxxxxx

After Diana was fast asleep, Spencer exited his oldest daughter's room and headed towards Bridget's nursery and smiled as he watched his nearly one-year-old daughter sleep peacefully in her crib with her arms thrown over her head as she sucked on her pacifier.

A minute later Spencer left Bridget's nursery and made his way towards Evan's nursery and noticed that Evan wasn't in his crib. After entering the master bedroom his eyes went wide when he noticed that Evan wasn't in his bassinet and their half of the baby monitors weren't in their bedroom.

"Maybe Clarissa and Evan are downstairs," murmured Spencer to himself.

After finding that Clarissa and Evan weren't downstairs, Spencer looked at the back patio door and noticed movement in the pool causing him to go outside. After placing his cell phone next to Clarissa's phone and the baby monitors, he unlocked the gate and stepped into the enclosed area that contained the swimming pool.

"Clarissa," called out Spencer.

Clarissa quickly swam towards the edge of the pool that Spencer was standing by.

"Where's Evan?" asked Spencer as he admired the bikini that Clarissa was wearing.

Clarissa smirked.

"While you were getting Diana ready to bed, I asked Lucy to take in Evan tonight," said Clarissa.

"Why?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa smirked as she started to climb the ladder that was by her husband.

"You never asked me how my six-week postpartum appointment went today because I've been given the all clear to exercise and a few other things," said Clarissa as she grabbed her husband's hand.

"What are you doing?" asked Spencer.

"Cooling you down," said Clarissa as she pulled her husband into the pool.

As soon as Spencer resurfaced, he moved his wet bangs out of his eyes and looked at his laughing wife.

"What was that for?" asked Spencer.

"Even though I punished you five weeks ago for not drying off before you pulled me into a hug, pulling you into the pool was a belated payback for telling me that you would have tossed me into the pool if I already had the all clear from my doctor," grinned Clarissa as she splashed her husband before quickly swimming away.

"You do know that an MIT grad has to retaliate," said Spencer as he quickly swam after his wife.

A few seconds later Spencer had his arms wrapped around his wife.

"Are you going to spank me?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer gulped as he felt his body reacting before smirking.

"I believe my naughty wife does deserve a spanking," said Spencer.

Clarissa rubbed herself against her husband and smirked when she found what she was looking for.

"You're so going to get it, naughty girl," growled Spencer.

"Then you should get me into our bedroom so you can get out of your wet clothes and me out of this bikini before you start punishing me," smirked Clarissa.

Two minutes later Spencer was locking the bedroom door and as soon as he was out of his wet clothes and Clarissa was out of her bikini, he was handcuffing his wife to their bed before putting both their blindfold and ball gag on Clarissa.

xxxxxxx

10 days later Spencer and Clarissa stood over Bridget's crib and they smiled as they watched their youngest daughter wake up. As soon as Bridget's vision cleared, she grinned at her parents.

"Mama, Dada," grinned Bridget.

"Happy birthday, Bridget Mackenzie Reid," said Spencer.

"Happy birthday, Bridget," said Clarissa.

After getting Bridget dressed for the day, Spencer carried Bridget on his hip while Clarissa walked alongside him as they headed downstairs where Lucy was making breakfast with Diana's help while Evan sat in his baby seat.

"Here's the birthday girl," said Spencer as he playfully lifted up Bridget into the air causing the one-year-old toddler to giggle before Spencer placed his youngest daughter into her high chair.

"Happy birthday, Bridget," grinned Diana.

"I can't believe that she's one," sighed Lucy.

"Me too," said Spencer.

"Me three," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Lucy were eating breakfast while Evan watched his family eat from his baby seat.

xxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer approached his brother-in-law by the coffee maker.

"I can't believe that Bridget's finally a year old," sighed Spencer.

Hotch thought about the interactions he had with his youngest niece.

"Me too, Spencer," said Hotch.

"I hope that Jack and Haley are still going to make it to Bridget's birthday party this evening," said Spencer.

"Jack's excited about attending his cousin's birthday party," said Hotch.

"Don't forget that its a pool party so bring swimsuits, swim trunks, and towels," said Spencer

"I know," said Hotch.

xxxxx

Later on that evening Bridget was sitting in her high chair in her backyard while her swim trunk and t-shirt clad daddy brought a small cake with a lone candle in it. As soon as Spencer lit the candle, Spencer looked at his oldest daughter who was wearing a wet swimsuit.

"Would you like to lead everyone in singing "Happy Birthday"?" asked Spencer.

"Yes daddy," said Diana.

Garcia who was setting up the Reid family's video camera looked at Diana.

"I'm ready when you are, Diana," said Garcia.

A few seconds later Diana started to sing.

"Happy birthday to you," sang Diana before her parents, her adopted grandparents Alex and James, uncle Aaron, uncle Sean, Haley, Emily, JJ, Will, Morgan, Garcia, Sarah, Peter, Darren, and Courtney decided to join in, "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Bridget. Happy birthday to you," sang everyone.

A few seconds later Spencer and Clarissa were standing on either side of Bridget as they blew out the lone candle together causing cheers before Spencer crouched down by his youngest daughter's high chair.

"Are you going to eat your yummy birthday cake, Bridget?" asked Spencer.

Bridget looked at the cake with confusion in her eyes causing Spencer to dip a finger into the cake and lick the icing.

"Yummy," said Spencer.

Bridget copied her daddy's movement before grimacing at the taste of the sticky icing on her finger, and a few seconds later she slid the cake off of her high chair causing the cake to fall onto her daddy's head causing everyone to roar in laughter.

"I'm so glad that we got that on tape," laughed Clarissa as tears fell down her face.

Spencer playfully glared at his wife.

"Because of you laughing at your MIT grad husband, you are so going to get it," said Spencer as he lifted his wife up and threw Clarissa over his shoulder before he walked over towards the locked up gate with Clarissa over his shoulder.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING SPENCE!" screeched Clarissa.

Spencer unlocked the gate.

"This," said Spencer as he adjusted his wife's position in his arms and tossed his wife towards the pool.

"SPENCER TRISTAN REID, YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!" screeched Clarissa as she landed in the water causing everyone to laugh.

As soon as Clarissa resurfaced, she looked at Diana.

"Help me, Diana," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Diana was pushing her laughing daddy into the pool before she jumped into the pool causing more laughter.

A laughing Hotch shook his head as he looked at Rossi.

"Even though Spencer and Clarissa are both parents of three kids at 26-years-old, I'm glad that they still have the ability to occasionally act like kids," said Hotch.

xxxxxxx

The next Monday, Spencer was sitting at the round table with his teammates listening to the 911 call that was sent to them, Hotch looked at Spencer and Emily.

"Because of us not being able to go to Colorado and arrest Benjamin Cyrus, would you two mind going undercover as child interview  
experts and see if this girl is telling the truth?" asked Hotch.

"Not at all," said Emily.

"Knowing Clarissa she would tell me to go undercover and put this son of a bitch where he belongs so there can be one less pedophile in this world," said Spencer.

"Whoa," said JJ, Emily, Garcia, and Morgan.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"What?" asked Spencer innocently.

"You rarely swear," said Garcia.

"Clarissa brought this side out of me," said Spencer.

Hotch shook his head at his brother-in-law.

"Sometimes I wonder if my sister has been a good influence on you or not," said Hotch causing everyone to laugh.

xxxxxxx

Later on that evening, Spencer sat in a rocking chair with Evan in one arm and Bridget in his other arm.

"Even though you two don't know what's going on, but I'm going undercover tomorrow so I can save a lot of little boys and girls lives because not a lot of children are fortunate enough to live in homes like you two, your big sister, and your cousin Jack. Even though I can work any job I want, I chose to become an FBI agent because I didn't want other kids to become orphans like your mommy and me," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Clarissa was wiping the tears that were falling as she and Emily both drank cups of tea as both women listened to Spencer talk to his two youngest children through the baby monitor.

"If Spence keeps talking to the kids like this, I might go to the doctor and get my IUD removed so Spence can get me pregnant a fourth time because he's a damn good father," said Clarissa.

Emily shook her head.

"Is Reid always like that when he puts the kids to bed?" asked Emily.

Clarissa nodded.

"I've told Spence many times that I'm glad that I fell in love with him instead of the jerks that I dated in junior high and high school," said Clarissa.

"I've dated my fair share of jerks too until Aaron asked me out," said Emily.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer and Emily stood with Hotch and Clarissa at the airport.

"I love you, Clarissa," said Spencer as he kissed his wife.

A few seconds later a passerby gave a wolf whistle causing Spencer and Clarissa to break apart as they blushed while Clarissa whispered in Spencer's ear.

"When you get home, we're so revisiting that kiss," whispered Clarissa.

Spencer blushed as he whispered into Clarissa's ear.

"You are so going to get it when I get back, naughty girl," whispered Spencer causing Clarissa to blush.

"I don't know who's worse you two or Garcia and Morgan," said Hotch as he shook his head before Emily looked at Spencer.

"We better go catch our flight," said Emily.

A few seconds later Spencer looked at his wife.

"I love you," said Spencer.

"Love you too," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer and Emily were walking into the airport while Hotch gave his sister a hug.

"I better get you home to my nieces and nephew before I head to the BAU," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

Four hours later Spencer was leaning forwards in the backseat while Nancy Lunde drove Spencer and Emily towards the ranch that Benjamin Cyrus and his followers lived on.

"He comes into my bedroom and lays with me. He says it's God's will. I'm only 15. And I'm not the only one. Please help me!" whispered a  
young female.

After listening to the 9-1-1 call, Spencer looked at Nancy.

"Tell us about the 9-1-1 call," said Spencer.

"I believe the he that they referred to is the church's leader, Benjamin Cyrus," said Nancy.

Spencer looked at the information he and Emily gathered the day before.

"Benjamin Cyrus- no criminal record. No record at all, really. What else do you know about him?" asked Spencer.

"It's rumored that he's practicing polygamy and forced marriages," said Nancy.

"Any idea who the caller is?" asked Emily.

"Uh, Jessica Evanson is the one who the age fits, but... We can't be sure. So I negotiated interviews with all the children. It wasn't easy," said Nancy.

Emily grabbed her badge and gun and handed them to Spencer.

"Well, considering their view on outsiders, it would be best if you didn't identify us as FBI just use our real names, and introduce us as child victim interview experts," said Emily as she looked at the IDs that Garcia made for her.

Spencer quickly removed his own badge and gun and placed them on the seat before he grabbed the two IDs that Garcia made for him just as Nancy pulled up at the ranch.

A few minutes later Spencer was getting out of the backseat of the car as he, Emily, and Nancy approached a man who was sitting by the stairs.

"I'm looking for Mr. Benjamin Cyrus?" asked Nancy.

"You found him," said Benjamin.

"I'm Nancy Lunde. We spoke on the phone regarding the allegation," said Nancy.

Benjamin got up and removed his glasses before approaching Spencer, Emily, and Nancy.

"Savages, the call us. 'Cause our manners differ from theirs," said Benjamin.

"We didn't come here to hear you cite scripture, Mr. Cyrus," said Nancy.

Spencer looked at Nancy.

"Actually, it's Benjamin Franklin," said Spencer quietly.

Benjamin looked at Spencer and Emily.

"Emily Prentiss, Spencer Reid," said Nancy while Spencer and Emily each nodded at Benjamin, "They're child victim interview experts," said Nancy.

"How far from God's word must we have strayed for there to be the need to invent a job called child victim interview expert?" asked Benjamin.

"We wish we didn't have to be here," said Emily.

"So do we. But you are welcome, nonetheless. The children are in the school as I indicated," said Benjamin as he gestured to the building.

"Thank you," said Emily as she and Nancy walked away.

A few seconds later Spencer was taking in the sights of the ranch before seeing the solar power panels.

"You're using solar power?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah. We're completely self-sufficient- electricity, food, water. Ben Franklin said, God helps those that helps themselves," said Benjamin as he saw the look on Spencer's face, "You look surprised," said Benjamin.

"No... Impressed, actually," said Spencer.

"Thank you," said Benjamin.

"For what?" asked Spencer.

"For admitting that," said Benjamin as he gestured to the stairs, "What made you decide to become a child interview expert?" asked Benjamin.

"I became an orphan when I was four-years-old and my aunt and uncle sent me to grief counseling. So my childhood grief counselor is the reason why I decided to work with kids for a living," said Spencer.

Benjamin looked at Spencer's ring.

"Does your wife loves kids too?" asked Benjamin.

"My wife works with kids too, but she's currently on maternity leave," said Spencer.

"First child?" asked Benjamin.

"Third," said Spencer.

"Congratulations," said Benjamin.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer and Emily were interviewing Jessica.

"We go to school. We do our chores. And we treat ourselves and each other with the respect God demands," said Jessica.

"But you've never been off of the ranch?" asked Emily.

Spencer looked at Kathy Evanson.

"I brought Jessie here when she was two," said Kathy.

Jessica looked at Spencer and Emily.

"You've talked to lots of children in your work. Tell me their lives somehow better than ours?" asked Jessica.

Kathy looked at Spencer and Emily.

"We devote ourselves to God. That doesn't mean we're not devoted to our children," said Kathy.

Spencer and Emily exchanged glances.

"We are not here because of your religious beliefs," said Emily.

"Why are you here?" asked Jessica.

Emily made eye contact with Jessica.

"We received a phone call alleging that an adult male member of your church was having inappropriate relations with the younger women here," said Emily.

"You're talking about Cyrus," said Jessica.

"What makes you say that?" asked Emily.

Kathy rested a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Jessie, come on," said Kathy.

"Is it inappropriate for a husband to share a bed with his wife?" asked Jessica.

Spencer's eyes went wide as he looked at Emily.

"You are married to Cyrus?" asked Emily.

"Yes. Cyrus is my husband and a prophet. It's an honor to bear his children," said Jessica.

Spencer instantly thought about four-year-old Diana and one-year-old Bridget.

"Jessica, you're 15 years old. The state of Colorado requires parental consent," said Spencer gently.

Emily gestured to Kathy.

"She gave consent," said Emily just as the doors opened and Benjamin came into the room.

"Get up! Get up!" ordered Benjamin.

"You heard him! Stand!" ordered Cole.

Everyone stood up while Nancy looked at Benjamin.

"What's going on?" asked Nancy.

Spencer felt himself being patted down.

"We just got a very strange phone call from a news reporter. Is there anything you want to tell me about a raid maybe?" asked Benjamin.

Spencer and Emily stayed silent as they realized that their cover was most likely blown.

"They don't know," said Benjamin.

A minute later Spencer was bending down as he made his way through a tunnel when Nancy looked at him.

"What's going on?" asked Nancy.

Spencer thought about the training he went through.

"I don't know. Just stay calm," hissed Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was able to stand on his full height when Benjamin looked at everyone in the basement as he heard guns being fired.

"All right, move quietly. Quickly go to the left. Everybody stay together. Children listen to your parents. All right, everyone. Down to this end," said Benjamin as he pointed to an empty space, "Have faith," said Benjamin.

A few seconds later Emily noticed a bunch of guns.

"Where did all these guns come from?" asked Emily quietly.

"I don't know. Garcia checked with the state police," whispered Spencer.

"Stay together. Remain calm. Everyone remain calm. There is nothing to fear here," said Benjamin.

Nancy looked at Spencer and Emily.

"This is ridiculous," said Nancy.

"It's OK. Just calm down," said Emily quietly.

"All right. Remain calm. Stay quiet. God will protect you," said Benjamin before he ran off.

A few minutes later Nancy looked at Spencer and Emily.

"It's the state police. I'm an officer of the state," said Nancy.

Emily looked at Nancy.

"Well, there's nothing we can do right now," said Emily.

"I can talk to him," said Nancy as she weaved her way through the crowd.

Spencer and Emily went after Nancy.

"No, you can't. It's dangerous. Nancy, stop! Nancy!" shouted Emily.

A man stopped Spencer and Emily from chasing after Nancy.

xxxxxxx

Benjamin came back into the basement and looked at everyone in the bunker.

"Do not fear. We are on the side of the righteous," said Benjamin.

Emily looked at Benjamin.

"Where's Lunde?" asked Emily.

"It wasn't us," said Benjamin.

Emily's eyes went wide.

"What? You can't shoot it out with the cops! You have children here," said Emily angrily.

"I didn't start this," said Benjamin as he accepted a gun, "I'll take the roof. You take the tunnel," said Benjamin.

A few minutes later a man started to shout.

"They're pulling out! They're pulling out!" shouted a man.

Spencer looked at Emily.

"Not for long," said Spencer.

Emily looked at Spencer in shock.

xxxxxxx

Meanwhile at the BAU Hotch sitting in his office doing paperwork when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hi uncle Aaron," said Diana.

Hotch looked up and grinned at the sight of his sister with Diana, Bridget, and Evan all wearing visitor badges causing him to quickly get up and bent down and scooped up his oldest niece.

"Well this is a nice surprise," said Hotch as he hugged Diana tightly.

"I felt like getting out of the house for a bit, so I thought that the kids could benefit seeing their favorite uncle at work," said Clarissa as she kissed her oldest brother on the cheek.

Hotch looked at his nephew who was asleep in his car seat.

"How's Evan doing?" asked Hotch.

"He's developing right on schedule, and I'm sad about going back to work while Diana starts the second grade next week," said Clarissa.

"Diana's moving up to the second grade?" asked Hotch quietly.

"Diana insisted on starting the second grade, and Spence and I gave in because I'll be working at Diana's school until winter break and it will help that Diana has gym class with her friends," said Clarissa quietly.

At that moment an impatient Bridget tugged at her uncle Aaron's tie.

"Were you feeling neglected, Bridget?" asked Hotch.

"Yes," said Bridget before looking around for her daddy, "Dada?" asked Bridget.

Diana looked at her little sister.

"Daddy is in Colorado right now, Bridget," said Diana.

At that moment another voice sounded.

"Hotch!" shouted Morgan.

Hotch quickly ran out of his office with Diana and Clarissa following him.

"Tactical warrant service team into a forced retreat after losing a 30-minute gun battle…," said a reporter.

"The TV. Prentiss and Reid," said Morgan.

Clarissa gasped.

"Is daddy in trouble?" asked Diana.

Hotch quickly clasped his hands over Diana's ears while Rossi quickly covered Diana's eyes.

"No one knows for sure how many people are inside. It is believed at least three of the child service members are still trapped within the compound," said a reporter just as all the phones in the bullpen rang.

Hotch let go of Diana's ears as he looked at all the agents in the bullpen.

"All right that means we're the lead with hostage rescue and support. Let's go," said Hotch just as Diana and Bridget started crying while Evan stayed asleep.

"I want my daddy!" cried Diana.

"Dada!" cried Bridget.

Hotch knelt down to Diana's eye level and looked at his oldest niece.

"I promise you that I'll bring your daddy and auntie Emily home," said Hotch as he knelt down and hugged Diana.

Diana hugged her uncle before looking into her uncle's eyes.

"You promise, uncle Aaron?" asked Diana as she held out a pinky.

Hotch wiped the tears that were falling down his niece's face.

"Pinky promise," said Hotch as he hooked pinkies with Diana before looking at his sister who had tears falling down her face, "I'm so sorry  
about sending Spencer undercover," said Hotch.

Clarissa looked at her brother.

"I'm not angry at you because none of us knew that this would happen, but we both know that Spence will never refuse to go undercover when it comes to saving lives of innocent children," said Clarissa before taking a shaky breath, "As of right now, I have a gut feeling that Spence and Emily are still alive," said Clarissa.

Hotch looked towards Anderson.

"Anderson?" asked Hotch.

Anderson ran over.

"Yes sir?" asked Anderson.

"Can you and another agent take my sister, nieces, and nephew home and stay with them and call Haley and ask her to come over and help out?" asked Hotch.

"Yes sir," said Anderson.

Hotch looked at his sister.

"To ensure your husband's and soon to be sister-in-law's safety, don't tell any of your neighbors and friends that your husband is currently inside that compound because none of us want Spencer's and Emily's real identities compromised by someone calling the press," said Hotch quietly.

"I know, and please keep me updated," said Clarissa.

"As soon as Spencer gets extracted, he'll call you," said Hotch.

"Please stay safe, Aaron," said Clarissa.

"I promise," said Hotch.

A few minutes later Anderson was driving Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan home in Clarissa's SUV.

xxxxxxx

After watching the live news report for a bit, Morgan looked at JJ.

"Six months. We didn't check?" asked Morgan.

"No. We checked. I had ATF call Wells. He told ATF there were no pending state investigations. He lied," said JJ.

"Why?" asked Rossi.

"Wells is challenging the governor in the next election. He thought that ATF Was about to poach his big election-launching weapons bust.  
Now it's clear he didn't know there were undercover FBI agents there. He just thought the best time to serve a state warrant was when the kids were safe inside the school being interviewed," said JJ.

Rossi glanced at Hotch with a worried look on his face.

"What do we know about this sect?" asked Rossi.

Garcia's face popped up on the laptop.

"Liberty ranch was founded in 1980 by libertarian Leo Kane. He created it as a self-sustaining commune," said a solemn Garcia.

"Libertarians believe that everyone has the right to do what they want as long as they aren't infringing on the rights of others," said Morgan.

"But libertarians aren't religious. Clearly, this sect abandoned libertarian principles," said Rossi.

Hotch who was silent for most of the flight finally spoke up.

"Benjamin Cyrus, the current leader, introduced religion eight years ago when Kane left," said Hotch.

"Garcia, what do we got on Cyrus?" asked Morgan.

"We got bubkiss. It's like the guy never cast a shadow on the known universe. However, his predecessor, Leo Kane, is doing a 17-year stretch at Deerfield Federal Prison. Apparently, libertarians do not like paying taxes," said Garcia.

"17 years for tax evasion?" asked Morgan.

"Oh, no. That would be two years for tax evasion and 15 for going after four IRS agents with a Louisville slugger," said Garcia.

"Let's have Kane brought to the scene. He's our best chance at finding out some idea of who we're dealing with," said Hotch before Garcia signed off.

Rossi looked at Hotch.

"How are you handling everything?" asked Rossi.

"I feel guilty about sending my fiancée and brother-in-law undercover and I don't think I can ever forget the look on Diana's face during the commotion in the bullpen," said Hotch.

"Then let's make sure that we don't disappoint little Diana by bringing Spencer and Emily home," said Rossi.

xxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, in Washington DC, Clarissa was cuddling with a sleeping Diana while Bridget and Evan took their naps when Haley who came over to help with the kids looked at Clarissa.

"How are you doing?" asked Haley.

Clarissa covered Diana's ears.

"I keep thinking about the last time Spence was held hostage, and I can't blame him for agreeing to go undercover when it comes to wanting to save the lives of many kids," said Clarissa as she looked towards the shelf that contained a copy of her husband's official FBI portrait and a bunch of rewards that her husband has earned throughout his career in the FBI, "I'm proud of my husband for signing up to risk his life so he makes sure that families don't have to deal with losing their mother, father, husband, wife, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or their children," said Clarissa.

Haley looked at Clarissa.

"I am too, but like you said earlier, we just have to have faith that Aaron and the rest of the team can bring Spencer and Emily home safely," said Haley.

xxxxxx

Meanwhile in Colorado, Hotch got out of an SUV by Liberty Church Ranch as gazed at the ranch as he thought about his fiancee and the man who made his sister happy being inside of that ranch as he made his way to Rossi.

"Dave, they've left the choice of negotiators up to me," said Hotch.

"I taught most of the hostage negotiation unit. You want a recommendation?" asked Rossi.

"I'm making you the lead negotiator," said Hotch.

"Me?" asked Rossi.

"Why go to the students when I have the teacher?" asked Hotch.

"Because the teacher is emotionally involved," said Rossi before continuing, "So is the agent in command when it comes to your fiancée and brother-in-law not being here with us right now," said Rossi.

"I know I am. This is a unique situation. We have two agents who could affect the outcome on the inside," said Hotch.

"True. But I can't be objective! I know them too well," protested Rossi.

Hotch decided to raise his voice a bit.

"This outcome depends as much on our ability to predict the moves of Prentiss and Reid as Cyrus. That's why you're the best man for the job," said Hotch.

"Assuming that Reid and Prentiss are still in a condition to make moves," said Rossi.

"I know how bad this is. That's why I want you doing the talking," said Hotch softly.

Rossi instantly thought about the look on the little girl who ended up becoming a granddaughter to him face.

"All right," said Rossi just as both men heard yelling while a younger man followed the older man.

"You're obviously not in charge. I can see that!" shouted Jim Wells.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm under direct orders from the FBI," said Dan Torre.

Jim looked at Dan.

"I'm the attorney general of this state," yelled Jim while Hotch felt fury rise as he saw the man who put his fiancée's and brother-in-law's life at risk, "I demand to know why I wasn't told that the FBI was sending undercover agents into the Septarian Ranch," demanded Jim.

Hotch approached Jim and Dan.

"The only thing that you're in the position to demand is a lawyer," said Hotch firmly.

Jim looked at Hotch.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Jim.

Hotch glared at Jim.

"I'm Aaron Hotchner, unit chief. I'm the guy who's gonna tell the attorney general of the United States whether to charge you with obstructing a federal investigation or negligent homicide," yelled Hotch.

"You can't talk to me like that," said Jim.

Hotch walked closer to Jim so they could be face to face and glared at Jim.

"Get off my crime scene," demanded Hotch.

A few seconds later Jim walked away, and as soon as Jim was in the backseat of a car, Hotch shook hands with Dan.

"Hey, Dan. You know Dave Rossi," said Hotch.

"Sure," said Dan as he shook hands with Rossi.

"We've been here before, haven't we?" asked Rossi.

"Waco. Ruby Ridge. Freeman standoff. Let's hope someone listens to you guys this time," said Dan.

"Oh, they did more than listen. They put us in charge," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at Dan.

"So bring us up to speed," said Hotch.

"I've sent the state police packing. They started this mess. Lost a man in the process. Hope that's OK," said Dan.

"If you hadn't. We would've," said Hotch.

"Good. County sheriffs have had no run-ins with the Sect. So we're using them as support. We've had no contact with them so far. They've got power-solar. We can shoot out the panels if you think-," said Dan.

Rossi shook his head.

"No. No. That's an escalation," said Rossi.

"OK. But that means they have access to the news," said Dan.

Hotch looked at Dan.

"I'll get JJ talk to the press. Your men ready to be briefed?" asked Hotch.

"Let's go," said Dan.

xxxxxxx

A few hours later Rossi was answering a phone call.

"Hello?" asked Rossi.

"You killed my mom and daddy. Are you going to kill me too?" asked a little girl.

Hotch quickly pulled out his phone and looked at a picture of Diana and Bridget together.

"No one is going to kill you, honey," said Rossi before another voice sounded.

"This is Benjamin Cyrus. Who am I talking to?" asked Benjamin.

"David Rossi, I'm an FBI agent. We sent the state police away. There's just us and the local sheriff. All we want to do is resolve this before anyone else gets hurt," said Rossi.

"Then leave us alone," said Benjamin.

"I'm afraid we can't do that, Benjamin. One of the police bled out on the way to the hospital. So let's just stop this before things get worse. Please, just put down your guns and come out," said Rossi.

"We're believers, Dave. We believe that God says what he means and means what he says. His laws don't depend on what state you live in," said Benjamin.

"I have no issue with your beliefs," said Rossi.

"You don't. But the state does," said Benjamin.

"I can't answer for other people," said Rossi.

"Oh, God will answer for everyone in the final battle I've foreseen," said Benjamin.

"That's why I'm here- to make sure that this is not that battle," said Rossi.

"We shall see," said Benjamin.

"Now, the three child services workers…," said Rossi.

"One of them is dead," said Benjamin while Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan exchanged glances as they thought about the possibility of losing Spencer or Emily, "It wasn't us," said Benjamin.

Rossi glanced over at Hotch who looked like he was about to break down at the thought of losing either his fiancée or brother-in-law.

"I need a name to inform the family," said Rossi.

"Her name was Nancy Lunde," said Benjamin.

Hotch sighed out in relief.

"OK. Now, please, Benjamin, send out your wounded. I promise you they'll be well taken care of," said Rossi.

"With enough supplies, we can tend to our own," said Benjamin.

"OK. I need a few hours to put it together. I'll bring them up myself at first light," said Rossi.

A few seconds later Hotch was whipping out his phone and called Clarissa.

"Did something else happen to Spence?" choked Clarissa.

"I have confirmation that he's alive, but I haven't seen him yet," said Hotch.

"Thank God," sobbed Clarissa.


	46. Minimal Loss Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the conclusion of Minimal Loss and I hope that everyone approves the type of damage that Spencer received after being hit in the abdomen twice with a rifle.

Hotch stood with his arms crossed when Rossi entered the mobile command center.

"They could take you hostage," said Dan.

"I'm gonna confirm the kids, Prentiss, and Reid are OK," said Rossi.

Morgan looked at Rossi.

"Rossi, at least let me go with you," said Morgan.

"No. This is about building trust. I go alone," said Rossi.

"I want the parabolic arc mics fixed on every window in that structure," ordered Dan.

"They won't pick up much. They have blinds on all the windows. Unless they're shouting, the glass won't vibrate enough for us to get an audio," said another man.

Dan looked at the mic in his hand.

"Well, if they're not shouting, these bugs will pick 'em up, at least until the batteries die," said Dan before looking at Hotch, "How familiar are Agents Prentiss and Reid with our playbook?" asked Dan.

"The BAU wrote the CIRG handbook. They'll know that we're trying to get ears in there at all times," said Hotch.

"Let's hope they can get these people talking," said Dan.

"They will," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was sitting next to Emily in the chapel when he saw Rossi enter the chapel and was patted down by another member. A few seconds later Spencer watched Rossi walk with Benjamin down the aisle.

"The children," said Benjamin before he pointed towards Spencer and Emily, "And our guests," said Benjamin.

Spencer kept calm as he saw Rossi glancing at him and Emily.

"I'd hoped you'd let me take the children," said Rossi.

"Nah, they're our protection. I remember Waco. We all do," said Benjamin.

Rossi shook his head.

"This isn't Waco," said Rossi.

"They stay for now…." said Benjamin as he took a Bible, "While I pray for God's guidance. Please don't try to force us out," said Benjamin.

"No one's gonna try to force you out of here. Trust me," said Rossi.

"Trust is earned," said Benjamin.

"It is," said Rossi before Benjamin started to walk him out.

"Tell them I'm not crazy. Tell them I'm just a man living by God's law," said Benjamin.

"I will," said Rossi as he shook hands with Benjamin before walking out.

A few seconds later Benjamin looked at Cole.

"Prepare the wine," said Benjamin.

xxxxxxxxx

A minute later in Washington DC, Clarissa's phone vibrated causing Clarissa to see a text from Rossi that caused her to burst into tears.

EVEN THOUGH SPENCER IS STILL BEING HELD HOSTAGE WITH EMILY, I GOT TO SEE HIM FOR A FEW MINUTES. HE LOOKS OK. ~ DR

"Is it daddy?" asked Diana.

Clarissa shook her head.

"It was Papa Dave letting me know that he saw daddy and he looks OK," said Clarissa.

Diana burst into tears as she hugged her mother.

"Will daddy be home for my first day of second grade on Monday?" asked Diana.

Clarissa pulled Diana onto her lap.

"I don't know, Diana. But Uncle Aaron, uncle Derek, auntie JJ, auntie Penelope, and Papa Dave are doing everything so daddy and auntie Emily can come home safely," said Clarissa.

"Will daddy be OK when he comes home?" asked Diana.

"I don't know yet, but even if he doesn't have any physical injuries, we'll have to help him heal emotionally because daddy is currently going through a traumatic experience," said Clarissa.

Diana looked up at her mother.

"When I said my prayers before bed last night, I asked God to bring daddy home safely," said Diana.

"Me too, Diana," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxx

A few minutes later in Colorado, Spencer and Emily stood as they watched Benjamin Cyrus pour wine into glasses.

"We are celebrating. Everyone drinks. Everyone rejoices. Because today we are one day closer to being with him," said Benjamin as he continued to pour wine into glasses.

Emily who was studying Jessica glanced at Spencer.

"Look at Jessica's body language. The way she looks at him," said Emily quietly.

Spencer studied Jessica for a second as he thought about Jessica giving Benjamin the same look that Clarissa occasionally gives him causing him to feel a pang of homesickness.

"She literally worships him. There's no way she made that 9-1-1 call," said Spencer quietly.

"Trust in God with all your heart," said Benjamin while Spencer and Emily watched Kathy walk towards her daughter, "Lean not on your own understandings. Trust in mine," said Benjamin.

Emily noticed that Kathy was trying to block her daughter from seeing Benjamin.

"Look how she comes between Cyrus and her daughter. She's inserted herself between them," said Emily quietly.

"Acknowledge him in all things, and he will guide your way. Drink to acknowledge him. And I will guide our way," said Benjamin as he took a sip causing everyone except for Spencer and Emily to drink their wine.

A minute later, Benjamin looked at his followers.

"We will be with him soon. We have drank the poison together," said Benjamin.

Spencer and Emily exchanged horrified glances before they focused on watching everyone comprehend what Benjamin said to them.

"Mothers... Fathers... Children, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we fear no evil. For thou are with us," said Benjamin.

xxxxxx

In the mobile command center, Rossi looked at Hotch, Morgan, and Dan.

"This doesn't fit. I looked him in the eye. He was calm, lucid," said Rossi.

Hotch held up a hand as he thought about his fiancée and brother-in-law.

"They're committing mass suicide," said Hotch.

Rossi looked at Hotch.

"We don't know that for sure," said Rossi.

"Rossi, he just said it," snapped Morgan.

"We're ready to go," said Dan.

Hotch rubbed his forehead.

"If we go in there, people are going to die," yelled Rossi.

"People are already dying," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer and Emily watched everyone react to drinking the poisoned wine as Benjamin talked to everyone in the chapel.

"And God will wipe the tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death nor sorrow nor crying. And there will be no more pain. For all of the former things have passed away," said Benjamin.

Emily looked at all the people who were crying as she looked at Spencer.

"What do we do?" asked a whispering Emily.

Spencer noticed Christopher writing something in a notebook.

"Nothing," whispered Spencer.

"We have to do something. These people just took poison," whispered Emily.

Spencer continued to study Benjamin and Cole.

"Cyrus just told them he did. I think he's just bluffing," whispered Spencer.

A shocked Emily looked at Spencer.

"Why do you think that?" asked Emily.

"Just after he told them about the poison, he waited for them to start to react," whispered Spencer as he gestured his head towards Benjamin and Cole, "Then he nodded to Cole. And he started writing. Look," whispered Spencer.

Emily followed Spencer's instructions as Spencer continued to speak.

"They're scanning the audience looking for reactions," whispered Spencer.

Emily realized that Spencer was right.

"They're writing down the names of the people who are crying," whispered Emily.

"It's a loyalty list," whispered Spencer.

Emily sighed.

"So he knows who will follow him to the end," whispered Emily.

xxxxxxxx

Rossi looked at Hotch, Morgan, and Dan.

"Jim Jones pulled the same stunt! They did a test run just like this years before they did the real thing," yelled Rossi.

Hotch sighed as he looked at Dan.

"Prepare your men to go in," said Hotch just as he heard Benjamin's voice again.

"Be still. There was no poison," said Benjamin.

Hotch held out a hand to tell Dan to stop.

"Dan…," said Hotch.

Dan stopped and listened.

"Instead of a test of faith. Because of your adversary, the devil, waltzes about as a roaring lion!" yelled Benjamin before softening his tone, "Choosing whom he may devour. Watch each other for signs of weakness. You are your brother's keeper," preached Benjamin.

Hotch shook his head.

"Tell 'em to stand down," said Hotch.

"Yes, sir. Nice call," said Dan before he walked away.

JJ approached Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi.

"Former sect leader is here," said JJ.

"I got it," said Morgan before he walked away.

xxxxxx

Hotch was sitting by some headphones as he listened to Garcia tell them about Charles Mulgrew.

"Charles Mulgrew-convicted in Kentucky at the age of 18. Three counts, statutory rape," said Garcia.

"So we need to talk to the warden?" asked Morgan.

"Way ahead of you, honey. Mr. Kentucky warden said that once inside, Mulgrew found religion, became a model citizen," said Garcia.

"Well, it's not that hard to behave when you're in protective custody the whole time," said Morgan.

"General population's a rough place for a child molester," said Hotch.

"No. No. I don't think you guys understand. He was a model citizen. This guy volunteered at the prison hospital- the aids ward- He was reading to prisoners dying of HIV," said Garcia.

"Good stuff," said Morgan in approval.

"Damn straight. Now get our friends back, baby," said Garcia before she hung up.

"Well, this makes things worse," said Rossi.

"What? That he was a model citizen?" asked Morgan.

"That he's been to prison," said Rossi.

"He knows what happens to child molesters there," said Morgan.

"If the current sexual allegations are true and he thinks we know it, he's not coming out of there," said Hotch.

"Then we have to make him think he's not going back," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at JJ who was walking towards them.

"JJ, I need you to release a press statement saying that we have absolutely no evidence of sexual allegations," said Hotch.

JJ sighed as she thought about finding out that Spencer and Emily are now in more danger.

"You need to see this," said JJ as she turned on the TV.

"Now well into its second day, the standoff at the Sepatarian Sect Ranch has now been taken over by the FBI. There was much speculation in regard to hostages. But anonymous sources inside the state attorney general's office have told us there is an undercover FBI currently being held inside the Sepatarian Sect Ranch," said a reporter while Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi instantly felt anger, "Hostage negotiators say they are making headway with the sect's leadership and are hopeful for a positive outcome. There's still no word as to why an undercover FBI was sent in alone," said a reporter.

Hotch closed his eyes as he worked hard on maintaining his professionalism at the thought of his fiancee and brother-in-law being in more danger than ever.

xxxxxxx

Spencer and Emily were sitting across from one another in the basement as they thought about their families when Benjamin came into the room with Cole and another man.

"Which one of you is it?" asked Cyrus as he stood between Spencer and Emily and pulled out a revolver, "Which one of you is the FBI?" demanded Cyrus.

"Oh shit," thought Spencer.

"Why do you think one of us is an FBI agent?" asked Spencer calmly.

"God will forgive me for what I must do," said Benjamin as he cocked his revolver and walked closer to Spencer and pointed his revolver in between Spencer's eyes.

Spencer inwardly took a few breaths as he fought back a flashback of Tobias Hankel pointing a revolver between his eyes.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," said Spencer calmly.

"One of you does. Who is it?" demanded Cyrus.

Emily instantly took action as she thought about wanting to get Spencer home to Clarissa and their children.

"Me," said Emily softly.

Spencer held back his shocked look as he looked at Emily.

"It's me," said Emily firmly.

Benjamin studied Spencer for a few seconds before he grabbed Emily's hair and dragged her away before Cole cocked his rifle and pointed at Spencer.

"Don't even think about moving," said Cole.

xxxxxxx

Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi all winced as they listened to Emily take a beating from Cyrus before Hotch had enough of hearing his fiancée breaking her cover so his brother-in-law couldn't get hurt again.

"We gotta go in there," said Hotch as he removed his headphones.

"We'd be risking the lives everyone in there," said Rossi.

Hotch put his headphones back on.

"Get up!" demanded Benjamin as Hotch grimaced as he heard breaking glass before Benjamin spoke again, "Proverbs 20:30 tells us blows  
and wounds cleanse away evil," recited Benjamin.

Hotch instantly flashed back to witnessing Spencer being beaten by Hankel through live feed.

"I can take it," said Emily.

"Oh, you can take it?" asked Benjamin.

Hotch grimaced again as he heard his fiancee get punched again before Rossi noticed how agitated Hotch was getting.

"Wait-wait. Listen to what she's saying," said Rossi.

"I can take it," said Emily.

"She's antagonizing him," said Morgan.

Rossi looked at Morgan.

"She's not talking to him," said Rossi.

Hotch realized what Rossi was saying.

"She's talking to us. She's telling us not to come in," said Hotch.

"Pride comes before the fall. Tie her up. Put her upstairs," said Benjamin.

Hotch removed his headphones and looked at Morgan and Rossi.

"I have a feeling that Emily decided to blow her cover because of how painful it was to watch Spencer being tortured by Hankel through live feed," said Hotch.

"Me too, Hotch," said Morgan.

xxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was taken into Benjamin's office and a few seconds later Benjamin who was bandaging his own hands looked at Spencer.

"Did you know she was FBI?" asked Benjamin.

Spencer inwardly took a deep breath as he knew that he needed to maintain his cover while getting word out to his team while thinking about that it being the second night in a row that he can't talk to Clarissa and his children.

"Nancy told me the woman was a child abuse interview expert from Denver. In four years I worked with her, Nancy never lied to me before," said Spencer.

"As far as you know. Their law says that a 15-year-old girl is a child. 50 years ago that same law said a 14-year-old was an adult. Have children changed so much in 50 years?" asked Benjamin.

"I can't tell you the number of times I've investigated abuse charges against small religious groups. Almost all of them turn out to be false," said Spencer.

"What do you think of that?" asked Benjamin.

"Doesn't really matter what I think," said Spencer.

"It does to me," said Benjamin.

"Why?" asked Spencer.

"Because God wants to save you. I mean, that's why he sent you here. That's the reason," said Benjamin.

Spencer quickly formulated a plan in his mind to help himself be one step closer to being reunited with Clarissa and the kids.

xxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, underneath one of the tents, Hotch and Rossi were listening to Spencer.

"On the next call, you should test them. Test the negotiator. Make him prove that he isn't a liar," said Spencer.

Benjamin stayed silent for a few seconds.

"How would you suggest I do that?" asked Benjamin.

"Ask for the identity of the FBI agent," said Spencer.

"No. We already know her identity," said Cole.

"They don't know that," argued Benjamin.

"Yeah. But the FBI never tell us," argued back Cole.

"They keep on asking you to release people. Tell him you'll release a kid, and you won't harm the agent. And if they really care about the children, they'll have to tell you," said Spencer.

"You're trying to get us to release a child," said Cole.

"It's one kid. If they don't hold up on their end of the deal, you know they can't be trusted," said Spencer.

"He has a point," said Benjamin.

Hotch and Rossi exchanged small smiles.

"Reid has him," said Rossi.

After a few seconds of silence, Hotch and Rossi heard Benjamin's voice.

"What is it, Christopher?" asked Benjamin

Christopher sighed.

"Some have been talking about... Leaving," said Christopher.

"Leaving?" asked Benjamin.

"Yeah," said Christopher.

"Wake the baby. Let's let them meet the orphan that they've made," said Benjamin.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was standing in the chapel listening to Cyrus while a bunch of followers came into the chapter.

"It has come to my attention that some of our brothers and sisters have lost their faith in God. That they no longer love us," said Benjamin as Spencer noticed Emily approach him, "They want to abandon us. So when I call out your name, please stand," said Benjamin as he looked at his list while Spencer made his way towards Emily.

"Todd Sutters. Melanie Sutters..." read Benjamin.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"He looks pissed," whispered Emily.

Spencer continued to look at Emily's injuries.

"Evan Radley," said Benjamin.

Emily noticed the guilty look on Spencer's face.

"It's not as bad as it looks," said Emily.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Spencer.

"Sean Ebbins. Sherry…," read Benjamin.

Emily decided to get Spencer back on track.

"Look at who he's releasing," said Emily.

Spencer looked at all of the people who were standing.

"Wyatt Rayborn," read Benjamin.

Spencer remembered the faces of the people who cried.

"It's the ones who failed the loyalty test," said Spencer softly.

"Doris Beasley," read Benjamin.

Spencer made his decision as he looked at Emily.

"We'll get word to the team. Wait for a sign from outside to indicate what time the raid will come," instructed Spencer.

"Willis Farwell," finished Benjamin.

A few seconds later Spencer made his way towards Benjamin.

"I told her she shouldn't have lied to you like that," said Spencer.

"To either of us," said Benjamin before looking at Cole, "Take her back," ordered Benjamin.

Spencer gave Emily a silent look before Christopher led Emily away.

"Those of you that are standing, please collect your belongings and report to the front hallway immediately," said Benjamin.

xxxxxx

Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan listened to Christopher start a conversation with Benjamin.

"I don't understand. Why did you let them go?" asked Christopher.

"They weren't prepared to do what needs to be done," said Spencer.

"You're not one of us. You don't know what it takes to be prepared," said Christopher.

"Listen to him. Tell him," said Benjamin.

Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi exchanged glances as they prepared themselves for the possibility of Spencer sending a coded message about  
what's happening inside.

"They failed the test. They-they had a chance to prove their faith when Cyrus told them that they'd sacrifice themselves for God. But  
instead, they showed they weren't worthy. That's why he wants the media to bear witness to your true final act of sacrifice," said Spencer.

"How do you know that?" asked Christopher.

"I'm always looking for signs of things to come," said Spencer.

Rossi instantly understood Spencer's message.

"Reid's talking to us. He wants a sign when we're coming in. He's telling us this is it. Time has run out. We've got to go in," said Rossi.

Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi started to watch the people who were released.

xxxxxx

Hotch looked at Morgan and Rossi as a bunch of men prepared food.

"Drugging the food is not an option because of the children. We have to go in," said Hotch.

"Best time to hit 'em is when they're least mentally prepared," said Rossi.

"3:00 AM are at their low point then," said Dan.

"We need a diversion. Something that plays into his expectations," said Morgan.

"Cyrus brought up Waco," said Dan.

"Right," nodded Rossi.

"I know exactly how to use that. We need some humvees," said Dan before he walked away to make a phone call.

Hotch drew a line on the whiteboard.

"The plan depends on Reid and Prentiss separating the diehards from the followers," said Hotch.

"And delaying Cyrus's diehards from reacting to our assault," said Morgan.

"That's not my main concern. Reid and Prentiss know what they need to do," said Hotch.

"So what is your concern?" asked Morgan.

"Letting them know when we're coming. The whole things hinges on them being ready for us at 3:00 AM," said Hotch.

Dan looked at his men.

"Come on, guys, quick. We need to get those bugs in the boxes before it gets too cold," said Dan.

Hotch grabbed a lid for a container.

"Perfect," said Hotch as he grabbed a marker and wrote NEW OWNERS! NEW HOURS! OPEN TIL 3 AM! as his message to Spencer.

"Let's hope it's just that easy," said Morgan.

xxxxxx

Spencer inwardly smiled as he saw a message with Hotch's handwriting on a container of food when Benjamin placed another container of food on top of the container he was looking at.

"I know what you're thinking. You don't have to be a part of this. You can go," said Benjamin.

"I think I'd prefer to stay. Somebody needs to tell your story," said Spencer.

"And I'm glad it'll be you," said Benjamin before he opened up a box of explosives, "Now that the false believers have been cleared from our  
midst, we make our final preparations," said Benjamin.

xxxxxxx

Hotch stood outside as he thought about not being allowed to participate in the raid because of his still healing ear, Spencer being his  
brother-in-law, and Emily being his fiancée.

"I know I can't go in there," said Hotch.

"I'm going," said Rossi.

Hotch thought about the guilt that he was still feeling about sending Spencer and Emily undercover even though his brother-in-law was  
doing a great job sending them messages without Benjamin Cyrus knowing.

"If something happens to Prentiss or Reid, I.. I don't know," said Hotch.

Rossi thought about how this hostage situation has become the most personal to Hotch.

"You're not alone," said Rossi

xxxxxxx

Spencer stood by Christopher as he thought of a Bible verse that would get Christopher and Benjamin to surrender.

"Jeremiah 29:11- "I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to bring you hope and a future."" recited Spencer before looking at Benjamin and Christopher while Benjamin came towards him, "Is blowing yourself up part of the  
prosperous future that God wants?" asked Spencer.

"You think you know the word better than I?" asked Benjamin.

"No. I'm just demonstrating that you can use the Bible to manipulate anything," said Spencer firmly.

"Matthew 10:24- "Do not suppose that I've come to the earth to bring peace. I did not come to bring peace but a sword." recited Benjamin  
as he slammed his rifle into Spencer's abdomen.

Spencer groaned in pain as he bent forward clutching his abdomen and ribs.

"You cannot convert my brothers," said Benjamin as he slammed his rifle into Spencer's abdomen again causing the 26-year-old genius to  
fall down to the ground before he showed the detonator for the bomb, "No one had to follow. God could have stopped me," said Cyrus just  
as a few SWAT members and Morgan burst into the chapel and shot every man including Cyrus.

"He just did," deadpanned Spencer.

"Clear!" shouted a SWAT member.

Spencer took the opportunity to stand up as he clutched his abdomen.

"You all right, kid?" asked Morgan.

"I'm definitely going to have bruises. Where's Emily?" asked Spencer.

"We got her out of here," said Morgan just as he saw Jesse come into the room, "Sweetheart, come with me. We need to get you out of here. Come on. Let's go right now," said Morgan.

Jesse saw her dead husband and the detonator causing her to grab the detonator just as Spencer ran towards the door.

"Run!" shouted Spencer.

As soon as Spencer, Morgan, and a few SWAT members were outside, the bomb went off causing Morgan to tackle Spencer and cover him.

About a minute later Morgan was helping Spencer up before Spencer started coughing, and a few seconds later Morgan looked at Hotch and Emily.

"We're OK," said Morgan.

A few seconds later Spencer and Emily were hugging each other, and as soon as they let go, Hotch pulled Spencer into a tight hug before Spencer winced in pain.

"Cyrus slammed a rifle into my abdomen two times before I fell down," wheezed Spencer before he blacked out.

Hotch quickly kept Spencer from falling down as he scooped up his brother-in-law into a bridal carry.

"I NEED A MEDIC!" shouted Hotch.

A minute later Hotch was gently setting his brother-in-law down onto a gurney before he forced Morgan and Emily to join Spencer in the back of an ambulance so they could get checked out at the hospital.

xxxxxxxx

Over seven hours later Spencer was slowly coming to his senses as he felt a nasal cannula underneath his nose and steady beeping of a heart monitor before he felt a familiar hand holding his hand causing him to realize that his wife was there. A second later Spencer was  
squeezing Clarissa's hand.

"Wake up when your ready, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer opened his eyes as he felt his glasses being set onto the bridge of his nose causing him to see a teary-eyed Clarissa smiling at him.

"Here's some water, and please drink slowly," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer was slowly taking a few sips of water before Clarissa gave her husband a watery smile.

"Even though getting held hostage wasn't your fault, you really need to stop scaring me, Spence," said Clarissa.

"What happened?" asked Spencer.

"You told Aaron that you were hit in the abdomen twice with a rifle before you blacked out in Aaron's arms. When you got here, you were diagnosed with internal bleeding and cracked ribs which thankfully didn't puncture your lungs," said Clarissa as she explained the surgery  
her husband had.

When Clarissa finished, Spencer felt his abdomen and grimaced when he felt gauze wrap underneath his hospital gown.

"So that's why my abdomen feels sore," said Spencer before looking at the IV stand next to him and his eyes went wide when he saw that he was given morphine, "After being drugged against my will with Dilaudid over a year and eight months ago, I never wanted narcotics in my body again," said Spencer.

Clarissa squeezed her husband's hand.

"Aaron and I tried to tell the doctor that you don't want narcotics, but with everything that happened during the past three days, your doctor told us that your heart can't handle anymore stress. So I made sure that you were given the smallest dose as possible," said Clarissa as she pressed the call button, "I better let the nurse assigned to you that you're awake," said Clarissa.

A minute later a nurse came into the room.

"I see that you're awake, Spencer," said Nurse Tabitha just as Clarissa looked at the monitors and started to read everything causing an impressed Tabitha to look at Clarissa, "How do you know this stuff?" asked Tabitha.

"I'm a pediatric nurse at Children's National in Washington DC, but right now I'm on maternity leave for another four weeks," said Clarissa.

"First child?" asked Tabitha.

"Third," said Clarissa.

"You two are brave," said Tabitha before looking at Spencer, "At least I know that you'll be in good hands when you finally get to go home, but do you need anything?" asked Tabitha.

"Some jello would be great, please," said Spencer.

"I'll go fetch that jello for you," said Tabitha before leaving the room.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"I thought that you were going back to work on the first day of school next week?" asked Spencer.

"I can take up to 12 weeks of maternity leave and still keep my job, and while you were in surgery, I told Diana's principal what happened, and she said that I can take the rest of my four weeks of maternity leave and they'll have another nurse sub for me," said Clarissa.

"Can we call home so I can talk to the kids?" asked Spencer.

"You won't be able to talk to Diana on the phone because I brought her out here with me," said Clarissa as she pulled out her phone and texted her brother.

SPENCE WOKE UP SO PLEASE BRING DIANA IN HERE. ~ CR

"Why did Diana come with you?" asked Spencer.

"I was visiting Aaron at the BAU with the kids when we found out that you and Emily were in trouble. Diana was crying when she realized what was going on, so I knew that she needed to see you as soon as possible," said Clarissa just as familiar footsteps were running down the hallway.

"Daddy!" cried Diana.

A few seconds later Clarissa was helping Diana get into her daddy's hospital bed.

"Remember that I told you to be careful of your daddy's injuries because he has staples in his abdomen," said Clarissa.

"Yes mommy," said Diana as she kissed her daddy's cheek, "I was so scared when I found out that you were in trouble," cried Diana as she buried her face into her daddy's neck and started crying.

Spencer ignored the slight pain he was feeling as he hugged Diana.

"I was scared about the possibility of never coming home to you, mommy, Bridget, and Evan. I'm going to be OK," soothed Spencer before realizing that Diana fell asleep, "Diana's asleep," whispered Spencer.

Clarissa extracted Diana from her husband before carrying her oldest daughter to the couch in Spencer's hospital room just as Hotch entered the room.

"Diana is very fast for a four-year-old," said Hotch.

"I know, so that's why Clarissa and I try to run a few miles a few times a week," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"How are you feeling?" asked Hotch.

"Much better than I was before I blacked out," said Spencer before noticing the lack of his teammates, "Where are Emily, Morgan, JJ, and Rossi?" asked Spencer.

"Emily and Morgan are both in their own hospital rooms because the explosion caused Morgan to have smoke inhalation and Emily's injuries needed to be monitored for the day. JJ and Rossi are currently at the hotel getting some sleep," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his wife and brother-in-law.

"Am I able to go back to DC today?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa giggled.

"Why did I have a feeling that you would ask that question?" asked Clarissa.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Because of all of the reporters finding out that you were also undercover and want to talk to you, the Director made arrangements for you, Clarissa, and Diana to take an air ambulance back to Washington DC this evening before you are transported to Georgetown University  
Hospital where you'll most likely stay until Saturday," said Hotch.

"And when we get back to DC, I'll run Diana home while you get settled into your room before I join you at the hospital for the night," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"Will Bridget and Evan visit me tomorrow morning?" asked Spencer.

"They will and Diana already knows that she's still required to start school next week Monday," said Clarissa just as there was a knock open door causing Spencer to see Emily sitting in a wheelchair that another nurse was pushing.

"Glad to see you awake, Reid," said Emily before looking at her fiancé and Clarissa, "Mind if I have a moment alone with Reid?" asked Emily as she was pushed towards Spencer's bed before the nurse left the room.

"Sure," said Clarissa as she let go of her husband's hand and stood up.

Hotch made his way towards the couch that contained Diana and scooped up his oldest niece.

"I'll be back in a few minutes to take you back to your room, Emily," said Hotch.

As soon as Spencer and Emily were alone, Emily took hold of Spencer's IV free hand and made eye contact with Spencer.

"I need you to listen to me. What Cyrus did to me is not your fault. It was my decision, and I would do it again," said Emily.

Spencer stayed silent.

"Do you hear me?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded as he yawned.

"Thank you," said Emily as she squeezed Spencer's hand, "Get some sleep," said Emily.

Spencer smiled a bit causing Emily to smile back before Spencer closed his eyes causing Emily to stand up and remove Spencer's glasses and place them on the rolling table.

xxxxx

The next morning Spencer woke up and realized that he was in a hospital room at Georgetown University Hospital before noticing that a sleeping Bridget was curled up against his side when Clarissa came into the room with Diana walking next to her while Evan slept in a baby carrier across his mother's chest.

"Your awake, daddy," said Diana as she ran towards her daddy's hospital bed.

"Good morning sleepyhead," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband, "You slept through the flight home and didn't wake up until now, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer took a sip of water and as soon as he felt moisture in his mouth, he looked at his wife.

"I must have been more exhausted than I thought," said Spencer.

"Your body is craving a lot of rest after everything that happened over the past few days," said Clarissa.

At that moment Bridget woke up and grinned when she saw her daddy.

"Dada!" grinned Bridget.

"I missed you so much, Bridget," said Spencer as he kissed Bridget's head.

"When she saw you in bed, she insisted on being in bed with you," said Clarissa.

"Its OK," said Spencer before looking at his son, "Can I please hold my son?" asked Spencer.

"Certainly," said Clarissa.

"I want to cuddle with daddy too," said Diana.

"I think I can manage three kids in my hospital bed," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was gazing down at Evan in his arms while Diana and Bridget sat on either side of him while thinking about his children being the reason why he decided to go undercover and bring down Benjamin Cyrus.


	47. Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts an hour after the last chapter, and when it came to Cyrus butting a rifle into Spencer's abdomen twice, it is a given that he should have had injuries like broken ribs and internal bleeding. So I decided to be creative on what injuries Spencer received from having a rifle butted into his abdomen two times and when he was in the explosion.

Spencer was sitting up in his hospital bed with Diana and Bridget on either side of him as he continued to hold his son in his arms when there was a knock on his open door causing Spencer's eyes to go wide when he saw John.

"Sir," said Spencer.

John smiled at the sight of Spencer being surrounded by his children.

"I see that your children are happy to have their father home safe," said John.

"They are and even though I'm in the hospital, I'm happy to be with my family too. I've been holding Evan while having Diana and Bridget sit on either side of me for the past hour because I really needed to cuddle with them," said Spencer.

Diana gave John a quizzical look.

"Who are you?" asked Diana.

"I'm one of the Deputy Directors of the FBI John Bennett. I wanted to see how your daddy is doing," said John before looking at Clarissa, "I imagine that the past few days were hard on you, Mrs. Reid because I heard that you were at the BAU visiting your brother with the kids when Agents Hotchner, Jareau, Morgan, and Rossi found out that your husband and Agent Prentiss were in trouble, " said John.

"They were, but I'm happy that my husband and soon to be sister-in-law are safe," said Clarissa.

Evan started crying while Bridget started to make a few grunting noises causing Spencer to rub his arm against Evan's diaper and felt it.

"Evan needs a diaper change and it seems like Bridget is filling up her diaper," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her oldest daughter.

"Would you like to help me change your brother's and sister's diapers?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, mommy," said Diana.

As Clarissa helped Diana get out of her daddy's hospital bed before she went around to get Bridget off the bed. As soon as Clarissa had Bridget standing on her own two feet, she looked at Diana.

"Please hold your sister's hand, Diana," said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am," said Diana as she took hold of one of Bridget's hands.

Clarissa looked at her husband as she removed Evan from his father's arms.

"Would you like me to get you anything while you talk to one of your superiors?" asked Clarissa.

"Can I have my first cup of coffee since Monday?" asked Spencer with a hopeful look on his face.

"Your doctor said that you can't have coffee yet," said Clarissa.

Spencer sighed.

"I'll bring you back some jello, Spence," said Clarissa before she grabbed a diaper bag that contained Bridget's and Evan's diapers before she took hold of Diana's free hand and left the room with the kids.

As soon as John closed the door, he walked towards the chair by Spencer's bed and sat down.

"Are you here as my superior or friend?" asked Spencer.

"Friend," said John.

"Even though I didn't get addicted to Dilaudid after being held hostage by Hankel last year, Clarissa told me that I was given morphine because my heart can't take that much stress after being held hostage for three days and needing surgery to repair the internal bleeding that was caused by Benjamin Cyrus butting a rifle against my abdomen two times," said Spencer.

"Because you were strong enough not to get addicted to Dilaudid after Hankel, I believe that your strong enough to not develop a drug addiction this time too because I saw how you were looking at your wife and children when I came in here," said John before becoming serious, "The president found out that you and Agent Prentiss were the agents who were held hostage, and both he and Director Fickler wants to meet you two after you and Agent Prentiss have some time to physically and mentally recover," said John.

Spencer's eyes went wide as he took a few deep breaths to calm down.

"I met the First Lady when I volunteered at Children's National Christmas party, but now I get to meet the president," squeaked Spencer.

"Calm down, young Spencer," said John as he took hold of Spencer's IV free hand and squeezed it, "You'll also be receiving a Shield of Bravery, a Medal of Valor, and an FBI Star too," said John.

"I don't want any medals," said Spencer.

"You saved a lot of lives while you communicated with your teammates without blowing your cover. Even though you don't want to be rewarded for preventing another Waco, a lot of people are expecting you to be rewarded for your service because you saved a lot of women and children," said John just as the door opened and Diana walked into the room with a cup of jello and a spoon.

"Here's your jello, daddy," said Diana.

"Thank you, Diana," said Spencer as he accepted the jello and spoon.

John looked at Diana.

"Did you know that your daddy saved a lot of mommies and kids lives the past few days?" asked John.

"Mommy and uncle Aaron told me that daddy and auntie Emily are heroes right now," said Diana.

Spencer blushed a bit.

"Do you think that your daddy and auntie Emily should receive awards for their actions?" asked John.

"Daddy saved a lot of little girls and boys like Bridget, Evan, Jack, and me. So he needs to get a reward because he's a hero in my book or I would be upset," said Diana.

John looked at Spencer.

"Diana has spoken, and your wife and children are allowed to be at the ceremony that Director Fickler and the president are hosting," said John.

Diana's eyes went wide just as Clarissa came into the room with Bridget and Evan.

"Why are both Spence and Diana looking shell-shocked?" asked Clarissa.

"I just told him that the president and Director Fickler wants to give a few medals to your husband and Agent Prentiss for saving all of those lives causing your husband to freak out a bit. I had Diana help me convince her daddy that he deserves to be rewarded for saving all of those women and children, and she's definitely going to be a good master manipulator like her daddy someday," said John as he winked at Diana who giggled.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Even though you think that you don't deserve to be given a few medals for saving mothers like me and children like Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack; that tells me that you deserve those medals, even more, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Listen to your wife, Agent Reid," said John before looking at Clarissa, "You and the children are also invited to the ceremony," said John as he got up and looked at Spencer, "You look more exhausted than you were when I came in here, so get some rest, Agent Reid," said John as he shook Spencer's hand before leaving the room.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I'm going to take the kids home so I can feed Evan, help feed the kids lunch, and settle down Bridget and Evan for their naps. I'll be back as   
soon as possible," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband just as Sarah came into the room and grinned at Spencer.

"I'm your new nurse for the next shift, Spencer," said Sarah as she reached into the purse and pulled out a homemade card, "Darren and Courtney found out that you got hurt and I ended up telling them about what happened in Colorado, so they made you a card," said Sarah.

Spencer opened the card and his eyes went wide as he read the message out loud.

"Get well soon and thank you for saving all of those mommies and kids, uncle Spencer. Love Darren, Courtney, and Dominic," said Spencer before tearing up a bit as he yawned.

"Get some sleep, Spence," said Clarissa as she removed her husband's glasses and placed them on the table.

xxxxxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer woke up to his blood pressure being checked by Sarah and as soon as he had his glasses on, he saw his brother-in-law and Emily sitting next to Clarissa.

"Hi," croaked Spencer as he reached for his cup of water and took a few sips.

After Sarah asked him a few questions, she left the room so Spencer could have some privacy with Clarissa, Hotch, and Emily.

"How are you feeling?" asked Hotch.

"Much better than yesterday because cuddling with Diana, Bridget, and Evan a few hours ago really helped me feel better," said Spencer before his eyes went wide at the all the balloons, flowers, and stuffed animals on the window sill and a huge stack of unopened cards on the rolling table by him, "What's with all of the flowers, stuffed animals, balloons, and cards?" asked Spencer.

"While you were in surgery yesterday morning, I called Reverend Alden and explained what happened and asked him to pray with Diana and   
me over the phone. I didn't realize that Reverend Alden posted a message on the church's Facebook page and explained that you got injured while you were undercover and asked everyone to pray for you until I got phone calls and text messages asking me how you were doing before I told everyone that you will be transported to Georgetown University Hospital," said Clarissa before gesturing to at everything on the window sill, "While you were sleeping, you were receiving deliveries and I didn't take the liberty of opening up your cards because you deserve to open them," said Clarissa.

Spencer took the top card and recognized Reverend Alden's handwriting as he opened up the envelope and a few seconds later he opened out the card and grinned when he saw a gift card for Starbucks and a message that he read out loud.

"When I heard about the FBI working on bringing down Benjamin Cyrus in Colorado, I thought of you when I saw your team's media liaison speaking to the press on TV. I didn't even know that you were one of the agents who was sent undercover as a child service worker and held hostage for three days until I got a call from Clarissa about you being in surgery for internal bleeding. I'm glad that you're going to be OK and thank you for saving all of those women and children. I'm going to continue praying for your recovery and I'll see you when you're recovered enough to return to church," read Spencer.

"That was very sweet of Reverend Alden," said Clarissa before looking at the stack of envelopes, "Want some help opening the envelopes?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes please," said Spencer.

Clarissa quickly grabbed the next envelope causing Hotch and Emily to follow suit, and after reading seven cards, Garcia and Morgan came into the room.

"Even though we video chatted yesterday, I'm so glad that you're going to be OK, boy wonder," said Garcia as she gave Spencer a gentle hug before she placed the balloons she bought next to all of the other balloons.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"You're looking much better than yesterday, kid," said Morgan.

Spencer smiled softly.

"Spending over an hour this morning holding Evan while having Diana and Bridget sitting on either side of me in this bed was really good medicine," said Spencer just as JJ and Rossi came into the room.

"You definitely look much better, Reid," said Rossi as JJ made her way to Spencer and gave him a gentle hug.

"Spence spent over an hour this morning being surrounded by our kids in his hospital bed," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at Hotch, JJ, Garcia, Morgan, and Rossi.

"I know that Emily and I are both taking a month off so we can both recover physically and mentally, but why aren't you five at the BAU?" asked Spencer.

"We only went in this morning to debrief before Chief Strauss told us that she doesn't want to see us at the office until Tuesday," said Hotch.  
Garcia looked at Emily.

"How are you doing?" asked Garcia.

"Even though I'm bruised from the beating I've been given, it helps that applying makeup helps the bruises go away," said Emily.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"When are you being released?" asked JJ.

Spencer looked at the clock and noticed that it was 12:30 PM.

"Depending on how the rest of today and tonight goes, I'll be released either tomorrow morning or Sunday morning," said Spencer before looking at Clarissa, "Even though I'm recovering from abdominal surgery for internal bleeding, am I still able to be part of accompanying Diana to her first day of second grade on Monday?" asked Spencer as he worked his eyes on Clarissa.

Clarissa groaned before looking at her husband.

"You can as long as you listen to Dr. Wong, your nurses, and me for the remainder of your hospital stay and when you get released into my care as long as you promise to get back in bed when we get home from taking Diana to school," said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am," said Spencer.

"Did you say that Diana got bumped up to second grade and she's not even five yet?" asked Morgan.

"Diana was the one who decided to skip kindergarten and the first grade, so I didn't try to talk her into staying with her friends," said Spencer.

"Also it helps that I'm still subbing for Nurse Shelly until she's done with maternity leave, so I'll be able to keep a close eye on Diana until   
winter break," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Dr. Wong checked over Spencer's incision site and double checked the lab work that was done earlier and smiled at Spencer as he thought back to being Spencer's doctor when Spencer had his appendix out during July of 2001 while being grateful to see that Spencer and Clarissa are happily married and are proud parents of three children.

"Based on how well you did yesterday and last night, you'll be discharged in an hour," said Dr. Wong.

Spencer grinned at his wife.

"When it comes to not being a fan of hospitals, I can't wait to be in our own bed," said Spencer.

Dr. Wong looked at Spencer.

"I don't want you to do any heavy lifting or carrying your kids around until after the staples get removed," said Dr. Wong.

"Yes sir," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband's doctor.

"I already told Spence that he can come along and take Diana to school on Monday as long as he gets back in bed after we get Diana settled in," said Clarissa.

"Good," said Dr. Wong.

xxxxx

Spencer allowed Clarissa to help him into the house before his brows furrowed with confusion when he didn't see Diana or Bridget in the living room while Lucy was giving Evan a bottle.

"Where are Diana, Bridget, and Daisy?" asked Spencer.

"Welcome home. Bridget's upstairs taking a nap and Aaron picked up Diana so she could go to the park with him and Jack," said Lucy.

Clarissa looked at her husband who was wearing sweatpants and an MIT t-shirt.

"Do you want to lay on the couch or do you want to go upstairs to bed?" asked Clarissa.

"Upstairs, and can you please join me?" asked Spencer.

"Sure," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer was letting Clarissa get him situated into a comfortable position in bed before she joined her husband in bed where she placed her head on her husband's chest so she could hear his heartbeat.

"I thought that we would never be laying in bed like this again," said Spencer.

"I know that you haven't let the dams break about almost dying since waking up after surgery, Spence. So let those emotions out so we can start working on your emotional recovery," said Clarissa as she removed her husband's glasses and placed them onto the nightstand before she gently hugged her husband so she wouldn't cause pain to her husband's cracked ribs and healing incision.

Spencer instantly allowed the tears start to fall as he wrapped his arms around his wife as he allowed sobs to escape his mouth while   
Clarissa started to cry too.

xxxxxx

An hour later in the living room, Lucy was smiling at Evan who was having tummy time while Bridget showed a touch and feel book to her baby brother just as the front door unlocked and Hotch came into the house with Diana and Jack causing Lucy to press her finger against her mouth.

"Are mommy and daddy home yet?" asked Diana.

Jack looked around for his favorite aunt and uncle.

"Auntie Clara and Uncle Spence?" asked Jack.

"They're home, but they might be sleeping. So please be quiet," said Lucy.

"OK," said Diana as she ran upstairs causing Jack to follow her, "Your uncle Spencer has a big owie on his tummy, so please be careful with my daddy, Jack," said Diana.

"OK," said Jack.

xxxxxxx

A minute later in the master bedroom Spencer and Clarissa both woke up a few knocks on their bedroom door causing them to slip on their glasses.

"Come in," said Clarissa.

The door opened and Spencer grinned when he saw Diana and Jack.

"Daddy!" cried Diana.

"Unca Spence. Auntie Clara," said Jack.

"Hi, bumblebee. Hey there Jack-Attack," said Spencer.

"Can Jack and I join you two in bed?" asked Diana.

"You two can as long as you two be careful around daddy or uncle Spencer," said Clarissa.

"OK," said Diana and Jack in unison.

After Diana placed the footstool that she used when she was little for Jack, she helped Jack get in bed before she got in bed before Diana and Jack got between Spencer and Clarissa in bed.

"How are you doing, Jack Attack?" asked Spencer.

"Good," said Jack before looking at his uncle, "Can I pwease see owie?" asked Jack.

Spencer threw back the covers a bit before lifted up his t-shirt.

"Right now my owie is being kept covered by what we call gauze wrap to keep my still healing incision sight clean," said Spencer.

"Can I please see your scar when you no longer have gauze wrap over your incision site?" asked Diana.

"You can, Diana," said Spencer before looking at his nephew, "You too, buddy," said Spencer as he reached behind his nephew's ear and   
pulled out a quarter.

"You better tell your mommy and daddy to clean behind your ears better," said Clarissa just as her brother knocked on the open doorway with Bridget on his hip.

"Mama. Dada," said Bridget.

Clarissa grinned at her youngest daughter.

"Did you have a good nap, Bridget?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Bridget.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"How are you feeling?" asked Hotch.

"Much better because I'm out of the hospital," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"Can I please sleep with you and mommy tonight?" asked Diana.

"Do you promise to be careful around daddy in bed? His tummy is going to be sore for the next couple of weeks," said Clarissa.

"Yes mommy," said Diana.

Spencer looked at Bridget who was in her favorite uncle's arms.

"What do you say about sleeping with mommy and me tonight, Bridget?" asked Spencer.

Bridget grinned at her daddy.

"I take that as a yes," laughed Clarissa.

xxxxxxxx

Two days later Mrs. O' Conner glanced at the clock before she looked at the 15 students of her class of 16 second grade students while looking at the empty desk at the front row.

"There's one student who's coming in within the next 10 minutes, and this student is going to be younger than all of you," said Mrs. O'   
Conner.

"Is the student Diana Reid from Mrs. Lee's preschool class last year?" asked a seven-year-old girl named Mackenzie.

"Yes," said Mrs. O' Conner.

"She became friends with my little sister Hannah and I like her," said Mackenzie.

"She became friends with my sister Skylar, and Skylar told me that Diana's daddy put on a magic show at Diana's birthday fourth party last   
year," said a boy named Tommy causing seven other students to comment that their siblings were in the same preschool class as Diana and   
came over for play dates.

Mrs. O' Conner looked at her students.

"With knowing that some of you had siblings in the same preschool class as Diana last year, I assume that all of you will be nice to Diana? Because if any of your siblings ended up being a genius like Diana and ended up joining this class, I assume that all of you would treat your sibling with respect?" asked Mrs. O' Conner.

"Yes," chorused everyone.

"Good because if any of you aren't treating Diana with respect will be sent to the principal's office and your parents will be called. I've known Diana since she was a baby because I live across the street from her and her family while I attend the same church as Diana. So I don't want Dr. and Mrs. Reid to be upset with me if I can't protect their oldest daughter from bullies," said Mrs. O' Conner just as there was a knock on the door causing her to see Spencer and Clarissa through the open door, "It seems like Diana's here with her mommy and daddy to help her settle in," said Mrs. O' Conner as she nodded at the door.

A few seconds later Diana slowly came into the room with her parents and she grinned when she saw familiar faces.

"Hi Mackenzie, Tommy, Patrick, Ana, and Tammy," said Diana.

Mrs. O' Conner looked at Spencer.

"I'm glad that your up and moving, Spencer," said Mrs. O' Conner.

"I couldn't miss Diana's first day of second grade, and thank you for the get well soon card," said Spencer.

"When will you be returning to church?" asked Mrs. O' Conner.

"Hopefully next week Sunday," said Spencer.

Mrs. O' Conner looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"I'll make sure to take good care of Diana and I already warned everyone in here to be nice to Diana," said Mrs. O' Conner.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at Mrs. O' Conner as she helped Diana put her school supplies inside her desk.

"I'll be back to subbing for Nurse Shelly on September 8th," said Clarissa.

"When will you go back to working with my mommy at Children's National?" asked Jessica.

"I'll be returning to Children's National after this school year's winter break, but right now I'm continuing to bond with my two-month-old son Evan while nursing my husband back to health," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxx

Three weeks later the president held out his hand and shook hands with Emily before looking at Spencer who had Bridget on his hip.

"It's a huge honor to finally get to meet the youngest profiler in the FBI, Dr. Reid," said the president.

Spencer used his free hand to shake hands with the president.

"Its an honor to meet you, sir," said Spencer before he introduced Clarissa and the kids to the president just as the first lady came into the   
Oval Office.

"Sorry I'm late," said the first lady.

"Its OK," said the president.

The first lady smiled at Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget.

"It's nice to see you four again," said the first lady before smiling at the baby boy in Clarissa's arms, "Congratulations on the new addition,   
Clarissa," said the first lady.

"Evan will be three-months-old on Monday," said Clarissa.

The president looked at his wife.

"You know the Reid family?" asked the president.

"Clarissa's a nurse at Children's National and she and Spencer always help out at the Christmas party every year," said the first lady.

The president nodded as he thought about it always being the First Lady's duty to visit hospitalized children around Christmas at Children's National.

"Makes sense," said the president.

The first lady looked at Clarissa.

"When are you going back to Children's National?" asked the first lady.

"When Spence returns to work next week Monday, I'm going back to work at Washington International School as a school nurse," said Clarissa.

"You changed jobs?" asked the first lady.

Clarissa shook her head.

"The lower school's nurse gave birth to twins last December, and she decided to take a year off to bond with her twins. When it comes to having a Masters in pediatric nursing and being a member of the PTA, I was their first choice of temporary nurses," said Clarissa.

"Will you be returning to Children's National?" asked the first lady.

"In January," said Clarissa.

The president looked at Diana.

"How old are you?" asked the president.

"I'll be five on December 21st," said Diana.

"Do you like school?" asked the president.

Diana nodded.

"I love school," said Diana.

"What grade are you in?" asked the president.

"Second grade, but I ended up missing school today so I can watch daddy and auntie Emily get their medals," said Diana.

The president looked at Spencer and Emily.

"I would like Diana to give her daddy his medals while Jack gives his future step-mom her medals because you two went undercover to save   
a lot of little girls like Diana and my daughters," said the president just as his secretary came into the room.

"Its time for the press conference," said the secretary.

The president looked at the Reid family, Hotch, Emily, and Jack.

"Are you guys ready to be on National TV?" asked the president.

Everyone nodded.

xxxxxxxxx

After Jack gave his soon to be step-mother her Shield of Bravery, FBI Star, and Medal of Valor; the president looked at Diana who was holding her daddy's hand.

"Please step forward Diana," said the president.

"Yes sir," said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer was slowly kneeling down to Diana's eye level and after Diana placed the final medal around her father's neck she gave her daddy a kiss on the forehead just as cameras went off while all the women awwed at the scene.


	48. Paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts on September 30th of 2008. So other than Spencer being back to work for over a week, Bridget's now 13-months-old and Evan is three-months-old.

Spencer just took his brother-in-law his completed paperwork just as his personal cell phone rang as the nearly 27-year-old genius to answer his phone as he made his way towards his desk.

"Shouldn't you be asleep, Clarissa?" asked Spencer.

"I just got Evan back to sleep, and I wanted to see how much longer until your home," said Clarissa.

"I'm about to head to my car, so expect me in an about an hour," said Spencer.

"I'll stay up and heat up tonight's leftover tacos, Spence. Please drive safely, and I love you," said Clarissa.

Spencer reached his desk.

"I'll see you when I get home, and love you too," said Spencer as he hung up.

Emily who was packing up, looked at Spencer.

"Clarissa's waiting up for you?" asked Emily.

"She is," said Spencer.

Morgan smirked at Spencer.

"Clarissa's going to jump you when you get home?" asked Morgan.

Emily got up and walked towards Morgan and slapped his head causing Spencer and everyone else in the bullpen to laugh.

"You really need to stop asking questions like that, Morgan," said Emily.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"I don't ask you if Penelope's going to jump you every time we get home from a case," said Spencer causing Morgan's jaw to drop while everyone who heard Spencer's comeback burst out laughing while Emily held up her hand for a high five.

"Nice one, Reid," said Emily.

Spencer gave Emily a high five just as JJ came down the stairs.

"Hold up, guys," said JJ.

A slightly disappointed Spencer looked at Morgan and Emily.

"Change of plans," said Spencer as JJ reached his desk.

"I'm glad I caught you," said JJ.

Emily looked at JJ's baby bump as she thought about JJ now being in the third trimester.

"Is everything OK?" asked Emily.

"I've been on the phone with a sheriff in Nevada. There's been a series of suspicious accidents In the Reno area that may be connected," said JJ.

Morgan sat down and sighed.

"JJ, this can't wait till morning?" asked Morgan.

"I don't think so. If I'm right about this, I think we'll be leaving first thing tomorrow. Sorry," said JJ before walking away.

Spencer gave Emily and Morgan a grim smile before he followed JJ up the stairs as he sent Clarissa a text message.

ITS GOING TO PROBABLY BE TWO HOURS UNTIL I GET HOME BECAUSE I'LL BE LEAVING FOR ANOTHER CASE FIRST THING IN THE MORNING. ~ SR

A few minutes later Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, JJ, Emily, and Rossi were in the conference room looking at a picture that JJ pulled up.

"Three nights ago outside of Reno, this car was hit by a tractor trailer," said JJ.

"Any survivors?" asked Morgan.

"The truck driver walked away unharmed. Jonathan and Rebecca Gallen, the passengers in the car, were DOA. When the local sheriff arrived on the scene, he noticed several things no blood spatter inside the car. No seat belt burns. No lacerations from the air bags," said JJ.

Spencer decided to voice everyone's thought.

"They we dead before the accident," said Spencer.

"The autopsy confirmed that and the cause of death. Blunt force head trauma and evidence of rape and torture to the woman," said JJ.

"The unsub wasn't very successful at hiding the fact that he murdered two people," said Hotch.

"There's a chance he has gotten away with it before. After I spoke to the sheriff, I had Garcia look into any similar accidents near the California, Nevada border," said JJ as she pulled up new photos, "She found two with a similar MO in the past couple of weeks. Both were couples, in a car, hit by a tractor trailer," said JJ.

"It's always a man and a woman stopped right in the middle of the road," said Morgan.

Emily looked at the file in front of her.

"It's always at night on a remote highway," said Emily.

"It can't be a coincidence the victim type and this very specific MO are the same in all three cases," said Rossi.

"Was Garcia able to find any connection between them?" asked Hotch.

"One thing they have in common is that they all disappeared for 48 hours prior to the accidents," said JJ.

"We know what he does to his victims during that time," said Rossi.

"We just need to figure out where he finds them," said Hotch.

xxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was placing a platter filled with pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon onto the kitchen island just as familiar little footsteps ran into the kitchen causing him to grin.

"Hi Diana," said Spencer.

"Your home daddy," said Diana as she rushed towards her daddy and hugged him.

Spencer sighed sadly.

"Not for long because I'm flying to Reno, Nevada this morning," said Spencer.

Diana sighed as she looked at her daddy.

"When you get home, can we go to the library?" asked Diana.

"We can," said Spencer just as Clarissa entered the kitchen with Evan, "Good morning," said Spencer.

Bridget threw her hands into the air causing a piece of banana to fall onto the floor.

"Mama," said Bridget.

"I was wondering where Bridget was," said Clarissa as she placed Evan into his baby seat as she grabbed a wipe and started to clean Bridget up a bit, "You are all sticky from the banana and cheerios, young lady," said Clarissa.

Bridget grinned at her mommy as she showed off the teeth that already came in as she held out a piece of a banana.

"No thank you, Bridget," said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "I know that you woke up so you could sneak in a run before breakfast, but why is Bridget already up?" asked Clarissa.

"I peeked into the kids bedrooms before leaving, and Bridget was already awake. So after changing her diaper, I decided to take her running with me," said Spencer before smiling at his baby boy who was in his baby seat, "I'll take you running with me next spring, tadpole," said Spencer as he made funny faces at his son.

Evan laughed causing Spencer and Clarissa to gasp.

"What?" asked Diana.

Spencer who was now cutting up a pancake into small pieces for Bridget looked at his oldest.

"Evan just laughed for the first time, bumble bee," said Spencer as he reached out and wiped the tear that was falling from Clarissa's face.

"Oh," said Diana just as Lucy entered the house with a jug of orange juice from the nearest gas station.

"We should eat the yummy breakfast that your daddy and I made together before you and mommy leave for school and daddy leaves for work," said Lucy.

"OK," said Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Lucy were eating their breakfast when Diana looked at her daddy.

"Have you ever been to Reno?" asked Diana.

"Aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon for camping trips near Lake Tahoe," said Spencer.

"When can we go camping again?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at each other before Spencer looked at Diana.

"Since we haven't gone on a family camping trip since you were two, I promise you that we'll take Bridget and Evan on their first camping trip next year," said Spencer.

Diana gave her daddy a beaming smile that showed off her dimples.

"Thank you, daddy," said Diana.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Why don't we both make arrangements for our camping trip to happen during Father's Day weekend next year?" asked Clarissa.

"That time will be perfect," said Spencer.

"With your birthday happening next week Thursday, I'm planning that we have a date night next week Saturday, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I assume that you want to go dancing since my doctor gave me the all clear last week?" asked Spencer.

"We haven't gone to our church's monthly swing night since finding out that we were expecting Bridget, so hopefully your home so we can   
attend the fundraiser," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled as he thought about their church holding a swing night on the second Saturday of each month that's open for the public and the money that's raised helps buys groceries for the church's soup kitchen.

"I'll be able to make it because next week is a paperwork week for your brother, the team and me while the jet goes through yearly maintenance," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"I want to use my allowance to take you to the movies next week Saturday afternoon, daddy," said Diana.

"What G rated or PG rated movie are you going to take me to see?" asked Spencer.

"Beverley Hills Chihuahua"," said Diana.

"Its a date," said Spencer.

xxxxx

Over 90 minutes later Spencer was sitting next to JJ on the jet while JJ placed bulky headphones over her stomach.

"JJ?" asked Emily.

"It's so the baby can't hear," said JJ.

"What's he listening to?" asked Emily.

"Beethoven," said JJ as she adjusted her iPod.

Spencer thought about all three times Clarissa was pregnant.

"When something was talked about that neither Clarissa or I wanted the kids to hear during Clarissa's three pregnancies, we played Mozart and recordings I made of myself reading out loud," said Spencer before becoming serious as he looked at JJ, "But be careful to limit his exposure to one hour a day. Amniotic fluids have a tendency to amplify sound," said Spencer.

"Thanks for the reminder, Doc," said JJ as she clapped Spencer on the knee before becoming serious, "OK, so, all three crashes were on highways outside of Carson City, Lake Tahoe and Reno," said JJ.

"All cities with a large and diverse, transit population. Not to mention the thousands of locals mixing with seasonal workers," said Emily.

"An endless pool of victims to chose from," said Rossi.

Hotch who was reading some files continued to read them as he spoke.

"Rebecca Gallen was beaten badly. Ribs broken ante-mortem. He'd need time and privacy to do this," said Hotch.

"That would suggest the killer either lives or works in the area," said Spencer.

"He's going to such extremes to try and hide the murders. Maybe he has a connection to the victims," said Morgan.

Rossi looked at JJ.

"What does the press know?" asked Rossi.

"All media outlets are reporting an accident," said JJ.

"One thing going for us, the killer has no idea we know," said Emily.

"That helps us. JJ, when we land, would you explain to Sheriff Bruner and his deputies How important it is to keep this quiet?" asked Hotch.

"Got it. If the unsub finds out we're here, all bets are off. He could change his MO or just pick up and find his victims somewhere else," said   
Hotch.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"I'm wondering if you guys would like to attend Swing Night at my church next week Saturday because Clarissa and I are going as a way to celebrate my birthday," said Spencer.

"Swing night?" asked Morgan.

"On the second Saturday of each month the church that Clarissa, the kids, and I attend holds a monthly spaghetti dinner and Swing Night that's open to their members and the public as a way for teenagers and adults have fun on a Saturday night without going to a bar or club. It costs $10 per a person to attend and the money that's raised is used to stock up on groceries for the church's soup kitchen," said Spencer.

"You can swing dance?" asked JJ.

Spencer nodded.

"When Clarissa was able to join me in Cambridge, she came up with the idea about us taking a weekly dance class where we learned how to swing dance, jive, and do the jitterbug together as one of the activities we done together as a way to keep our promise on trying out new activities outside of our comfort zones. We had a lot of fun learning those dances that we made sure to have a few songs that were great for swing dancing play during our wedding reception," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "Speaking of trying new activities together, Clarissa convinced me that we should take a pottery class together on the weekend of our sixth wedding anniversary to celebrate eight years of friendship," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"When it comes to you and Clarissa both having a lot in common while you two occasionally decide to go outside of your comfort zones and learn how to do something new together, I have a feeling that you two are going to be married to each other for a really long time," said Rossi.

zzzzzz

Spencer was carefully pinning up photos onto the bulletin board when his brother-in-law and JJ joined him.

"First victims, Fritz and Johanna Dietrich, were found ten days ago, visiting from Germany," said Hotch.

Spencer grabbed a pin and walked towards the map that was given to him from his geographical profile.

"Their accident site was on Highway 50 just south of Tahoe," said Spencer as he placed a pin onto the map.

Hotch glanced at the file in his hands before looking at his brother-in-law.

"Second couple, Melissa and Tom Taylor, were from Oregon. They were found on the 267, northeast of Tahoe, not far from the interstate," said Hotch.

Spencer quickly found the location on the map.

"It's right here," said Spencer as he pushed the pin in.

"And the latest victims, Jonathan and Rebecca Gallen, were from Arizona. Their accident occurred between Reno and Carson City on Highway 395," said Hotch as he watched his brother-in-law look at a map that dealt with his home state.

"Right here," said Spencer as he pushed the last pin in.

"All three couples were staying in the area without reservations," said JJ.

Spencer approached his brother-in-law and JJ.

"And the only transactions on their credit cards were from gas stations hundred of miles away," said Hotch.

"The common theme here is no paper trail. If no one can contact them or trace them, they become the perfect victims," said Spencer.

JJ looked at her watch.

"Rebecca Gallen's father is going to be here soon," said JJ.

"I'll talk to him. Maybe he can help us fill in some of the blanks," said Hotch.

xxxxxx

Hotch came over with a marker and drew a circle on the map.

"We have a witness who can put the Gallens at a diner in Sherwood," said Hotch.

Spencer was quickly dialing Garcia's number on the land line.

"So it's possible they were staying close by," said JJ just as Garcia's voice sounded through the speaker.

"I thought you forgot about me. It hurt," whined Garcia.

Spencer thought about the town he hasn't been in since he moved out East.

"Garcia, what information do you have on Sherwood, Nevada?

"Uhh…," said Garcia as she did some typing, "Sherwood. A lovely town that is east of Lake Tahoe near the state line. This area has close to 300 hotels, motels and resorts," said Garcia.

"Garcia, can you send us a list of-," said Hotch before Garcia interrupted.

"Addresses and phone numbers? On its way, kind sir. Anything else I can do you for?" asked Garcia.

"Not for now," said Hotch.

"Thank you, Garcia," said Spencer.

"You, my fine furry friends, are welcome," said Garcia.

Spencer and JJ exchanged amused smiles.

"Remind me to have her drug tested," deadpanned Hotch.

Spencer and JJ held back their laughter at Hotch's joke before JJ became serious.

"So what's our plan?" asked JJ.

"I'll start narrowing down the list," said Spencer.

"Then what?" asked JJ.

"We knock on every door and show pictures of the Gallens," said Hotch.

"That could take days, weeks even," said JJ.

"I know we don't have the manpower, but at this point, what choice do we have?" asked Hotch.

xxxxxx

The next Spencer followed his brother-in-law into the area they were given to look as he looked at JJ.

"Morning, JJ," said Spencer.

"Sorry for the wake-up call," said JJ.

"It's all right. Wasn't sleeping," said Hotch.

"It looks like we've got a possible missing persons," said JJ as she passed Hotch some pictures, "Ian and Abby Corbin were in Reno for the weekend. They were supposed to be home yesterday," said JJ.

"Where's home?" asked Spencer.

"San Luis Obispo," said JJ.

Spencer turned around and looked at his geographical profile.

"They could've driven right through Sherwood," said Spencer.

"They've already been missing a night. His mom's looking after their two kids," said JJ.

Hotch looked at Spencer and JJ.

"Call me when everybody gets here," said Hotch before walking away.

Spencer took a sip of the coffee that his brother-in-law bought him while JJ put her hand to her mouth as she glared at the take out containers.

"What is this? Left-over kung pao chicken? That's disgusting," said JJ as she started to pick up the garbage.

Sheriff Bruner laughed as he started to help JJ clean up.

"What?" asked JJ.

"The smell of Chinese food makes you sick, but you don't even flinch when you look at those pictures," said Sheriff Bruner.

"She's pretty tough," said Spencer as he threw away the last of the garbage.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"Your way tougher than me because your able to work a job like this when your eidetic memory causes you to remember all of these crime scene pictures and the crime scenes you visit," said JJ.

Sheriff Bruner looked at Spencer and noticed his wedding band.

"Do you have any kids?" asked Sheriff Bruner.

Spencer grinned.

"I have a little girl who will be five this December, a daughter who'll be 14-months-old next week, and a three-month-old son," said Spencer before looking at the photos of the missing married couple, "I just hope that we're able to save this couple because I don't want their kids to lose their parents like I did in 1985," said Spencer.

"How old were you?" asked Sheriff Bruner.

"I was four and did you ever hear about the murder of six-year-old Riley Jenkins in 1985 and Riley Jenkin's father accidentally killing another young boy's parents and uncle a few days after he lost his youngest son?" asked Spencer.

Sheriff Bruner's eyes went wide.

"I remember reading about that in the papers," said Sheriff Bruner.

"I was the little boy who lost his parents that night," said Spencer before gesturing to the board, "Cases like this are the reason why I joined the FBI because I wanted to prevent other children from losing their parents like I did," said Spencer before he focused on the files in front of him.

xxxxxx

Spencer was sitting near Sheriff Bruner when Hotch looked at all of the officers in the room.

"Ian and Abby Corbin have already been missing for over 24 hours, which means we may only have until tonight to find them. According to their families, they left Reno yesterday and were planning on stopping somewhere for the night," said Hotch.

"They didn't use a credit card. Unless they travel with a lot of cash, the room wasn't too expensive," said Rossi.

"They were not traveling on the interstate. That eliminates over half of our previous search," said Emily.

"Sounds like we're looking for somebody who works the night shift at a back road motel," said Sheriff Bruner.

"And we think he's most likely in his early to mid-thirties," said Spencer.

Sheriff Bruner looked at the Nevada native.

"Why is that?" asked Sheriff Bruner.

"Abducting couples is an ambitious task. And this guy's had time to perfect his skill," said Spencer.

"He could be older," said Sheriff Bruner.

"Don't get hung up on his age. That's the hardest thing to predict," said Rossi.

Morgan held up two photos.

"What we do know is females take extensive beatings from him. That, combined with the sexual assault, tells us he's a violent anger excitation rapist. A sexual sadist like this can't get off unless he's torturing and watching the effects on his victims," said Morgan.

"Part of the torture is psychological. This is another reason he takes couples. Chances are he forces one to watch his power over the other," said Rossi.

"Because only the women suffer sexual torture, he's likely a malignant misogynist. This typically stems from an extreme hatred towards a woman who was relentless in her psychological and physical abuse," said Emily.

"How do you know the dad wasn't the abusive one and he's just continuing the cycle?" asked Sheriff Bruner.

"Only a woman could make him hate women this much," said Emily.

"The idea of the "terrible mother" is best illustrated in world mythology by the negative aspects of the great mother. Instead of nurturing her children, she destroyed him," said Spencer.

"And given this upbringing, it's highly unlikely he'd ever been in a relationship, let alone been married," said Hotch.

"And since he works in the service industry, he's forced to deal with a lot of people. So he can probably hide his aversion to women until he gets them behind closed doors," said Morgan.

"With that said, we shouldn't rule out anyone with prior offenses toward women," said Rossi.

"Given the amount of time he spends with his victims, he requires a great deal of privacy. He may even utilize an ATV to get away from the accident sites, so the property may back up onto an off-road trail. We should therefore concentrate on the most remote motels first. Thank you," finished Hotch.

xxxxx

Spencer was refining his geographical profile when a tired JJ was leaning against the board.

"It's already dark, and we've barely gotten through half of the motels," said JJ tiredly.

"Maybe he's not in the remote areas," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"You think he's hiding in the middle of everything?" asked Hotch.

"Maybe," said Spencer.

"Let's go," said Hotch as he started to walk away with Sheriff Bruner just as Emily approached them.

"Wait. Guys?" asked Emily causing Hotch and Sheriff Bruner to stop, "Garcia found a connection between a motel handyman and Rebecca Gallen. They went to high school together. So, I thought maybe he was connected to other victims. It turns out he's not, but there's something else that all of the women have in common," said Emily as she pointed at a picture of Rebecca, "Rebecca Gallen was found in a bra, t-shirt, skirt and flip flops. Johanna Dietrich in a dress and sandals. Melissa Taylor was wearing a bra, tank top, and jeans. None of them were wearing underwear," said Emily.

"How do you know it was taken?" asked Spencer.

"Because they all packed it in their bags, But none were wearing it during the collisions. He leaves his victims in a car without their   
underwear and waits for them to be hit. A violent collision of metal against flesh. It's like the accidents are the final rape. This sexual aspect didn't show up over night this is something he's been building up to," said Emily causing Hotch to look at the board.

xxxxx

Spencer was sitting at the conference table while Sheriff Bruner paced a bit.

"So this guy sees these collisions as some kind of rape?" asked Sheriff Bruner.

"We know that an underwear fetish typically begins in adolescence with peeping in neighbors' windows," said Spencer.

"When that no longer satisfies them, they'll burglarize homes and start taking the object that arouses them," said Morgan.

"If they get away with that long enough, they become more confident. Then the object becomes he woman wearing it. That's when rape can occur," said Rossi.

"The one constant is they always take the underwear as a souvenir," said Emily.

"Is it possible a pervert like this has ever been arrested?" asked Sheriff Bruner.

"There's a good chance a serial sex offender with an underwear fetish has been caught before," said Hotch just as Garcia's voice sounded through the phone.

"Right again, Agent Hotchner," said Garcia.

"What is it, Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"For the last two days I've been searching through VICAP for similar rapes and murders in cases that are still open. That has yielded me diddly squat. So I regrouped. I looked at some pictures of baby pandas and Dr. Reid's adorable children," said Garcia while Spencer smiled and shook his head, "I went back I and I started searching for similar rapes and murders in cases that had been solved. OK?" asked Garcia.

"What did you find?" asked Emily.

"Five months ago this guy named Clint Barnes is convicted of 5 rapes that have been 30 miles away in Selbyville. Now, what's interesting and by interesting I also mean icky and sad and wrong, is that Mr. Barnes only stole the undergarment of his last victim and she was beat in exactly the same manner as our current victims. And she was the only one who died," said Garcia.

"The first four showed no sign of torture?" asked JJ.

"According to statements made by the survivors, yes. Some questions about his performance, things like, "did you enjoy it?"" asked Garcia.

"That sounds like a power reassurance rapist. That doesn't fit his last crime at all," said Spencer.

Emily shook her head.

"The last victim wasn't his," said Hotch while his team looked at him, "It was our unsub's," said Hotch.

xxxxxx

Sheriff Bruner came over with a few boxes.

"Files rushed over from the DA's office," said Sheriff Bruner as he placed the boxes onto the table.

"How many suspects did the have in the Selbyville case?" asked Morgan as files were passed around.

Spencer who quickly read the top page looked at his teammates and Sheriff Bruner.

"Let's see. Including Clint Barnes, Says they had about 10 other men who looked good for it. Brought in double that for questioning," said Spencer.

"JJ, cross-reference these names of suspects. See if you get a match with people we still need to talk to in Sherwood," said Hotch as he passed files to JJ.

"You got it," said JJ.

Sheriff Bruner looked at JJ.

"You can us my office," said Sheriff Bruner as JJ walked away.

Emily looked at the file in her hands.

"Almost all these guys had criminal records," said Emily.

"Offenses range from spousal abuse, sex crimes, molestation and attempted rape," said Morgan.

Spencer started to pass out files to officers who were nearby.

"Our unsub is using brutal, physical force and extreme violence. Look for somebody who's angry and hostile towards his victims," said Spencer.

"Look for an intellectual component. This guy used the MO of another rapist To make sure the wrong person went to jail for his crimes," said Rossi.

"The Selbyville police talked to our unsub. He looked good for these crimes. He's in here somewhere," said Hotch.

xxxxx

Hotch opened up a file as he addressed Garcia on the phone.

"All right, Garcia, let's try again," said Hotch.

"Go for it," said Garcia.

Hotch looked at the file he had on Floyd Henson.

"Name's Floyd Henson. Lived and worked in Sherwood his entire life. Went to jail at 25 for breaking and entering," said Hotch.

"Our friend got caught red-handed with some bloomers charged with attempted rape. Jerk served time, got out a year ago," said Garcia.

"His last known address is at the Crest Cottages," said Hotch as he looked at JJ, "JJ, the list of hotels and motels we went to. I interviewed   
the manager there. His name was Dryden, right?" asked Hotch.

JJ looked at the list.

"Employee records say Wayne Dryden was fired from the crest cottages six months ago. The only employee now is the owner... Floyd Hansen," said JJ.

Hotch looked at his team and motioned Spencer, Emily, Morgan, Rossi, and Sheriff Bruner to follow him.

"Let's go. I know where we're going. JJ, tell Garcia we'll call her from the car," said Hotch.

xxxxxx

Spencer was sitting in the backseat of the SUV that his brother-in-law was driving while his brother-in-law looked at Rossi.

"I should've taken my own advice and gotten some rest," said Hotch.

"Hotch, we've talked to so many people. It could've been any of us," said Rossi just as Spencer's phone rang.

Spencer quickly pulled out his phone and saw that it was Garcia as he answered his phone.

"Hello? Hello?" asked Garcia.

Spencer placed his phone by his mouth.

"Do you hear me, Garcia?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah, that's better. I can sort of hear you. So, like I was saying, It looks like Floyd Hansen didn't even have a chance. His mother drank   
herself to death when he was two. Father remarried but to a prostitute," said Garcia.

"Where's his father now?" asked Hotch.

"He died six months ago. Floyd inherited the crest cottages from-," said Garcia just as static started to sound over the phone.

"Garcia?" asked Spencer as he realized that the reception was bad, "We lost her. Timeline fits. He gets out of jail a year ago, he's on good   
behavior for a few months. But the urges are too strong, rapes and kills a woman, but he's smart enough to blame it on another guy," said Spencer.

"His father dies, he inherits all the privacy, control and victims he could ever need," said Rossi.

xxxxx

Spencer, Morgan, Rossi, Emily, and Sheriff Bruner gathered around Hotch.

"There are 10 cabins on 10 acres. There are maps outside the office. He's got a lot of privacy. There's a garage, there's the sheds, there's stables…," said Hotch as he pointed at their surroundings.

"Why not keep them in one of the cabins?" asked Emily.

"We're going to have to check everything," said Hotch.

Rossi pulled out his gun as he nodded at Spencer and Sheriff Bruner.

"We'll look in here," said Rossi.

"OK. Morgan, Prentiss this way," said Hotch as he gestured them to follow him.

A few minutes later Spencer was going through the office with Rossi and Sheriff Bruner when Spencer found newspaper articles in a drawer.

"He's been following the investigation," said Spencer.

Rossi held up a bag of underwear.

"He's been at this longer than we thought," said Rossi.

xxxxxx

Spencer stood with Rossi when Emily joined them.

"Well, roadside motels definitely go on my list of things to never do again," said Emily.

Spencer smirked.

"Clarissa and I both have a list of activities we don't want to do together again too and I'm going to tell her that I'm no longer staying at roadside motels anymore," said Spencer.

"Probably a good idea," said Rossi just as Morgan approached them.

"It's going to take a while to get this mess cleaned up," said Morgan.

Emily thought about the state she found Abby and Ian in.

"Well, it's going to take a hell of a lot longer for that couple to recover," said Emily as she removed her earwig and looked at Spencer, "Please give me an example of an activity that you and Clarissa are never doing together again," said Emily.

"When Clarissa and I went to the Bahamas for our honeymoon, Clarissa signed us up for shark diving. I reluctantly gave in, and we both only lasted a minute in the water because we were both freaked out at the amount of sharks," said Spencer.

xxxx

 

The next afternoon Spencer was laying on the living room floor on his back with a sleeping Evan on his chest with his right arm protecting Evan while a sleeping Bridget curled into his left side with his left arm wrapped around her while Lucy who was sitting on the couch shook her head.

"Even though you surprised Bridget and Evan this morning, I can't wait to see the looks on Clarissa's and Diana's faces when they realize your home," whispered Lucy.

"I can't wait too," whispered Spencer just as Clarissa and Diana entered the house causing Spencer to smile sheepishly at his wife and oldest daughter, "Bridget and Evan are both sleeping, so please be quiet," said Spencer softly.

"OK," whispered Diana as she kicked off her shoes before making her way towards her daddy and younger siblings.

A few seconds later Diana was laying down on the right side of her daddy on the floor with her head resting on her father's stomach before she instantly fell asleep.

"I guess someone had a tiring day at school," whispered Spencer.

Clarissa nodded as she took a picture with her phone.

"You didn't think of telling me that you'll be home today?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smirked.

"I like seeing the looks on yours and the kids faces," whispered Spencer.

"Then I'll make sure to surprise you tonight," said Clarissa as she got onto the floor and took Evan from Spencer just as Evan woke up, "I bet you were really excited when daddy came home," whispered Clarissa.

Evan gave his mommy a big grin causing Spencer and Clarissa to smile at each other before the family of five took an hour long nap together before Spencer supervised Diana as the oldest Reid child worked on her homework while Clarissa and Lucy cooked dinner together.


	49. Spencer Turns 27 & Catching Out Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts on October 9th of 2008 and here's a warning that the F bomb is said in this chapter.

Spencer woke up to hearing Clarissa whispering to the kids causing him to close his eyes and a few seconds later he woke up to being peppered with kisses by Diana and Bridget. As soon as he had his glasses on, he gave his daughters each a kiss before he wrapped his arms around Diana and Bridget while he smiled at Clarissa who had Evan strapped in a baby carrier across her chest.

"What's with the wake-up call?" asked Spencer.

Diana kissed her daddy's cheek causing Bridget to mimic her big sister's actions.

"Did you forget that it's your birthday, daddy?" asked Diana.

"No," said Spencer.

"Happy birthday, daddy," grinned Diana.

"Dada," said Bridget.

"Ahhh" screeched nearly four-month-old Evan.

Clarissa leaned down and kissed her husband.

"Happy birthday, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer gave his baby boy a quick kiss before Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I decided that we should go out for breakfast before you head to Georgetown University for your guest lecture while Diana and I head to school, so why don't you hurry up and get dressed so we can meet our reservations at our favorite diner," said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am," said Spencer as he released Diana and Bridget as he gave his two little girls one more kiss, "Why don't you two go downstairs with mommy and Evan so I can quickly get dressed for my guest lecture with grandma Alex," said Spencer.

"OK daddy," said Diana before grinning at her daddy, "I get out of school before lunch today because of teachers having meetings," said Diana.

"I know, and your uncle Aaron gave me the rest of the day off after my lecture because of my birthday and you having a half day at school today," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

While Spencer was off at Georgetown University to give his godmother's students a guest lecture on his part on catching The Angel Maker copycat; Hotch, JJ, Emily, Garcia, Morgan, and Rossi were sitting in the conference room when Garcia looked at Hotch.

"Do you know if Reid has any suspicion about the surprise party that Clarissa arranged?" asked Garcia.

"Not at all," said Hotch before looking at his teammates, "But Clarissa stated that there will be no alcoholic beverages allowed while there are children present at Spencer's surprise birthday party," said Hotch firmly.

Everyone nodded before Hotch smiled a bit.

"I told Reid that he should take the day off because of his birthday and I also got the all clear for us to leave the office at 3 PM today," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxx

Later on that day at 4:30 PM, Clarissa was cutting vegetables for some kabobs for their cookout when Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Can you please stop at the grocery store and pick up more diapers for Bridget and Evan?" asked Clarissa.

"I can," said Spencer.

Lucy who was seasoning chicken and steak grabbed the small grocery list that she made and passed it to Spencer.

"Can you please pick up these groceries for me?" asked Lucy.

"Sure," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"I need new pencils and erasers for school, daddy," said Diana.

"I'll get you some new pencils, Diana," said Spencer.

At that moment Clarissa had a clumsy moment and dropped the knife she was using onto the floor.

"Fuck," said Clarissa.

A wide-eyed Diana who was eating some pineapple and zucchini slices looked at her daddy.

"Mommy said a bad word, daddy," said Diana seriously.

Spencer nodded.

"I know," said Spencer seriously.

Bridget who was in her high chair munching on some small pieces of bananas accidentally dropped a slice of banana onto the floor before she looked at the slice on the floor.

"Uck," said Bridget.

Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy's eyes went wide as they realized what word Bridget was attempting to say.

"Oh my goodness," said Clarissa as she placed her hands over her mouth.

"Bridget attempted to say a bad word, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer grinned as he realized that Diana's language skills were becoming more advanced everyday.

"I know, bumblebee," said Spencer before looking at his wife, "Now we're really gonna need to be careful about what we say around Bridget because our 14-month-old daughter just tried to say the swear word you just said, Clarissa," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I know, Spence," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband, "You better get going because I want to start cooking at 5:30 PM," said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am," said Spencer as he went to collect his car keys.

As soon as Clarissa heard Spencer's car pull out of the driveway, she quickly sent a mass text out to her brothers, her husband's teammates, Sarah, and a few neighbors.

SPENCE HAS LEFT THE HOUSE TO PICK UP SOME GROCERIES AND A FEW OTHER THINGS. SO HURRY ON OVER FOR SPENCE'S SURPRISE PARTY AND DON'T FORGET TO PARK ON THE NEXT BLOCK OVER. ~ CR

As soon as Clarissa put down her phone, she looked at Lucy.

"We might as well finish up preparations and get the kids dressed before we dress up ourselves," said Clarissa.

xxxxxx

An hour later Spencer entered the house and raised his eyebrows as he noticed no one in the too quiet house. After putting away the groceries and searching the house, he headed to the back patio door that had the blinds pulled and opened it. A few seconds later his eyes went wide when he saw a table that contained side dishes, a table that contained gifts, and a table that contained presents before he noticed Clarissa, his kids, Haley, Jack, Sean, his teammates, Will, Gideon, his godparents, a few neighbors, Elizabeth Prentiss, Ethan, Elle, Elle's fiance Jerry, Elle's six-month-old daughter Brooklyn, the Barry family all wearing party hats while standing underneath a banner that  
said HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPENCER AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY! all looked at him.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPENCER!" shouted everyone while Diana said daddy, Bridget said Dada, and Jack said uncle Spencer.

"You guys," choked Spencer.

Clarissa made her way towards her husband and placed a party hat on his head.

"You like the surprise birthday party I arranged?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded as a few tears started to come out of his eyes as he hugged his wife causing Clarissa to wipe them.

"After you and Emily were held hostage together nearly two months ago, I decided that we needed to do something big to celebrate both yours and Emily's birthdays since your birthdays are a few days apart," said Clarissa before she grabbed her husband's tie and pulled him into a kiss as their tongues fought for dominance.

20 seconds into the kiss, both Morgan and Sean let out loud wolf whistles before Sean who was covering up a giggling Diana's eyes looked at his sister and brother-in-law.

"SAVE THE MAKE OUT SESSIONS UNTIL AFTER WE'RE ALL GONE AND YOUR KIDS ARE IN BED BECAUSE THERE ARE CHILDREN PRESENT!" shouted Sean.

Spencer and Clarissa blushed as they pulled apart.

"Hi," said Clarissa.

"Hi," said Spencer.

"We'll revisit that later, Spence," whispered Clarissa.

Spencer nodded before he reluctantly accepted hugs and handshakes from all of his guests.

xxxxxxx

A few minutes later Rossi, Gideon, and Lucy decided to start cooking dinner while Clarissa decided to start playing the playlist on her iPod that was playing child-friendly music when Spencer looked at Clarissa as the song "You Can't Hurry Love" by Phil Collins started to play through the speakers.

"Do you want to show off our swing dancing skills, Clarissa?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa laughed.

"Yes," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer was on the backyard deck with Clarissa leading his wife in a swing dance causing a few other people to join them on the dance floor whether if they knew how to swing dance or not.

When the song was over Morgan shook his head as he looked at Spencer and Clarissa who were both grinning in each other's arms.

"Those were some sweet moves," said Morgan as he thought about how Spencer lifted up Clarissa for a few moves and guided her in a couple of flips.

"Spence's eidetic memory really helped us excel in the dance lessons we took together and it helps that carrying three children around and the working out that we do together help Spence's upper arm strength," said Clarissa as she squeezed her blushing husband's bicep before she and Spencer decided to focus on dancing to the song "Rockin' Robin" that started to play.

xxxxxxx

Meanwhile, by the grill, Gideon smiled a bit as he watched a laughing Spencer flip a laughing Clarissa on the dance floor before they got back into formation for swing dancing.

"Are they still trying new things together?" asked Gideon.

Lucy looked towards where Spencer and Clarissa were dancing.

"They are and I don't mind watching the Bambini when they go out and try something new," said Lucy.

Gideon watched a laughing Spencer spin Clarissa before pulling her back into formation.

"Hopefully their jobs will never cause their marriage to fail," said Gideon.

xxxxx

After dancing a few more songs, Spencer looked towards the area where Haley and Diana were teaching Bridget and Jack how to kick a soccer ball into the makeshift goal that Haley set up.

"I'm going to grab Diana and Bridget for a dance," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked towards where a heavily pregnant JJ was sitting with Will as JJ held Evan.

"I'll grab Evan for a dance," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer was looking at his two daughters.

"What do you two say about sharing a dance with daddy?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Diana.

"Yes," said Bridget.

Less than a minute later Spencer had Bridget on his hip while Diana who was standing on her daddy's feet held his free hand and the arm that supported Bridget as he danced with his daughters while Clarissa dance nearby while holding a giggling Evan while "I'll be There" by Jackson 5 played.

xxxxxxxx

Over an hour later, Spencer was sitting at the head of the table with Diana on his lap while he supported Bridget on his shoulders when Clarissa who had Evan in a baby carrier across her chest came over with a birthday cake with two lit candles that spelled 27 on top of the cake.

"Make a wish, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer turned his head and gave Clarissa a kiss on the lips while Garcia quickly took the opportunity to take a picture while Diana, Bridget, and Evan all grinned at their parents' actions. After Spencer and Clarissa broke apart, Clarissa looked at Garcia as she removed Bridget from her father's shoulders.

"Please tell me you got a good picture," said Clarissa.

"I sure did," said Garcia as she quickly showed the picture.

Clarissa smiled at the sight of Diana, Bridget, and Evan all smiling as she kissed her husband in the picture.

"I'm so putting a copy on my desk at work," said Clarissa as she showed her husband the picture.

"Me too," said Spencer.

"Can we please sing "Happy Birthday" now, mommy?" asked Diana.

"OK," laughed Clarissa as she started to sing "Happy Birthday" while everyone else sans Bridget and Evan joined in before Spencer closed his eyes and blew out the candles.

After Spencer blew out the candles for his cake, another birthday cake was brought out so Emily could have a turn blowing out some candles for her birthday cake so everyone could eat their share of birthday cake.

xxxxxx

A few hours later, Spencer entered the master bedroom and gulped when he saw Clarissa wearing nurse themed lingerie as she held up a plate of leftover birthday cake.

"Are the kids still asleep?" asked Clarissa seductively.

Spencer nodded as he gazed at his wife's body.

"I have plans for you, doctor. So please get in bed," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Clarissa was straddling her husband in bed as she fed him some birthday cake.

xxxxxxxx

Two days later, Spencer and Diana were leaving the movie theater together when Diana who was holding her daddy's hand looked up at her daddy.

"What did you think of the movie, daddy?" asked Diana.

"I liked it and I promise you that mommy and I will buy the DVD when it comes out so we can watch it with mommy, Bridget, and Evan," said Spencer.

"Can we please go to the American Girl store and get some new clothes for my Mia St. Clair doll and buy a new American Girl book?" asked Diana.

Spencer shook his head as he thought about how he and Clarissa have introduced Diana to the American Girl franchise earlier in the year when they found out about the current girl of the year Mia St. Clair because of Mia loving figure skating like Diana while they're slowly introducing Diana to another American Girl character and the books to go with the character.

"We sure can, but after our trip to the American Girl store, mommy and I have to get ready for our date night," said Spencer.

"OK daddy," said Diana.

A minute later Spencer was helping Diana strap herself into the backseat of Clarissa's SUV before he climbed into the driver's seat of the SUV and sent Clarissa a text.

DIANA ASKED ME TO TAKE HER TO THE AMERICAN GIRL STORE, SO I'M GOING TO TAKE DIANA THERE. ~ SR

A few seconds later Clarissa replied.

OK. ~ CR

xxxxx

Four days later Spencer was fixing himself a cup of coffee while Morgan explained the encounter that he and Garcia had at the base's coffee shop. When Morgan was finished, Spencer looked at Morgan.

"So wait, she knew yours and Garcia's name?" asked Spencer.

"I don't know how I could forget a face like hers and I had to order Penelope not to hack into the coffee shop's security cameras when we got here and run her face through facial recognition programs," said Morgan.

Spencer started to stir his coffee as he made his way towards the stairs that led them to the conference room with Morgan and Emily following him.

"You've been with so many girls before becoming engaged to Garcia that you can't remember all their names?" asked Spencer.

Emily scoffed as she noticed the mischief sparkle showing in Spencer's eyes as he glanced at Morgan.

"Oh, come on, are you surprised?" asked Emily.

"This has never happened to me before," said Morgan.

Spencer started to climb the stairs up to the conference room.

"It hasn't happened to me before either," said Spencer.

"Well, it can't happen to you. You have an eidetic memory," said Emily.

"Besides, you only got your wife's name to remember," said Morgan.

Spencer smirked as he nodded at his brother-in-law and Rossi.

"At least I took the chance of asking Clarissa out on a date after knowing her for two weeks while it took you over three and a half years to ask Garcia out," said Spencer.

Emily, JJ, and Rossi laughed while Hotch's lips twitched up a bit at his brother-in-law's comeback.

"Nice one, Reid," said Emily as she held out her hand for a high five that Spencer returned before JJ became serious while everyone sat down.

"OK. Six victims have been killed in a series of burglar/homicides all over central California. In order... Bakersfield, Fresno, Chico and, two nights ago, Alan and Brenda Paisley in Sacramento," said JJ.

"Big area. Are we sure it's the same unsub?" asked Rossi.

"His DNA was found in all the homes," said JJ.

"They hadn't connected it because he crossed jurisdictional lines," said Hotch.

"The head of the Sacramento field office has established a multi-agency task force and he wants us to run point," said JJ.

Morgan looked at the list of names.

"Looks like we got a lot of investigators on this one," said Morgan.

"We'll streamline it if we need to," said Hotch.

JJ took a deep breath as she got ready to say something that no one would like.

"You should know that they've already named him the ""Highway 99 killer."" said JJ.

Hotch sighed as he thought about the riot act he'll be giving.

"We'll deal with that when we get there," said Hotch.

"He targets 1 to 2-person households. He kills the victims while they sleep," said JJ.

Spencer looked at the ME report.

"Blunt force trauma with objects found at the home. Multiple bashes to the head," read Spencer.

"After he kills the victims, he ransacks the homes for valuables," said JJ.

"Which is not unusual for a nighttime burglary-homicide," said Hotch as JJ pulled up some more pictures, "What's unique about this unsub is that after he kills them, apparently he sits down to dinner in their homes. They found his DNA all over the food and the table," said Hotch.

"Are these burglaries that turned into homicides or homicides that turned into burglaries?" asked Rossi.

"Between the two offenses, it seems the primary motivation is homicide. Otherwise, he would have just stolen the items and fled," said Morgan.

"But he stays there for hours. He eats their food, he tries on their clothes, he showers, he even sleeps in their beds," said JJ.

"It's like Goldilocks became a serial killer," scoffed Emily.

JJ showed another picture.

"They've got plenty of DNA, but they found no fingerprints," said JJ.

"He doesn't take their cars. So, how does he get there?" asked Emily.

JJ shook her head.

"No witness reports of strange cars on the street," said JJ.

"No prints, no gun, no noise, no car, no witnesses. This all adds up to prior experience," said Rossi.

"There's a record on him somewhere," said Spencer.

"And until we find it, he's moved on to another town," said Hotch.

"Which could be anywhere," sighed Emily.

A few seconds later Hotch gave a departure time while Spencer looked at Emily.

"When it comes to you bringing up Goldilocks as a serial killer, I'm now going to be thinking about this case every time I read "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" to Diana, Bridget, and Evan," said Spencer as he pulled out his personal phone and sent Clarissa a text message.

I'M GOING TO SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU, DIANA, BRIDGET, AND EVAN. ~ SR

xxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on the couch getting a head start on a geographical profile when JJ looked at him.

"So, four homes in about five weeks. The first one at the beginning of September in Bakersfield. Then Fresno a week later. Chico eight days after that," said JJ.

Spencer drew some lines on his geographical profile.

"Then he changes direction, heads south to Sacramento at the end of September," said Spencer.

"These crime scenes are spread out over 400 miles. I mean, how many serial killers move around like that?" asked JJ.

"Not many," said Rossi.

"Of the ones who do, we categorize them into two subgroups. In one model, he's an itinerant homeless person, someone who's been displaced," said Spencer.

"With the second type, their occupation allows them to travel. He could be killing while on business," said Morgan.

"A truck driver make sense?" asked JJ.

Spencer fiddled with the marker he had in his hand.

"Long-haul truck driver Bruce Mendenhall shot his victims and disposed of their bodies at truck stops, across at least four different states," said Spencer.

"But Mendenhall targeted mostly high-risk victims. Prostitutes and hitchhikers, he picked up right off the highway," said Emily.

JJ checked her phone.

"A truck driver's "MO," he'd use his rig for the getaway. Somebody would have noticed a tractor-trailer parked in the neighborhood," said Hotch.

"How about someone in corporate sales? They still travel," said Rossi.

"Or computer professionals. They travel to install software," said Morgan.

"Or someone in real estate. Like a land assessor," said Emily.

"They just discovered a new murder. In Modesto," said JJ.

Spencer quickly added a new plot to his geographical profile.

"He went south again," said Spencer.

"Right, when we land, Reid, JJ and I will go to task force headquarters," said Hotch as he glanced at his fiancee, Morgan, and Rossi,

"The three of you…," said Hotch.

"Modesto," said Rossi.

"We're going to log some miles on this one," warned Hotch just as Spencer's personal phone rang causing Spencer to look at a picture that  
Lucy sent him of Bridget and Evan together.

"I have a new picture of your youngest niece and nephew, Hotch," said Spencer as he passed his phone to his brother-in-law.

Hotch looked at the picture of a grinning Evan wearing a onesie that said I'M FOUR MONTHS OLD TODAY with a smiling 14-month-old Bridget.

"I can't believe that Evan's finally four-months-old while Bridget's 14-months-old," said Hotch.

"Me too," sighed Spencer.

xxxxx

Spencer followed his brother-in-law and JJ towards an agent who made his way towards them.

"I'm Agent Liman," said Agent Liman.

JJ shook hands with Agent Liman.

"Hi, Agent Jareau," said JJ as Agent Liman shook hands with Hotch, "These are Agents Hotchner and Reid," said JJ.

Spencer shook hands with Agent Liman.

"We reserved this room for you," said Agent Liman as he led Spencer, JJ, and Hotch to a conference room.

As soon as they entered the room, Hotch looked at the piece of paper that said TRAVEL PATTERN: "HIGHWAY 99 KILLER".

"Who named him this?" asked Hotch.

"I did," said Agent Liman.

JJ looked at Hotch.

"I'm gonna go get started on that memo," said JJ.

Hotch gave Spencer a look causing Spencer to look at JJ as he thought about not wanting to watch his brother-in-law give a dressing down to an agent.

"I'm gonna help you," said Spencer as he quickly left the room with JJ.

A few minutes later Spencer was standing outside of the conference room while Agent Liman left the room causing him to slowly step into  
the conference room and looked at his brother-in-law.

"How'd he take it?" asked Spencer.

"He'll get over it," said Hotch as he removed the sheet of paper that Agent Liman posted on the board.

"Sometimes I feel like that we have to occasionally give the types of lectures that we give to Diana and Jack to FBI agents and law enforcement when they do something that requires them to be disciplined or we have to be authoritative to our children," said Spencer.

"I agree," said Hotch.

"The first time I had to put Diana and eventually Jack into a timeout it almost killed me. It has gotten easier to discipline Diana and Jack, but it's going to be hard to discipline Bridget and Evan when they're both old enough for timeouts," said Spencer.

"I don't like having to occasionally discipline Jack or Diana too, but we always can't let unacceptable behavior slide," said Hotch.

xxxxx

Spencer's cell phone rang, causing the 27-year-old genius to see that it was Rossi calling as he answered the phone.

"Yeah?" asked Spencer.

"Reid, are you in front of a map?" asked Rossi.

Spencer made his way towards a map.

"Yeah, I am now," said Spencer.

"I think I know how the unsub's getting around. Do you see tracks linking Bakersfield to Sacramento?" asked Rossi.

Spencer looked at the map and realized what Rossi was saying.

"He's hopping trains," said Spencer.


	50. Catching Out Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spencer and Emily will be teasing Morgan about something else in this chapter because of the revelations that are going to be made about Jordan Todd.
> 
> I have it that Jack was born on October 28th of 2005.
> 
> This chapter starts the morning after the last chapter.

Spencer was staring at a map of California as he answered a call from Emily.

"Where are you?" asked Spencer.

"I'm just off Highway 99, the whole drive up from Modesto, all I see are crops. Just rows and rows of crops," said Emily.

"Farmlands. You can't see that from standard road maps," said Spencer.

"The railway track runs parallel to Highway 99 most of the way. I think I'm seeing a lot of what the unsub saw," said Emily.

Spencer drew an invisible circle around Sacramento on the map with his finger.

"Most of central California is one big valley, a flat basin completely surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides, supported by rivers, lakes, and aqueducts. It's ideal for farming," said Spencer.

"Well, I don't know what it gets us, but I think we should at least factor it into the conversation," said Emily.

"I agree," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer had Garcia on the phone.

"Go ahead, guys, I'm listening," said Garcia.

"Garcia, I need you to look into small farm towns all over Central California. Track all unsolved homicides that involved nighttime burglaries In homes within a mile of train tracks," said Spencer.

"Oh, you think there's more?" asked Garcia.

"I don't know," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

After Emily arrived at the field office, Spencer, Hotch, and Emily were standing in front of the clear boards as they faced the agents who came to listen to their profile.

"Let's get started. I'd just like to reiterate that this unsub is not getting around on Highway 99. His travel is linked in close proximity to railway lines," said Hotch firmly.

"He's targeted five homes and killed eight people in six weeks. We're looking for a male, indigent transient between the ages of 25 and 45," said Spencer.

"He's fit enough for the physical demands of train hopping, or "catching out" as they call it," said Emily.

"He'll be bruised from jumping on and off trains. And he might also be beaten up from just defending himself in any kind of turf wars," said Hotch.

"He may look homeless, but he's taking clothing from his victims' homes. So he'll be the only transient on the tracks in clean clothing," said Emily.

"The trains and the rail yards are his home. And when he gets tired of these, he chooses a house to make his own," said Hotch.

"He'll have a pronounced red, dry rash around his mouth and nose, what's commonly referred to as a "sniffer's rash."" said Spencer.

"How do we know that?" asked Agent Liman.

"He takes household cleaners. And we believe he's abusing them as psychoactive inhalants. Nail polish remover, glue, paint thinner, lighter fluid, whatever is the cheapest high available," said Hotch.

"They're referred to as "tollyheads" because they derive a high from sniffing toluene, a chemical solvent. Once inhaled, the effects are felt instantaneously," said Spencer.

"We believe he's living out a fantasy in these homes. The fantasy is that it is his house for the night. He spends hours enjoying the comforts of his victims' homes. Upon leaving, he takes clothing, money, jewelry, and small electronics. If you get close to him, you won't miss him. He will smell like a combination of human filth and paint thinner," said Emily.

xxxxxx

Spencer was watching JJ rub her growing stomach out of the corner of his eye as he focused on a file just as he heard JJ laugh.

"He's kicking a lot today," said JJ.

Spencer grinned as he thought about Clarissa dealing with the third trimester when she was pregnant with Diana, Bridget, and Evan.

"In the third trimester, there's an average of 30 fetal movements per hour. Babies kick to explore movement and strengthen muscle," said Spencer.

"Have you ever told Clarissa that?" asked JJ.

"When she was pregnant with Diana and I didn't repeat that when she was pregnant with Bridget and Evan because we knew what to expect when Clarissa was pregnant with Bridget and eventually Evan," said Spencer before looking at JJ's growing stomach, "May I feel your son kick?" asked Spencer.

"Sure," said JJ.

Spencer placed his hand on JJ's growing stomach and as soon as he felt JJ's son kick he looked at JJ.

"I didn't get to feel Diana kick until Clarissa was 28-weeks pregnant with Diana, and the first couple of kicks freaked me because I thought of the movie "Alien" before I eventually loved feeling Diana and eventually Bridget and Evan kick," said Spencer before shuddering a bit, "Even though I've been used to feeling my kids and nephew kick, feeling your son kick freaks me out a bit," said Spencer.

JJ laughed as her phone started to ring.

"OK," said JJ as she answered her phone while putting it on speaker for Spencer, "Hey, Garcia," said JJ.

"Bad news alert," said Garcia.

"Hold on one second," said Spencer as he flagged down Hotch, Emily, and Agent Liman, "Guys?" asked Spencer.

Hotch, Emily, and Agent Liman came into the room and looked at Spencer and JJ.

"What is it?" asked Hotch.

"I had Garcia look into all unsolved burglary homicides in central California, paying particular attention to small farm towns," said Spencer.

"I found his DNA in three more cities," said Garcia seriously.

"How did I miss this?" asked Agent Liman.

"Small towns don't always link their evidence up to state or national DNA databases," said Spencer.

"It can happen when unsubs cross jurisdictional lines," said Hotch.

"What are the cities, Garcia?" asked Emily

"Tehachapi, Vacaville, and Orange Cove. All farm towns. All super far away from Highway 99," said Garcia.

Agent Liman sighed just as Spencer's personal phone rang causing Spencer to see that it was Lucy causing him to look up at his brother-in-law.

"Its the nanny," said Spencer.

"Go ahead and answer it," said Hotch.

A few seconds later Spencer was standing up as he answered his phone and left the room.

"Is everything OK, Lucy?" asked Spencer.

"Bridget was showing Evan a picture of you while chanting Dada and I already filmed the moment and emailed it to you," said Lucy as she moved her phone away from her ear.

"Dada. Dada. Dada. Dada. Dada," said Bridget.

Spencer smiled as he heard Bridget in the background as shook his head.

"Please put Bridget on then and I'll check my email when I have time," said Spencer.

"Daddy's on the phone, Bridget," said Lucy.

A few seconds later Spencer's face broke into a huge grin when he heard Bridget's voice.

"Hi Dada," said Bridget.

Spencer thought about the nickname he recently gave Bridget.

"Are you really missing me, Cricket?" asked Spencer.

Bridget giggled.

"Yes Dada," said Bridget.

"I'm missing you and your siblings, Cricket," said Spencer.

Bridget started to babble away to her daddy before saying a bunch of words that the 14-month-old toddler mastered just before Spencer heard another baby babble over the phone.

"Is that my little tadpole?" asked Spencer.

"Evan just gave a huge grin," said Lucy.

"I have to get back to work, and I'll try to call Clarissa and Diana as soon as school gets out," said Spencer.

"OK, and I'm sorry that I bothered you while you are on a case," said Lucy.

"It's OK, Lucy. I was already planning on checking in on Bridget and Evan before you called and Aaron told me I could answer my phone," said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Daddy loves you, Bridget. Daddy loves you, Evan," said Spencer.

"I wuv you, Dada," said Bridget.

Evan babbled before Spencer hung up, and a minute later Spencer was back in the conference room causing Hotch to look at his brother-in-law with a concerned look in his eyes.

"Everything OK with Bridget and Evan?" asked Hotch.

"Lucy was telling me about Bridget showing Evan a picture of me while chanting 'Dada', so Lucy thought that Bridget should hear my voice while telling me that she filmed the moment and emailed the video to me," said Spencer.

"How old are Bridget and Evan?" asked Agent Liman.

"Bridget's 14-months-old, Evan's four-months-old, and they also have a big sister named Diana who will be turning five in December," smiled Spencer before looking towards his messenger bag that contained his laptop, "May I take a few minutes to watch the video?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, and I will like to watch the video too," said Hotch.

"Me too," said JJ.

"Me three," said Emily.

A few minutes later Spencer, Hotch, Emily, and JJ were watching the video of Bridget who was holding a framed picture of Spencer walked towards a wide-awake Evan who was sitting in his baby seat while shaking a rattle.

"Dada. Dada. Dada. Dada. Dada. Dada. Dada," said Bridget as she pointed at the picture of her daddy to her baby brother before the feed went black.

"Awww," cooed JJ and Emily.

xxxxxxx

Spencer watched JJ use a file to fan herself as he thought about how Clarissa loved being pregnant while she was pregnant with Diana, Bridget, and Evan even though she hated being pregnant in the summer before he focused on his file.

"Are you considering it?" asked Emily.

Spencer looked up at Emily.

"Considering what?" asked Spencer.

"Having more baby geniuses with Clarissa someday?" asked Emily.

"As soon as Evan is out of diapers," said Spencer quickly just as the land-line in front of him rang causing him to answer the phone and put it on speaker, "Hello?" asked Spencer.

"I've noticed in the cities, including the new ones we've discovered, there's a spike in the sales of certain crops during the time the unsub is  
there. Last week of August, apples in Tehachapi. The first week of September, tomatoes in Bakersfield. The second week of September, fall squashes in Fresno," said Garcia.

"So he's in town for a big harvest," said Emily.

"We have an unsub riding trains town to town during big harvests who doesn't have a car or permanent residence," said Spencer.

"Migrant farm worker," said Emily.

xxxxxx

Spencer was wearing latex-free gloves as he looked at one of the latest crime scenes with Hotch and Emily.

"He left a shirt on his male victim again," said Emily.

"That's not all he left," said Spencer as he crouched down and moved a bloodied trophy and grabbed a newspaper, ""Modesto Couple  
Victims of Highway 99 Killer." This was printed before we released to the press he's using trains to get around," said Spencer as he and  
Emily joined his brother-in-law.

"He's taunting us, telling us he's smarter than we are because we got his mode of transportation wrong," said Emily.

"The more confident he gets, the more he's experimenting with his ritual," said Hotch.

"The first few murders were five to eight days apart. This one was just one day since Modesto. If we don't find him soon…," said Spencer

"Goldilocks will be sleeping in someone else's bed tonight," said Emily.

"Like I said yesterday, I'll always be thinking of this case when I read "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" to my children," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

"This couple is Hispanic. The previous couples were Caucasian. He switched his victim profile," said Emily.

"I don't think he knows or cares what race they were. I think this house was just an easy target," said Hotch just as Spencer's work cell phone rang causing the 27-year-old genius to see that it was JJ.

"Yeah?" asked Spencer.

"So, we got something. Jewelry stolen from the home in Sacramento turned up at a pawn shop in Modesto. Garcia just sent you a picture from the security cam," said JJ.

Spencer quickly pulled up the picture as he noticed a Hispanic man wearing a baseball cap.

"Yeah, I got it," said Spencer as he showed Hotch and Emily the picture.

"Employee said he was about 5'8", slight, late-thirties, dark skin. With a red rash around his mouth," said JJ.

"Circulate the picture, JJ," said Hotch.

"I'm already on it," said JJ.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer followed his brother-in-law and Emily towards a man who was waiting for them.

"I'm Agent Hotchner," said Hotch as he shook hands with Cesar.

"Cesar from the housing authority," said Cesar.

"These are agents Prentiss and Reid," said Hotch.

Emily shook hands with Cesar.

"Good morning," said Emily.

Spencer shook hands with Cesar.

"Good morning," said Cesar.

"Hi," said Spencer.

As soon as Spencer let go, Hotch looked at Cesar.

"Thank you for meeting us here," said Hotch.

Emily pulled a photo out of a manila envelope.

"Does this man look familiar to you?" asked Emily.

Cesar looked at the photo.

"Hard to tell," said Cesar.

"Have you had any complaints in the camps? This man would show disruptive behavior," said Spencer.

"He might be stealing things from other workers, starting fights. He sniffs chemicals to get high," said Hotch.

"Well, our facilities have a zero-tolerance policy. No drinking, no drugs, certainly no violence. Anyone who cannot follow these rules would be kicked out," said Cesar.

xxxxxx

Spencer looked around his surroundings while being grateful that he's still immune to the heat despite living out East for over 14 and a half years.

"Have you kicked anyone out recently?" asked Emily.

"The camps in this area are at full capacity. We have to turn people away," said Cesar.

"Thank you," said Hotch as he shook hands with Cesar.

"Mucho gusto," said Cesar before he walked away.

A few seconds later Spencer, Hotch, and Emily were walking back to their SUV when Hotch looked at his fiancée and brother-in-law.

"If he's pawning the jewelry he's stealing to get money, why is he still working in the fields?" asked Spencer.

"Here's another question. Why is he circling the farm towns at all?" asked Emily.

"There are over 140,000 miles of tracks in this country. He could go anywhere," said Spencer as he leaned against the hood of the SUV.

"But he's still in California," said Emily.

"Something's keeping him here. What is it?" asked Hotch.

xxxxxx

A few minutes later Spencer, Hotch, and Emily were standing underneath the open trunk of the SUV to shield themselves from the sun as Garcia talked to them on Spencer's phone.

"Ok, mini-lesson. Migrants travel and work in these groups and the groups are called cuadrillas. Now, I have found one such cuadrilla that  
was in Chico at the same time as our unsub. And then I checked and they were in Sacramento and Modesto and Vacaville at the same time  
as our unsub as well," said Garcia.

"What about the first town?" asked Spencer.

"I got employment records from the apple farm in Tehachapi. This cuadrilla last worked there two days before Mildred Younce was killed. Now, here's the whammy. An Armando Salinas checked in with this group in Tehachapi. But then, he falls off the map. There's no sign of him in any of the camps," said Garcia.

"Interesting," said Emily.

"Double whammy. Customs and immigration have a rap sheet on him for theft and assault and he's wanted in connection to some  
burglaries," said Garcia.

"There's the record we've been looking for," said Spencer.

"Triple whammy. His fingerprints were one of 17 found at Mildred Younce's house," said Garcia.

"Get us his photo and get JJ to get it out to the media. We're going to need the public's help," said Hotch.

"Sending you his mug," said Garcia while Spencer and Emily looked at the photo on Spencer's phone, "The group that he's been following, they checked into Lockeford early this morning. That's not far from you," said Garcia.

xxxxxx

Because of his rudimentary knowledge in understanding Spanish, Spencer was standing outside of the interview room as he listened to Emily and Ruben talk to each other in Spanish before they switched to English.

"He likes to know where I'm going," said Ruben.

"Why does he have to follow you? Why isn't he with you anymore?" asked Emily.

"He's not a good worker. He got us fired from a big job. My cuadrilla wanted him gone," said Ruben.

"So you kicked him out?" asked Emily.

"Si," said Ruben.

"Your brother has been following you ever since. Burglarizing homes and killing people in every city," said Emily slowly.

Ruben sighed.

"Is that where he gets the money from?" asked Ruben.

"What do you mean?" asked Emily.

"He's been leaving me money at the camps," said Ruben.

"Does he know you're in Lockeford right now?" asked Emily.

"I found this at the camp today," said Ruben as he passed Emily an envelope.

"Just- un momento," said Emily as she got up and left the room and approached Spencer, "The killings started in Tehachapi. I think his brother rejecting him must have been a stressor," said Emily.

"Morgan and Rossi made it here, they're with rail security. Hotch and Liman are patrolling neighborhoods," said Spencer as he passed Emily some forms.

"OK. I think it's time to get these guys going," said Emily as she looked at all of the officers in the room while Spencer worked on passing out forms, "Excuse me. Could we have your attention, please? Everybody? This is Armando Ruis Salinas. He is 38 years old, a Mexican national. We believe he is currently in the vicinity of Lockeford and its outlying towns," said Emily.

"He'll only target homes within a mile of train tracks," said Spencer as he pointed at the map, "You'll be assigned search quadrants," said  
Spencer before he continued to pass out fliers.

"Think the way a burglar would. Pay close attention to houses that have no exterior lights on, no security alarm signs or barking dogs nearby. Let's go," said Emily.

xxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on the ledge while Emily continued her interview with Ruben.

"Are you surprised the police are looking for him?" asked Emily.

"He's my half-brother. I wasn't around for him when he was young. He's been in trouble all his life. Was in jail in Mexico. I thought if he came to work with me, he would change. I'm grateful to work. But Armando hated work. Hated the camps. Always complained he never had a nice bed to sleep on," said Ruben as he took a deep breath before continuing, "When he was a kid, he slept on the floor. In jail, he slept on the floor. All he ever talked about was having a house of his own. A bed to sleep on," said Ruben.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting by a map and a walkie-talkie as he listened to an officer speak on the radio.

"Suspect was seen fleeing the 400 block of pear blossom avenue. All units respond," said a woman while Spencer quickly went through the maps as he contacted Morgan.

"Morgan, that's in your area. I'm gonna send Hotch for back-up," said Spencer before he contacted his brother-in-law.

xxxxx

The next morning Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message.

I'M COMING HOME TODAY, SO I WILL BE HOME IN TIME FOR DINNER. ~ SR

A few minutes later Clarissa replied.

THAT'S GREAT! WHY DON'T YOU INVITE AARON, EMILY, AND THE REST OF THE TEAM OVER FOR DINNER BECAUSE LUCY AND I WERE TALKING ABOUT MAKING HAMBURGERS AND HOT DOGS ON THE GRILL ~ CR

xxxxxxxx

Later on that day at 5 PM, Spencer was walking towards the glass doors with Emily and Morgan while thinking about his brother-in-law having a meeting with Strauss about his kill shot causing Hotch to tell Emily to go home, Garcia was assisting the Red Cell team and told Morgan to go home, and Rossi having a meeting with his editor about a book tour in a couple of months.

"You guys have plans tonight?" asked Spencer as he held open the glass door for Emily and Morgan.

"I was thinking about getting a burger," said Morgan.

"Oh, I could eat," said Emily just as JJ and another woman approached them.

"Oh, hey, guys, I wanted to introduce you to someone. This is Agent Jordan Todd. She'll be taking over for me while I'm on maternity leave," said JJ.

"Agent Jareau's told me so much about you all," said Jordan as she looked at Emily, "You must be Agent Prentiss," said Jordan.

"Yes. Nice to meet you," said Emily as she shook hands with Jordan.

Jordan smiled at Spencer as she and Spencer shook hands.

"Hello again, Dr. Reid," said Jordan.

"Nice to see you again, Jordan," said Spencer.

"You two know each other?" asked JJ.

"Diana was in the same preschool class as my four-year-old twins Allison and Gavin. So there are occasional play dates between Allison, Gavin, and Diana outside of school," said Jordan before looking at Morgan, "And Agent Morgan. Nice to see you again," said Jordan.

"Nice to see you, too. So this must be the good news," said Morgan.

"This would be my brownie," said Jordan.

"You two have met?" asked Emily.

"Briefly and Penelope was wanting to find your face in facial recognition before I ordered her not to," said Morgan.

"I figured that she would want to find out that I was a past girlfriend of yours, but I recently celebrated my nine-year wedding anniversary with my husband," said Jordan.

"Well, Agent Todd comes to us from seven years at counter-terrorism," said JJ.

"I'm really looking forward to working with the Behavioral Analysis Unit," said Jordan.

"We're starting her training now," said JJ.

Spencer looked at JJ and thought about JJ having less than two months left in her pregnancy.

"You're training her right now?" asked Spencer.

JJ rubbed her stomach.

"Well, we're kinda running out of time. So... Let me introduce you to the rest of the team," said JJ.

"Yeah. I'll see you all in the field... Team," said Jordan.

"We're looking forward to it," said Emily.

As soon as JJ and Jordan walked away, Emily's phone vibrated causing her to see a text from Garcia while Morgan walked away from Spencer and Emily.

SIR HOTCH JUST TOLD ME WHAT DEREK DID IN CALIFORNIA, SO CAN YOU PLEASE LET DEREK KNOW THAT HE'S IN TROUBLE WHEN I GET HOME. ~ PG

Emily quickly showed Spencer the text causing both agents to quickly flank Morgan.

"I guess that someone's in trouble with his fiancée for putting himself at risk in California," said Emily in a sing-song voice.

A smirking Spencer looked at Emily while Morgan pressed the down button for the elevator.

"What do you think that Garcia is going to do as punishment?" asked Spencer.

"Most likely have him sleep on the couch," said Emily.

Morgan blushed causing Spencer to smirk.

"Morgan's blushing right now," said Spencer.

Emily smirked.

"I guess that Garcia has her own ways to punish you if you do something stupid in the field," said Emily.

"You know, guys, I don't think I want that burger too much anymore," said Morgan as he quickly went into the elevator and pressed the button to close the door.

"Oh, come on. You can't run from us," said Emily.

"Oh, watch me," said Morgan as he watched Spencer's and Emily's jaws drop while the door closed.

Spencer looked at Emily.

"I guess that your the only one who will accept Clarissa's and my invitation for dinner because Clarissa talked about me cooking burgers on the grill," said Spencer.

Emily grinned.

"I'll definitely come over for dinner," said Emily.

xxxxxx

An hour later Spencer and Emily entered the Reid family home and as soon as Spencer locked his revolver in the safe, he heard footsteps running towards him.

"Daddy!" shouted Diana.

"Dada!" shouted Bridget.

"Bumble-bee! Cricket!" exclaimed Spencer as he bent down and scooted up his two daughters and settled his daughters on his hips, "Daddy missed you, girls," said Spencer as he gave each girl a kiss on the cheek.

"I missed you too, daddy," said Diana.

"I miss you too, Dada," said Bridget just as Evan who was having tummy time with his mother looked up and grinned when he saw his daddy.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh," screeched Evan as he started to scoot across the floor on his stomach.

"Ahhhhhhh," screeched back Spencer.

Evan laughed as he looked down at his arms before getting onto his hands and knees causing Spencer and Clarissa to lock eyes.

"I guess someone's about to start crawling," said Spencer.

Clarissa nodded as she quickly grabbed the video camera and started to record the moment while Emily quickly took Bridget from Spencer before Spencer placed Diana on her feet.

"Come to daddy, tadpole," said Spencer.

Evan gave his daddy a big grin as he started to slowly crawl towards his daddy and as soon as Evan reached his daddy, a teary-eyed Spencer lifted up his son.

"Daddy's so proud of you, tadpole," said Spencer as he gave his son a kiss on the cheek.

Evan grinned at his daddy while Clarissa joined them.

"Mommy's proud of you too," said Clarissa as she took her son from Spencer before looking at her husband, "Welcome home, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I missed you and the kids," said Spencer as he kissed his wife.

"Ewww," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa quickly broke out of their kiss while Spencer quickly scooped up Diana and started peppering her with kisses causing the little girl who would be turning five in over two months to giggle while Clarissa, Bridget, Evan, and Emily all laughed at the sight of Spencer peppering his oldest child with kisses.

"Dadddddddddddddy!" squealed Diana.

"What do you say if you want daddy to stop kissing you?" asked Clarissa.

"Please stop, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer stopped kissing Diana and smirked at his oldest daughter.

"If you say 'Ewww' while mommy and I kiss again, I'll be peppering you with kisses again," said Spencer as he swung Diana around so she could be on his back.

At that moment Bridget's stomach growled loudly causing the 14-month-old toddler who was still on Emily's hip to lift up her t-shirt and pat her stomach.

"No no," said Bridget causing more laughter.

"Lucy is currently outside grilling hamburger patties and we already have toppings chopped up and are sitting on the patio table outside, so let's go outside so Diana and Bridget can play until dinner is done," said Clarissa.

"OK," said Spencer.

"Where's the rest of the team?" asked Clarissa.

"They couldn't make it," said Spencer.

"No uncle Aaron?" asked a pouting Diana.

"Uncle Aaron had to meet with his boss, Diana," said Emily.

"OK," sighed Diana.

"Aaron and I can take you to the park this weekend with Jack, Diana," said Emily.

"OK," grinned Diana.

10 minutes later Lucy was shaking her head as she took a picture of Spencer, Clarissa, Emily, Diana, and Bridget all eating burgers while Evan sat in his baby seat with Spencer's phone before Spencer sent the picture to Morgan.

xxxxxxx

11 days later Spencer and Clarissa were wiping their tears as they watched Jack blow out the three candles on his birthday cake.

"I can't believe that our nephew's three-years-old," said Clarissa.

Spencer wrapped an arm around Clarissa.

"Me too," said Spencer before looking towards where Diana was sitting next to her cousin, "I can't believe that Diana will be five in 44 days," sighed Spencer.

"Me too, Spence," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxx

Two days later Lucy was taking a picture of Spencer dressed up like Shrek, Clarissa as Princess Fiona, Diana as Cinderella, Bridget as Snow White, and Evan as the Frog Prince before Spencer and Clarissa took Diana, Bridget, and Evan trick or treating in the neighborhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: My AU version of The Instincts will be happening in the next chapter, so Spencer will have different nightmares since he knows about Riley Jenkins murder.


	51. The Instincts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my AU version of The Instincts because Spencer knows the truth about Riley Jenkins's murder that that Gary Michaels died in prison when inmates found out that he was a child molester. So be prepared for a lot of changes for my version of The Instincts in this story.  
> Bridget is 15-months-old and Evan's still four-months-old in this chapter and I'm including one of Spencer's classmates from chapter 33 of Friends, Lovers, Husband and Wife, to Parents in this chapter to play the medical examiner.

March 30th 1985

Four-year-old Spencer Reid exited his bedroom as he rubbed his eyes before slipping his glasses on, and 10 seconds later he found aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon sitting in the living room hugging each other with tears falling down their faces while an unfamiliar woman sat on the couch nearby before noticing that his aunt Ethel didn't have her hearing aids in.

"Aunt Ethel. Uncle Gordon. Where are mommy and daddy? Why are you two crying? Why is there a stranger in the house?" said/signed Spencer.

Gordon choked up as he let go of his wife and pulled Spencer onto his lap.

"Your mommy, daddy, and uncle Daniel went to Heaven last night," said Gordon.

Spencer's eyes went wide.

"They promised me that I would see them after I wake up," said Spencer.

"They did, but they were in a car accident and the damage was too severe for them to survive," choked Gordon as he hugged his nephew.

A few seconds later Spencer started sobbing while Gordon rubbed his nephew's back.

xxxxxxxx

Hotch heard a few whimpers causing him to glance towards Spencer and noticed tears leaking through his brother-in-law's eyes causing him to quickly make his way towards Spencer and knelt down as he worked on waking up his brother-in-law.

"Spencer. Spencer," said Hotch.

Spencer woke up to Hotch shaking him and a few seconds later he blearily looked at his brother-in-law.

"What happened?" asked Spencer.

"You were crying in your sleep," said Hotch.

Spencer sighed sadly.

"I ended up dreaming about the morning that I found out that my parents and uncle Daniel died," said Spencer.

"The same dream you have around the anniversary of your parents' death, but with the anniversary of your aunt and uncle's death coming up, your dreaming about your parents' deaths because we're heading to your hometown," said Hotch as he got up and headed back to his original spot.

"All of you guys know that the murder of my childhood friend Riley Jenkins led to the accidental deaths of my parents and uncle Daniel," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"The case we're working on deals with children, maybe your subconscious is telling you that you want to sit this one out," said Hotch.

"I don't," said Spencer.

"Well, maybe you're just stressed out about going home to Las Vegas. Did you tell your aunt you're coming?" asked Emily.

Spencer became guarded.

"Why aren't we reviewing the case file?" asked Spencer.

"I don't know. Maybe because someone fell asleep on the jet," said Emily.

"Evan started teething last night, so Clarissa and I were taking turns calming Evan down and sleeping," said Spencer.

"All right, let's start from the beginning one more time," said Hotch.

JJ held up a picture of a little boy.

"This is Ethan Hayes. He was five. Two weeks ago he was abducted out of his own front yard," said JJ.

Spencer sighed sadly as he thought about Diana turning five in over a month while thinking about how he, Clarissa, and Lucy never let  
Diana be outside on her own.

"Where were the parents?" asked Spencer.

"His mom just ran inside to grab her purse. When she came back, he was gone. She wasn't away for more than a minute or 2. Police found his body exactly one week later in the desert. He was in a new change of clothes. His nails clipped. His hair was combed," said JJ.

"That's a lot of remorse," said Rossi.

"No sign of sexual assault. The medical report suggests he was smothered. Unsub could see this death as merciful," said Hotch.

Emily looked at JJ.

"Who's the new boy?" asked Emily.

"Michael Bridges. Yesterday, he set out to walk by himself to a friend's house a block away. He never showed up," said JJ.

Spencer scratched his chin.

"Are we sure these cases are even connected?" asked Spencer.

"The unsub called each of the families," said JJ.

"But no ransom demand," said Rossi.

Spencer rested his hand on his chin again.

"It was more like taunts. He's telling them it's their fault that their child was taken," said JJ.

"OK. So, we have an unsub who shows remorse and then projects his guilt onto the victims' parents," said Morgan.

"And if we're lucky, six more days to find a boy before he's killed," said Hotch.

xxxxxxx

Spencer took a shaky breath as he entered the morgue with Morgan.

"You OK?" asked Morgan.

"It doesn't help that my oldest daughter is nearly five-years-old and we're about to look at a body of a five-year-old boy," said Spencer.

"If you need to leave the room at some point, I won't judge you," said Morgan just as the medical examiner approached them.

"I wish that I could have seen you under better circumstances, Spencer," said Lucas.

"You too, Lucas," said Spencer.

"You two know each other?" asked Morgan.

"I went to high school with Spencer and I never bullied him like the football team and the cheerleaders did," said Lucas before looking at Spencer, "Thank you for sending my wife and me a copy of the birth announcement for your son's birth," said Lucas.

"Your welcome and I'll show you some pictures of the kids when we're done here," said Spencer.

Lucas smiled sadly at Spencer.

"I know that this will be hard for you because of your oldest daughter being nearly five-years-old, so if you need to leave the room, its OK,"  
said Lucas as he made his way towards the drawer that contained Ethan's body and opened it, "There was no bruising around his neck or face. I'm guessing he used a pillow," said Lucas while Morgan lifted up the sheet so Spencer wouldn't have to.

"Was there any sign of a struggle?" asked Spencer.

"No, but he would have been extremely weak," said the medical examiner.

"Why's that?" asked Morgan.

"This is where it gets weird. He was noticeably thin. And both his stomach and intestines were completely empty," said Lucas.

"He was being starved?" asked Spencer.

"It seems that way," said Lucas.

"OK. So, what's the weird part?" asked Morgan.

"I wanted to determine if malnutrition played a part in his death. So, I looked for evidence of starvation ketosis by analyzing some vitreous humor... The squishy part of the eyeball... and I couldn't find any ketone bodies there," said Lucas.

"Meaning?" asked Morgan.

"He was getting nutrients somehow," said Spencer.

"Through an IV?" asked Morgan.

Lucas shook his head.

"There were no marks to indicate that," said Lucas.

"Any idea what else could it be?" asked Spencer.

"Honestly, I have no idea," said Lucas.

Spencer and Morgan exchanged glances before Spencer looked at his former classmate.

"Want to see some pictures of Diana, Bridget, and Evan?" asked Spencer.

"Yes please," said Lucas.

A few seconds later Lucas was smiling at a picture of Diana, Bridget, and Evan together.

"I can't believe how big your children are getting and your son is looking more like you every day, Spencer," said Lucas.

"I know, and when I get home, I'm going to be keeping the kids close to me," said Spencer.

"I'm keeping my two sons close to me right now too, Spencer," said Lucas. 

xxxxxxx

Spencer and Morgan quietly entered the Bridges' family home as they noticed that Amy was on the phone.

"May I speak with Michael?" asked Amy.

Hotch held up his hand to his brother-in-law and Morgan to tell them to be quiet.

"He doesn't want to talk to you. He knows what a bad mother you are. Your three minutes are up," said the unsub before hanging up.

"Garcia, anything?" asked Hotch.

"It looks to be a disposable cell phone. I couldn't triangulate the call. But it did bounce off not one but two towers," said Garcia.

"Meaning?" asked Hotch.

"I know he's mobile. And I know he's moving within the Las Vegas limits. He didn't travel outside the city," said Garcia.

Hotch looked at Amy and Craig.

"It's just a start. Like I said, the more he talks, the more we'll learn about him," said Hotch.

JJ gestured Amy and Craig to look at Spencer and Morgan.

"These are Agents Morgan and Reid. They'll be here all night just in case he calls back," said JJ.

"I need to lie down," said Amy.

"Of course," said Hotch.

After Amy walked past Spencer and Morgan, JJ looked at Craig.

"You should go with her," said JJ.

"Yeah," said Craig as he followed his wife.

As soon as Amy and Craig were out of earshot, Hotch looked at his brother-in-law and Morgan.

"What'd you find out from the medical examiner?" asked Hotch.

"We think that he's starving them," said Spencer softly.

"But that doesn't fit with the care he takes with the bodies. Starvation would be a form of torture," said Hotch.

"There's no sexual assault. The torture could be a substitute for the sex act," said Morgan.

"I'll coordinate with Rossi and Prentiss. We'll call you if there's anything new," said Hotch before he and JJ walked away.

"I'm going to call Clarissa and talk to Diana," said Spencer.

"You should," said Morgan.

A minute later Spencer was standing in the backyard as he pulled out his phone and called Clarissa.

"How is it going in Las Vegas, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"It's nice to be in my hometown again, but I ended up throwing up after leaving the medical examiner's office because Diana's almost the same age of Ethan Hayes," said Spencer.

"Diana's safe at home with Lucy, Bridget, Evan, and me, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I know, but after this case, I'm thinking about asking your brother for a few days off and maybe you can see if you can take a few days off and pull Diana out of school and come out here with the kids and Lucy," said Spencer.

"That's a good idea and I'll make the arrangements as soon as the case is over," said Clarissa.

"Can I talk to Diana?" asked Spencer.

"You sure can," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer smiled when he heard Diana's voice.

"Hi daddy," said Diana.

"How was school today, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"I had fun and I got a 100% on my math and spelling test, daddy," said Diana.

"I'm so proud of you, bumblebee," said Spencer.

"May I please ask you something?" asked Diana.

"Go ahead," said Spencer.

"Do you know anything about your biological father's family?" asked Diana.

Spencer sighed as he thought about how he only had his father's books, clothes, watch, and some pictures of his father from when his dad  
was a kid.

"I was told that my paternal grandparents and my paternal aunt died in a car accident before I was born, why?" asked Spencer.

"I need to make a family tree for school and Mrs. O' Connor said that we can't use the internet to look up family history because she wants me to ask you, mommy, aunts, uncles, and grandparents about my family history or visit a courthouse with you and mommy to go through records for Social Studies. You said that grandpa William was born and raised in Las Vegas and I don't know if there's anything here in Washington DC to learn about my grandpa William while you know everything about grandma Diana because of uncle Gordon raising you," rambled Diana.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"It's a good thing that mommy and I decided that you guys will be joining me out here after I'm finished with this case so we can spend time with aunt Elena," said Spencer.

"Bridget and Evan too?" asked Diana.

"They would come too because aunt Elena has yet to meet Evan," said Spencer.

"Lucy too?" asked Diana.

"She would be coming with to help out with Bridget and Evan on the plane and take care of Bridget and Evan while we help you with your project," said Spencer.

"As soon as your done with the case, let Aaron know that you need a few days off because the kids, Lucy, and I will join you in Vegas," said  
Clarissa.

"I will," said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "As much as I want to talk to Bridget and Evan, I need to get back to work," said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy," said Diana.

"I love you too, Diana," said Spencer.

"I love you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I love you too, Clarissa," said Spencer before hanging up.

xxxxxx

Spencer woke up at 3 AM as he rubbed his eyes and made his way towards the kitchen where Amy Bridges told him that he could help himself to coffee and water. After he got himself a glass of water, someone entered the kitchen.

"Couldn't sleep?" asked Amy.

Spencer turned around and looked at Amy.

"Its 6 AM in DC right now, and my body is still on East Coast time right now," said Spencer before smiling a little bit, "At least I'll have a few minutes to call my family before my wife and oldest leaves for work and school," said Spencer.

"How many kids do you have?" asked Amy.

Spencer's lips curled up a bit.

"Three," said Spencer.

"How old are your kids?" asked Amy.

"My oldest daughter will be five next month. My youngest daughter is 15-months. My infant son will be five-months-old this Saturday,"  
said Spencer.

"This case must be very hard for you," said Amy.

"I keep thinking of my oldest daughter Diana and my three-year-old nephew," said Spencer.

"There's something about your accent that's bugging me," said Amy.

"I was born and raised here in Las Vegas for the first 12 years of my life before I moved out East for college," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer looked at Morgan.

"I want to pull myself off the case for a bit because I want to go visit my parents' graves before the funeral," said Spencer.

"Go ahead and let Hotch know," said Morgan.

"I will," said Spencer.

Morgan reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys to the SUV.

"I'll ride with Hotch and the Bridges to the funeral, so why don't you take the SUV instead of spending money on a cab," said Morgan.

Spencer nodded and accept the keys and as soon as he got outside, he called his brother-in-law who answered on the second ring.

"Is everything OK, Reid?" asked Hotch.

"I'm going to go visit my parents' graves and I'll see you guys at the funeral," said Spencer.

"How are you getting there?" asked Hotch.

"Morgan gave me the keys to the SUV so I don't have to take a cab," said Spencer.

"Drive safely and I'll see you at the funeral," said Hotch.

"Yes, dad," quipped Spencer before hanging up.

xxxxxxx

Nearly 45 minutes later Spencer was carrying two bouquets of roses as he walked towards his parents' and uncle Daniel's graves and his  
eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he saw an elderly couple who looked to be in their 70's standing in front of his parents' graves  
talking in Hebrew.

"Hello?" asked Spencer.

The couple turned around and their eyes went wide when they saw Spencer.

"Do you two know my parents?" asked Spencer as he noticed that the elderly man had the same brown eyes as himself as he quickly flashed back to seeing the couple in front of him at his parents' funeral, his graduations, his wedding, and Diana's, Bridget's, and Evan's Christenings, "You two have shown up at my graduations, my wedding, and the Christenings of my three children and you have the same brown eyes as my two youngest children and me, sir," said Spencer.

The elderly couple exchanged glances before they hurried away as fast as possible while Spencer stayed rooted in his spot in shock.

"Come back!" called out Spencer just as his phone vibrated causing him to see a picture message of a grinning Bridget sitting in a pile of fallen leaves from Lucy.

BRIDGET WANTED ME TO TAKE A PICTURE OF HER AND SEND IT TO YOU. ~ LR

A minute later Spencer was laying down the flowers before he sat down by his parents' graves.

"Hi, mom. Hi dad. I turned 27 last month and I'm currently working on a case in Las Vegas that is reminding me a bit about Riley Jenkins. You two and my little brother or sister have been dead for over 22 and a half years now and the baby I told you guys about over Christmas ended up being a boy and he's going to be five-months-old on the 15th. I really wish that you two and my sibling could have had a second chance in life like I did after my abduction and torture so you guys could watch your grandchildren grow in person," said Spencer as he wiped a tear, "Your oldest granddaughter Diana will be turning five next month and she has an IQ of 168, an eidetic memory, and is reading 19,000 words per a minute while having her mother's outgoing personality. Bridget is such a sweet and quiet 15-month-old toddler who is an extreme daddy's girl like her big sister and she's very sweet on her baby brother Evan. Your first grandson Evan is an exact replica of me, is a mama's boy, and he's already crawling," said Spencer before he decided to tell his parents about how he and Clarissa were doing.

After talking for another 10 minutes, he heard a familiar voice.

"I didn't know that your parents were buried in this cemetery," said Hotch.

Spencer turned his head to find Hotch, Morgan, Emily, and Rossi standing with Michael's parents while Hotch held out his hand.

"Come on, Reid," said Hotch.

Spencer took his brother-in-law's hand and a few seconds later Hotch was pulling him up.

"Thanks," said Spencer as he started to brush the grass off his pants.

Amy looked at the two headstones and noticed that Diana and William Reid both died on March 30th of 1985 while seeing Baby Reid also inscribed on Diana's headstone before seeing another headstone that contained the name Daniel Reid who also died on March 30th of 1985.

"How old were you?" asked Amy.

"I was four," said Spencer before motioning to Hotch that they needed to go for a walk.

As soon as they were away from the Bridges, Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"I just had a really strange encounter when I arrived here," said Spencer.

"What?" asked Hotch.

"I saw an elderly couple standing by my father's and uncle Daniel's grave talking in Hebrew and I remember seeing them at my wedding and Diana's, Bridget's, and Evan's Christenings and they always left before I could talk to them. The man had the same brown eyes as my late father, Bridget, Evan, and me and he looks old enough to be my grandfather or great-uncle because I never met any relatives on my father's side of the family other than my uncle Daniel," said Spencer.

"Seems like you have some estranged relatives you don't know about," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Part of me wants to call Garcia and ask her to look up my father's family, but I'm not going to waste Bureau resources to look up my father because I can easily just visit the courthouse here in Las Vegas and look up my father's birth record," said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "As much as I want to pull myself off the case and investigate the couple I just encountered, I'm going to wait until after this case because Michael needs my help because I'll never look at Diana the same way again if we don't save Michael," said Spencer.

"Good, and are you planning on taking a few days off like I suggested after we arrived?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Clarissa, the kids, and Lucy are flying out here after this case because Diana has a family tree project to work on and she's not allowed to use the internet to research her ancestors," said Spencer.

"Now that sounds like a fun project and let me know when Diana's ready to learn more about her maternal grandparents," said Hotch.

"Thanks," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

After watching Emily and Rossi interrogate the man who was videotaping the funeral, Spencer called his brother-in-law who answered on the second ring.

"Hotchner," answered Hotch.

"He doesn't know details of the murder," said Spencer.

After a few seconds of silence, Hotch spoke up.

"You sure?" asked Hotch.

"He assumes the boy was molested," said Spencer.

"All right. Thanks," said Hotch before hanging up.

xxxxxxx

After listening to the recording of the phone call between Amy, Hotch, and the unsub, Hotch looked at Amy and Craig Bridges.

"Would it be possible for us to work in private for a while?" asked Hotch.

Spencer continued reading the transcript while Amy looked at Hotch.

"He was at the funeral. I told you," said Amy.

"He was at the funeral, and you arrested the wrong man," snapped Craig.

Spencer looked up at his teammates, Amy, and Craig.

"I don't think it is a man," said Spencer as everyone glanced at him, "Did you hear the way she described the clothing? She said the blue shoes. Lime green oxford. A male wouldn't reference specific details like that," said Spencer.

"I think Reid's right. She talked about what the child wanted. How he slept. How she took care of him. She said, "I loved him. "," said Morgan.

"A male unsub would have emphasized the competition, not the care giving. He would have talked about how he was smarter than the FBI bragged about not being caught," said Spencer.

"We could have been looking at both men and women…," said Amy.

"The statistics are overwhelming. Women abduct newborns. Men take children," said Rossi just as Hotch got Garcia on the phone.

"Garcia," said Hotch.

"I'm right here, sir," said Garcia.

"Will you run the license plates the police gave you and find any that might be registered to a woman," said Hotch.

Everyone heard some typing before Garcia spoke up.

"That would be... Zero," said Garcia.

"How's that possible?" asked Amy.

Spencer quickly thought about the amount of time that he's allowed to talk to his adoptive aunt on the phone.

"Transcript almost reads like she's been institutionalized," said Spencer as he quickly sat down.

"You mean she's crazy," said Craig.

Spencer looked up at his team and the Bridges.

"She described herself as being "locked down" not "arrested" or "put away. " Plus, most mental facilities are very rigid about the amount of phone time they allow per day. I think her talking about only having three minutes isn't her rule to us. It's what she's been institutionalized to think of as normal," said Spencer.

"Garcia, can you get records of women released from mental institutions this past month? She most likely has some trauma in her case file... possibly the death of a child," said Rossi.

"I'm sorry. I can't do that. To protect patient privilege there's no central database. I could hack each hospital individually, but even then, most diagnoses are kept separately by the different doctors," said Garcia.

Spencer looked up at his teammates and the Bridges.

"I think I might have a way," said Spencer before looking at his brother-in-law, "I'm going to head to Bennington Sanitarium and see if my adoptive aunt's doctor can help," said Spencer.

"Go," said Hotch as he tossed Spencer keys to an SUV.

Spencer quickly caught the keys before hurrying out of the house.

xxxxx

A short while later Spencer was watching his aunt writing in her journal when Dr. Norman approached him.

"Dr. Reid. Your aunt didn't tell me you were in town," said Dr. Norman as he quickly shook hands with Spencer.

"She doesn't know I'm here. I'm working on a case. And I actually thought you might be able to help us," said Spencer quietly.

"Of course," said Dr. Norman.

"You've read about the recent child murder and second abduction?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Dr. Norman.

"We think the person responsible is a woman. She would have been institutionalized. But we believe she may have been released within the past few weeks, just before the first abduction," said Spencer.

"What can I do?" asked Dr. Norman.

"I'm assuming you have a good working relationship with the administrators at other hospitals?" asked Spencer while Dr. Norman nodded, "When it comes to being married to a pediatric nurse, I know no one can open their files," said Spencer as he passed the file he was holding to Dr. Norman, "But if you wouldn't mind just giving them the profile, that would be a tremendous help. She's delusional. Fueled by grief. Very well might have lost a child of her own, probably around the age of five," said Spencer as he watched Dr. Norman go through the file.

"I'll see what I can do," said Dr. Norman before walking away.

A few seconds later Spencer approached his adopted aunt.

"Spencer? What are you doing here?" asked Elena

"I'm here for work. We're investigating the murder and abduction of two five-year-old boys," said Spencer.

Elena shook her head as she thought about how her own son died from a rattlesnake bite.

"I don't like the idea of you working on things that are so sad," said Elena.

"I know," said Spencer.

Elena took in her adoptive nephew's appearance.

"At least having a wife and kids at home are keeping you from getting so thin," said Elena.

"I was going to come to see you the second we solved the case," said Spencer.

"When will I get to meet Evan?" asked Elena.

Spencer thought about the text message he received from Clarissa about finding plane tickets for 1 PM East Coast time for Las Vegas and she took the day off while allowing Diana to play hooky from school.

"Clarissa, the kids, and Lucy are currently on a plane heading here right now," said Spencer.

"Diana's missing school right now?" clucked Elena.

"Diana has a family tree project to work on for school, so it will be OK to take a few days off from school to learn more about my father's history," said Spencer.

"If I knew anything at all, I would help you, but I don't," said Elena.

"My godmother doesn't know much about my father either," said Spencer just as Dr. Norman approached them.

"I'm sorry. I talked to the heads of nine different hospitals. There's no one who matches your description," said Dr. Norman.

"Thank you for trying," said Spencer.

Dr. Norman thought of something.

"You know, if this person has an axis-1 condition, her release wouldn't be as important as whether or not she keeps to her medications," said Dr. Norman.

"All right. Thank you. Again, thank you very much," said Spencer as Dr. Norman got up and walked away.

Elena looked at her adoptive nephew.

"I went off my medication when I was pregnant Caleb. I spent every day in terror, but I made it. And it was beautiful. I had Caleb," said Elena.

Spencer realized what the missing part of the profile was.

"Oh, god," whispered Spencer to himself.

"What is it, Spencer?" asked Elena.

"Women abduct newborns. Excuse me," said Spencer as he quickly got up and went to Dr. Norman.

"I don't understand," said Elena.

"Doctor, would it be possible for a woman to convince herself that a random five-year-old child's actually her own newborn?" asked Spencer.

"If her psychosis is strong enough. And, again, if they'd stopped taking their medication, absolutely," said Dr. Norman.

"Thank you. Thanks," said Spencer as he quickly got his brother-in-law on the phone, "Hotch, I'm pretty sure I know why the medical examiner was so confused. I think she's breastfeeding them," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer quickly pulled over at Clara Bate's house and quickly got out of the SUV as he pulled out his revolver and ran into the house. After searching every room, he approached a locked door and unlocked it before sighing in relief when he saw Michael standing in the room causing him to reach for the microphone on his vest.

"I've got Michael! I've got Michael!" said Spencer as he holstered his gun and entered the room and knelt down and opened his arms that Michael eagerly ran into as he hugged the five-year-old boy and cradled Michael's head, "I got ya," said Spencer as he hugged Michael tightly before scooping up the little boy and carried him out of the bedroom.

A few minutes later Hotch, Emily, and Rossi found Spencer sitting on the couch doing magic tricks for a giggling Michael.

xxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was staring at the desert when Morgan joined him.

"You know, this is about as good a day as we're gonna get on this job," said Morgan.

"I know," said Spencer.

"I believe you could have done anything in the world with your life and you chose to do this job. I know that your childhood led you to this career choice but to the same city where your adopted aunt lives and for us to have the opportunity to save this child," said Morgan.

"Yeah," said Spencer.

"Like I said, this is about as good a day as we're gonna get, man. Enjoy your moment," said Morgan just as Hotch joined them.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Apparently Clarissa to take a personal day from being a nurse at Diana's school and let Diana play hooky because Clarissa, the kids, and Lucy are currently on a flight heading to this city and they're landing in two hours," said Spencer before smirking a bit, "What do you say about me introducing you and the rest of the team to chicken fried lobster from Binions and you guys fly back home tomorrow while I take a few vacation days like I planned?" asked Spencer.

Hotch looked at Morgan.

"Do you think you could find something to do in Las Vegas for the night after Spencer introduces us to one of his favorite restaurants?" asked Hotch.

Morgan smiled before looking at Spencer.

"What are you going to do tonight after dinner?" asked Morgan.

"Most likely take Clarissa and the kids stargazing in the desert after dinner and tomorrow morning I introduce Evan to his great-aunt and help Diana with researching my father in the afternoon," said Spencer.

"You do know that my fiancee would be willing to help Diana with her school project," said Morgan.

"I know, but Diana said that she can't use the internet to look up her ancestors," said Spencer before JJ, Emily, and Rossi joined them, "I promised you guys that I would introduce you guys to chicken fried lobster from Binions someday, so I'm treating you guys to Binions," said Spencer.

JJ rubbed her growing stomach.

"That sounds so good," said JJ.

"And Clarissa, the kids, and Lucy are joining us because they're currently on a plane to this city," said Spencer causing some grins.

"So you're taking a few days off?" asked JJ.

"Evan has to meet his great-aunt Elena and Diana has to create a family tree for one of her homework assignments. With not knowing a lot about my father's side of my family, I have to help Diana do research the old-fashioned way because she's not supposed to use the internet," said Spencer.

"Visiting a courthouse would give you the best answers," said Rossi.

"That's one of the places I'm planning on taking Diana to," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

Two hours later a freshly showered Spencer was on his knee when Diana ran straight into his arms.

"I missed you, daddy," said Diana.

"I missed you too, Diana," said Spencer as he spent 30 seconds greeting his wife and two youngest children before Clarissa looked at her husband as the Reid family and Lucy headed towards the baggage claim area, "How did Evan handle his first time on a plane?" asked Spencer.

"Very well," said Clarissa.

"Good," said Spencer before looking at Diana, "What do you say about going to Binions for chicken fried lobster before we go stargazing tonight?" asked Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

xxxxxxxxxx

A half-hour later Diana and Bridget were running towards their uncle Aaron outside of Binions before the Reid family, Hotch, Emily, JJ, Morgan, and Rossi went into Binions for dinner where they talked about anything over dinner except for work.

xxxxxx

After dinner was eaten, Lucy took Evan to the hotel while Spencer and Clarissa took Diana and Bridget stargazing while the rest of the BAU team decided to spend the rest of the night in their hotel room or enjoying the casinos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /N: The mystery of the elderly visiting William and Daniel Reids graves and crashing Spencer's and Clarissa's wedding and the Reid children's' Christenings along with a shocking plot twist will be revealed in the next chapter


	52. Spencer Meets the Mystery Couple & Henry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts the day after the last chapter.
> 
> Part of me was going to have it that Emily and Hotch eloped between Spencer and Clarissa taking Diana and Bridget stargazing before Lucy had the kids sleep in her hotel room for the night. But I decided against that because Elizabeth Prentiss, Clarissa, and Diana would all be angry at them for eloping.
> 
> I'm going to have it that Spencer's father was born in 1950, Spencer's uncle Daniel was born in 1952, and another sibling who will shock you all in this chapter when it comes to one of Spencer's cousins in this story.

Spencer entered the hotel's restaurant with Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Lucy and smiled at his teammates who already helped themselves to the breakfast buffet.

"Sorry we're late," said Spencer.

"It's strange to see you late, Reid," said Morgan.

"You'll understand when you have little Derek Morgans or Penelope Garcias running around someday because mornings aren't sunshine and roses when it comes to getting the kids ready for the day" said Spencer causing laughter from Hotch while he gave Bridget who was on his hip a slightly stern look while Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy laughed, "I was in the middle of changing Bridget's diaper when Bridget got off the bed before I could get a clean diaper on her and she escaped our hotel room and I had to chase a streaking Bridget through the hallway," said Spencer.

Everyone started laughing.

"A young couple mentioned did mention about a cute toddler streaking in the hallway while her father chased after her," said Hotch before looking at Bridget, "Were you giving your daddy a hard time this morning?" asked Hotch.

Bridget gave her uncle a dimpled smile causing everyone to chuckle while her daddy placed her into a high chair that was already there.

"Hearing you guys and myself laugh is making my head hurt," groaned Emily.

Clarissa smirked at the sight of Emily.

"I guess someone had way too much fun last night," said Clarissa.

Emily groaned as she rubbed her forehead before looking at Spencer.

"I officially hate your hometown, Reid," said Emily.

Spencer clasped his hands over Diana's ears.

"I sometimes don't like coming back to my hometown too because of the tragedies I dealt with in this city and how high school was hell for me," said Spencer as he uncovered Diana's ears, "but its important that Diana, Bridget, and Evan knows where I'm from and the history of my home state," said Spencer before he, Diana, and Clarissa went to pick out theirs' and Bridget's breakfast while Hotch kept an eye on his nephew.

Xxxxxxxx 

Three hours later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in Elena's hospital room as a nurse brought in Elena.

"I'm so glad that I'm finally able to meet Evan," said Elena as she took in the sight of Evan in his father's arms.

Diana and Bridget quickly ran over to Elena and a few seconds later Elena was scooping up Diana.

"Pretty soon I won't be able to pick you up because you are getting so big, Diana," said Elena.

'I'm turning five next month," said Diana.

"I know," said Elena as she scooped up Bridget, "You have grown a lot since the last time I saw you, Bridget," said Elena.

"Bridget just turned 15-months-old on the 7th," said Clarissa.

As soon as Elena set down Diana and Bridget, she looked at her adopted nephew.

"May I hold Evan?" asked Elena.

Spencer gently placed Evan into his adopted aunt's arms.

"Pictures don't do justice, Spencer," said Elena.

"I know," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Diana was telling her adopted great-aunt about how the second grade was going for her and the project she had to do for school.

Xxxxxxxx 

After eating lunch at the hotel, Spencer and Clarissa were going through birth certificates at the Clark County Court House with Diana. After reading his father's birth certificate, Spencer's eyes went wide as he read the information about his paternal grandparents.

"Evan Spencer Reid born on April 20th of 1930 in Las Vegas, Nevada and married to Lydia Mackenzie Reid born on May 15th of 1930 in Berlin, Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1936," said Spencer before finding another birth certificate, "Mary Reid born on August 2nd of 1954," said Spencer before noticing no additional death certificates except for his father and uncle, "My paternal grandparents are currently 78-years-old right now and I have a biological aunt who are still alive because I see no death certificates," said Spencer.

"I thought that my great-grandparents and great-aunt were dead, daddy," said Diana.

"I did too, Diana," said Spencer.

"Now we know why you decided Evan for our firstborn son, Mackenzie for Bridget's middle name, and naming our third possible daughter Lydia," said Clarissa before squeezing her husband's hand, "Do you want to approach them and ask for answers about why you never met them and to find out more about your father's history, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"I need to know for school," said Diana.

Spencer noticed the puppy dog eyes that Diana was giving him.

"I really need some answers because I always thought that they died before my parents met," said Spencer as he looked into his wife's concerned blue eyes, "They've attended all of my graduations, our wedding, and the kids Christenings and left before I could talk to them," said Spencer.

"I'm not going to let you do this alone, so I'm coming with you whether you like it or not," said Clarissa before looking at Diana,

"We're taking you back to your brother, sister, and Lucy because daddy needs some answers before you and your brother and sister meet them," said Clarissa firmly.

"Yes, ma'am," said Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa found Evan and Lydia Reid's current address and after dropping Diana off at the hotel where Lucy was supervising Bridget and Evan during their naps, Spencer and Clarissa caught a cab to Spencer's grandparents' house just in case Lucy decided to drive the kids to a nearby park.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer rang the doorbell of the address he was given and a minute later the door opened causing Spencer to look at an elderly man who was as tall as him and had the same brown eyes as himself while his hair was completely gray.

"Grandpa Evan, I should be pressing charges against you and your wife for stalking me all these years, but I'm not going to press charges against you and grandma Lydia as long as I get some answers about why I was told that you, grandma, and my aunt Mary were dead instead of alive," said Spencer.

Evan Reid's eyes went wide as he realized that his grandson found out his identity.

"How did you find out who I am, Spencer?" asked Evan as he gestured Spencer and Clarissa to come into the house.

As soon as Spencer and Clarissa were sitting on the couch with hands clasped together, Lydia looked at Spencer.

"Before you explain on how you found out who we are, I need to tell you that you look so much like your father and uncle Daniel when it comes to your eye color and hair color," said Lydia.

"I know," said Spencer softly before he gestured to Clarissa, "Even though you two have shown up at my wedding and the kids' Christenings, this is my wife of nearly six years, Clarissa," said Spencer.

Lydia took in the sight of the nearly 27-year-old woman who had her armpit length nearly black hair pulled into a ponytail while taking in the sight of Clarissa's blue eyes, and the freckles scattered around Clarissa's cheeks and nose before looking at her grandson.

"You are definitely one beautiful young lady, Clarissa," said Lydia.

"Thank you," said Clarissa.

"Why don't we get to the point," said Evan.

Clarissa locked eyes with her husband as she squeezed her hand.

"You OK?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded before making eye contact with his grandparents.

"Our nearly five-year-old daughter is working on a family tree project for her second grade social studies class and she can't use the internet to look into her grandparents' history because she's supposed to do research the old-fashioned way while communicating with her family by asking them questions," said Spencer before taking a shaky breath, "After seeing you two at the cemetery yesterday and knowing that I never met you two like I have with my maternal grandparents, my suspicions were confirmed while Clarissa, Diana, and I were at the courthouse going through my father's birth records," said Spencer before looking at his grandparents, "Why did you two never approach me at my parents' funeral, my graduations, my aunt and uncle's funeral, my wedding, or my kids' Christenings and introduce yourselves and explain why I never met you two instead of leaving right at the end of the ceremony before I could thank you two for coming?" asked Spencer.

"We disowned your father because of him wanting to become a lawyer instead of a mathematics professor like I was while your uncle Daniel was disowned for taking testosterone," said Evan.

"So your the reason why I excel at math," said Spencer.

Evan nodded.

"Have my godparents ever met you two or no?" asked Spencer.

"No and we assume that your father told your godparents, and late aunt and uncle that we're dead," said Evan.

"I know that I should be angry at you two for disowning my father and uncle Daniel and never approaching me and telling me who you two are, but I can't be angry right now because I'm happy to have more blood relatives other than my children," said Spencer before becoming serious, "How did you two keep track of me?" asked Spencer.

"With you being one of the most famous academics in the country, we watched out for every article you've written, read your dissertations, and looked out for news articles that mentioned you when the internet became available," said Evan.

"What about finding out that I was getting married?" asked Spencer.

"We heard a few of your late uncle's friends talking about going to Virginia for your wedding," said Evan before taking a deep breath,

"Even though your father has been dead for over 22 years and you never realized that we're related to you until yesterday, would you let Lydia and me be part of your life? I want to get to know the real you and get to know our great-grandchildren before either of us are dead," said Evan.

Spencer looked at Clarissa who nodded while squeezing his hand before he made eye contact with his grandparents.

"I want you guys to get to know your granddaughter-in-law, your great-grandchildren, and me," said Spencer as he noticed a menorah on a nearby table before looking at his grandparents, "You two are Jewish?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Evan.

"I immigrated from Germany in 1936 before World War II started because I would have been a victim of the Holocaust like your great-great aunts, uncles, and cousins were if I didn't immigrate with my parents and my late older brother before World War II started," said Lydia as she slowly got up and made her way towards a drawer and opened it and grabbed three jewelry boxes and a stack of letters and passed them to Spencer and Clarissa, "We got these for your for your children after their Christenings and they were supposed to be delivered to you along with letters we wrote to you Spencer after the both of us were dead so you would know the truth on why you never met us," said Lydia.

Spencer and Clarissa opened up the jewelry boxes and their eyes went wide when they saw two Star of David necklaces that both contained a cross in the middle and a tie pin that contained Star of David with a cross in the middle causing Clarissa to look at her husband.

"Maybe we can start participating both Christian and Jewish holidays next year so Diana and eventually Bridget and little Evan can know that part of their family is Jewish while the kids also celebrate their bat mitzvah or bar mitzvah when they turn 13," said Clarissa.

"Just like Diana's friend Hannah and her family," said Spencer.

"Mary and her family are an interfaith family too," said Lydia.

"We wouldn't be able to follow all Jewish traditions or celebrate every holiday because our jobs require us to be on-call 24/7. There are already times that I miss church because of being on a case or I get home so late at night that I end up staying home so I can catch up on sleep," said Spencer.

Lydia looked at Clarissa.

"Why are you on call 24/7 too?" asked Lydia.

"I'm a pediatric nurse at Children's National, but I've been a substitute nurse at Diana's school and working occasional Saturdays at Children's National since January," said Clarissa.

Lydia smiled.

"You must really enjoy taking care of children," said Lydia.

"I do, but sometimes I think my husband is more stubborn than the patients I take care of," said Clarissa.

Spencer mocked glared at his wife.

"Hey," said Spencer.

Evan and Lydia chuckled at each other.

"You two remind of when we fell in love over 64 years ago," said Evan.

"How long have you two been married?" asked Spencer.

"62 years," said Evan.

Spencer whistled.

"Damn," said Clarissa.

"Back to the statement of you two not always having Saturdays off, its OK if you can't participate in all of the traditions because of your jobs," said Evan.

Clarissa looked at Evan and Lydia.

"Would you two like to see a picture of your great-grandchildren?" asked Clarissa.

Lydia nodded and a few seconds later Lydia and Evan were looking at a picture of a blue-eyed and brown curly haired Diana sitting on a chair while she had her arms wrapped around her brown curly haired and brown-eyed baby brother who was sitting on her lap while a nearly black curly haired and brown-eyed Bridget was standing next to the chair was giving her baby brother a kiss.

"The three times we saw our great-grandchildren during their Christenings, you two created very beautiful children together," said Lydia.

"Thank you," said Spencer and Clarissa in unison.

"How long are you two in town for?" asked Lydia.

"Clarissa, the kids, and I will be in Las Vegas for a few days so we can work on Diana's Social Studies project as long as we're home by Sunday so Diana doesn't miss too much school," said Spencer.

"Where are the kids right now?" asked Lydia.

"They're at the hotel with their live-in nanny," said Clarissa.

Lydia looked at the clock and saw that it was going on 4 PM.

"Why don't you call the nanny and tell her to bring the kids here for dinner," said Lydia.

"OK," said Clarissa as she pulled out her phone and sent Lucy a text message while being grateful that they left their rental mini-van at the hotel while she and Spencer took a cab.

While Clarissa was texting Lucy, Spencer looked at his grandparents.

"Would it be possible for me to meet Aunt Mary too?" asked Spencer.

"When you get back to DC you'll have to meet with her because she and her family live in Washington DC too," said Lydia as she grabbed a framed photograph off the table and showed it to Spencer and Clarissa.

"Your cousin Maeve Donovan is following her mother's footsteps by being a brilliant geneticist and your other cousin Jacob Donovan is a high school math teacher," said Evan.

Spencer's eyes started going back and forth causing Clarissa to squeeze her husband's hand.

"Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"I've received compliments from both Maeve and Jacob Donovan on a few articles that I published about math, chemistry, and psychology. So do they know that I'm their cousin?" asked Spencer.

"They do, and when we found out that you're living in Washington DC, we told them to leave you be," said Evan.

Xxxxxxxx 

10 minutes later the doorbell rang causing Spencer to let Lucy inside the house with the kids and a few seconds later Spencer had a nervous Diana and Bridget on his lap while Clarissa held Evan when Spencer looked at Diana and Bridget.

"Diana and Bridget, I want you two to meet your great-grandparents, Evan and Lydia Reid," said Spencer.

Diana and Bridget quickly got off their daddy's lap and made their way to Evan and Lydia while Diana held her big sister's hand.

"Hi my name is Diana Reid and I'm pleased to meet you. This is my little sister, Bridget and the baby boy in my mommy's arms is also named Evan like you, grandpa," said Diana as she held out her free hand to her great-grandparents.

Evan shook his eldest great-granddaughter's hand before Lydia took a turn before Evan smiled at his youngest great-granddaughter who was shyly standing behind her big sister.

"Hello, Bridget," said Lydia.

Bridget peeked out from behind her big sister and smiled shyly at her great-grandparents.

"Hi," said Bridget before she hid behind her big sister.

"Why aren't you a pretty toddler, Bridget," said Evan.

"Bridget is 15-months-old and she's shy like daddy can be," said Diana.

"Seems like you got your personality from your mother, Diana," said Lydia.

"Yes," said Diana.

Spencer who now had Evan in his arms walked towards his grandparents.

"This is your great-grandson, Evan Aaron Reid," said Spencer as he gently passed Evan to his grandfather.

Evan teared up at the sight of his namesake.

"He looks just like you, Spencer," said Evan.

"I know," said Spencer.

Evan passed his namesake to his wife who teared up as she held her great-grandson.

"It's a good thing that you decided to confront us Spencer because your aunt has been trying to convince your grandfather and me to move to Washington DC and live with them," said Lydia.

"You're moving to Washington DC?" asked Diana.

"Your great-aunt Mary doesn't want your great-grandma and me to live out here on our own and we've refused moving out there all these years because of your daddy not knowing who your great-grandma and I were until today and leaving your grandpa William's and great-uncle Daniel's graves," said Evan.

Spencer looked at his grandparents.

"How soon do you think it would be until you two move out to DC?" asked Spencer.

Evan and Lydia looked at each other.

"If we start packing, we could probably be out East by the beginning of next year," said Evan.

"Would you two come to Washington DC for Thanksgiving?" asked Diana.

Evan and Lydia looked at each other.

"We will love to," said Lydia before looking towards the end table that still contained the jewelry boxes, "Can you grab those boxes for us, Spencer?" asked Lydia.

Spencer quickly grabbed the boxes and handed them to his grandparents who showed Diana and Bridget the necklaces they got for them before both girls allowed their great-grandfather to help them put on their necklaces.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that night Spencer and Clarissa were sitting on a thick blanket with another thick blanket wrapped around themselves in a secluded part in the desert looking at the stars.

"You doing OK, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Even though I'm shocked that my grandparents disowned my father and never approached me all these years until I confronted them today, I'm going to be OK," said Spencer.

"I thought that you would be yelling at your grandparents," said Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head.

"I'm not the type of person who would yell and scream at the elderly because you know that I was raised to respect my elders," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

The next evening Spencer knocked on the door as he popped his head into JJ's hospital room and smiled a bit as he noticed JJ's son in her arms.

"Is there room for five more in here?" asked Spencer as he and Clarissa entered JJ's hospital room with the kids.

JJ smiled at Spencer who had Bridget on his hip while he held Diana's hand with his free hand while Clarissa had Evan in a baby carrier across her chest while holding Diana's free hand.

"Spence, hi," said JJ before she greeted Clarissa and the Reid children, "Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan," said JJ.

Evan gave a big grin to everyone in the room.

"Baby," said Bridget as she pointed at the baby boy in JJ's arms.

"Yes there's a baby in your godmother's arms, Bridget," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled at his sister, brother-in-law, nieces, and nephew.

"Welcome back," said Hotch before he gave his sister and his brother-in-law each a hug before giving Diana, Bridget, and Evan each a kiss.

Spencer looked at the baby boy in JJ's arms as he thought back to Diana, Bridget, and Evan being that small once.

"Wow and I really miss Diana, Bridget, and Evan being that small," said Spencer before he looked at Will and shook his hand, "Congratulations on officially joining the dad club, Will," said Spencer.

"Thanks," chuckled Will.

JJ looked at Spencer and thought about Spencer sending a picture of him, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan with his long-lost grandparents and Spencer telling everyone over the phone about the emotions he felt about having relatives that he thought were dead.

"Are you doing OK with finding out that you have grandparents and an aunt who's all still alive?" asked JJ.

"I'm still in shock a bit, but I'm glad that I learned more about my father the past couple of days while gaining a few more pictures of my dad," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her uncle.

"Daddy, grandpa Evan, and grandma Lydia helped me complete the paternal side of my family tree for school, so I need yours and mommy's help for the maternal side of my family tree," said Diana.

"You can sleepover tonight and we'll work on your project together," said Hotch.

"Thank you, uncle Aaron," said Diana as she hugged her uncle.

"Awww," cooed JJ, Emily, Garcia, and Clarissa.

JJ looked at her boyfriend.

"Well, I could sure use some coffee. Anyone else?" asked Will.

"Sure," said Hotch.

"My treat," said Will as he looked at Spencer who had Bridget on his hip, "I'll take Bridget from ya," said Will.

"Thank you," said Spencer as he gave Bridget a quick kiss on the cheek, "You be good for mommy, uncle Aaron, and everyone else, Cricket," said Spencer.

"OK Dada," said Bridget as she gave her daddy a kiss before she allowed Will to take her.

Diana looked at her uncle.

"I can tell you about meeting great-grandpa Evan and great-grandma Lydia while showing you the necklace that they gave me," said Diana as she lifted up her interfaith necklace, "This necklace contains both a Star of David and a Christian cross because it turns out that my grandpa William was Jewish before he converted for grandma Diana," said Diana.

"I can't wait to hear about how much fun you had with your mommy, daddy, siblings, and Lucy while in Las Vegas, Diana," said Hotch.

"Can I please have a piggyback ride, uncle Aaron?" asked Diana.

"Sure," said Hotch as he crouched down and allowed Diana to jump onto his back before he straightened to his full height, "Are you hanging on tightly Diana?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, uncle Aaron," said Diana.

Clarissa looked at Diana.

"When you get back from uncle Aaron's tomorrow, we can come and visit JJ after she gets a bit more rest," said Clarissa.

"OK," said Diana.

JJ looked at Clarissa.

"Thank you for all the advice you gave me about dealing with labor and childbirth," said JJ.

"As a mother and a nurse who has given birth three times, its my duty to give new mothers advice," said Clarissa before smiling down at Henry, "I'm going to wait until tomorrow to ask you if I can hold Henry because as soon as Spence is done here, we need to get Bridget and Evan home for bedtime," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Clarissa, the Reid children, Hotch, Emily, Garcia, and Will were out of the room when JJ looked at Spencer while Henry let out a cry.

"You OK?" asked JJ.

Spencer stepped closer to JJ's hospital bed.

"Yeah, yeah. You?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah, yeah, you sure? 'Cause there's something I wanted to ask you, but it can wait," said JJ.

"What is it?" asked Spencer.

"Will and I were talking, and, um... We want you to be Henry's godfather because Will and I don't want Henry to be jealous of not having a special relationship with you when it comes to you having three kids of your own and Jack being your nephew by marriage," said JJ.

"Now I have another godchild to spoil," grinned Spencer.

"Here, do you want to hold him?" asked JJ.

"Yes please," said Spencer.

A few seconds later JJ was passing Henry to Spencer.

"There you go," said JJ.

Spencer smiled down at Henry in his arms while thinking back to holding Evan five months ago.

"Hello, Henry," said Spencer softly before smiling a bit, "In a couple of months, your going to be best friends with my own little boy Evan and he just turned five-months-old today," said Spencer.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"If anything should happen to us, it's up to you and Garcia to make sure this boy gets into Harvard," said JJ.

Spencer snorted.

"Harvard. Harvard? Do you want to go to Harvard, Henry? That was your godfather's safety school," said Spencer as he started to use a quieter voice, "Don't worry, I can get you into either of my Alma-maters Yale or MIT with one phone call," said Spencer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I changed Yale to Harvard on purpose because Spencer attended Yale in this universe and Spencer will meet the rest of his estranged family in the next chapter.
> 
> I can't imagine Spencer being the type to yell at his grandparents for stalking him all these years because of him being the type of person who respects his elders. Yes, he's slightly upset, but he knows that he can't go back and change time but embrace the time he has left with his grandparents.


	53. Masterpiece

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts the day after the last chapter.

Clarissa who had Evan on her hip while holding Diana's hand with her free hand looked at her husband who had Bridget on his hip as he stared at the restaurant where Mary, Joe, Maeve, Jacob, and Jacob's family was waiting for them.

"Ready, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Even though I've talked to them on the phone while we stayed at my grandparents' house, I'm nervous," said Spencer.

Diana looked up at her daddy.

"I'm nervous too, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer took a deep breath as he looked at Clarissa.

"Let's go," said Spencer.

Two minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan were led to a table in a private room where the Donovan family was waiting where Mary gasped when she took in the sight of Spencer.

"You really look like your father when it comes to your eye color and hair color, Spencer," said Mary.

"I know," said Spencer before he took a deep breath and gestured to Clarissa, "I'm Dr. Spencer Reid and this is my wife Clarissa and our three children Diana, Bridget, and Evan," said Spencer.

Mary, Joe, and Maeve introduced themselves before Jacob took his turn.

"I'm Jacob and this is my 10-year-old son Isaac my eight-year-old daughter, Abigail," said Jacob.

Diana looked at her second cousins.

"Where's your mommy?" asked Diana.

"Diana," scolded Spencer and Clarissa in unison.

"Its OK," said Jacob before giving Diana a gentle smile, "My wife Hannah passed away after giving birth to Abigail," said Jacob.

"I'm sorry," said Spencer.

"It's OK. I've moved on and my fiancee is currently attending a conference," said Jacob.

A few minutes later a waitress was taking everyone's orders before everyone excluding Bridget and Evan told each other about themselves as they waited for their meals.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over eight days later, Spencer was trying to tie his tie when Clarissa reached out and started to tie it for him.

"What's up with you this morning?" asked Clarissa.

"I have to give a recruitment seminar with Rossi today," said Spencer.

Clarissa smirked at her husband while Spencer's stomach started to flutter.

"I just wonder if I should head to the BAU and yell at my brother for sending you to events where a lot of young women would hit on my sexy husband," said Clarissa.

"What?" sputtered Spencer.

Clarissa ran a hand down her husband's chest.

"I consider you more of a hottie than Derek because your big puppy dog eyes, your curls, your manners, your warmth, and being soft-spoken are some of the reasons why I said yes to being your girlfriend and eventually your wife," smirked Clarissa as she wrapped her arms around her husband's neck before jumping up a bit as she wrapped her legs around her husband's waist causing Spencer to hold her up, "While other women might develop a crush on you because of your looks and being a child magnet, I'm lucky enough to snag the entire package when it comes to your intelligence, your looks, and your personality that causes everyone to trust you," smirked Clarissa as she tilted her head and kissed her husband just as Evan started to cry through the baby monitor while the other baby went to life.

"Mama? Dada?" asked Bridget.

"The two youngest natives are awake and summoning us, and if you come home tonight, I have plans for you, doctor," smirked Clarissa as she kissed her husband.

A groaning Spencer quickly set Clarissa down before Spencer and Clarissa left their bedroom and exited into the hallway just as Lucy came up the stairs.

"I already have breakfast staying warm in the oven, so which child do you want me to help get ready for the day?" asked Lucy.

"I'll do Diana," said Spencer.

"I'll do Evan," said Clarissa.

"That leaves me Bridget," said Lucy.

A few seconds later Spencer was getting Diana up for school.

Xxxxxxxx 

15 minutes later the Reid family and Lucy were gathered around the dining room table while both Bridget and Evan sat up in high chairs when Clarissa looked at Diana.

"Where do you want your birthday party to happen on December 13th?" asked Clarissa.

"I want an ice skating party again," said Diana.

Clarissa grinned.

"I'll start making arrangements with our favorite ice skating rink," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at Diana.

"Who are you going to invite to your party?" asked Spencer.

Diana did some thinking for a minute.

"Jack, my friends from preschool last year and any of their siblings who are in the same second-grade class as me, Courtney, Isabel, and your team," said Diana.

"We can start making the invitations this evening," said Clarissa.

"Can grandma Lydia, grandpa Evan, aunt Mary, uncle Joe, Maeve, Jacob and his family come too?" asked Diana.

"Grandma Lydia and Grandpa Evan have already booked their plane tickets because they told me that they're not going to miss your birthday party, but you can ask aunt Mary, uncle Joe, Maeve, Jacob, and Jacob's family to come to your birthday party yourself," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer looked at all of the students that came to the recruitment seminar.

"Most of us have done extensive post-graduate work in areas such as abnormal psychology and sociology, as well as intensive study of relative casework and existing literature," said Spencer.

"But that's after selection to the unit. First, you have to be an agent, work in the field, and that's what we're here to talk about. For that, the academics are wide open. Everyone in this room, once you graduate, regardless of your course study, is eligible to apply to the FBI," said Rossi.

"What did you study?" asked a male student.

"Criminal justice. But sports appreciation was all full up at my community college," said Rossi causing some chuckles before he gestured to Spencer.

"I hold doctorates in chemistry, mathematics, and engineering, as well as BAs in psychology and sociology," said Spencer.

After everyone was silent for five seconds, a female student looked at Spencer.

"How old are you?" asked a female student.

"Uh, I'm 27. As of last month, I turned 27," said Spencer as he thought about how supportive he was of Clarissa working her way to earning her Masters in nursing before Clarissa convinced him to earn another degree, "I'm-I'm also completing an additional BA in philosophy. Which reminds me that I have a joke," said a chuckling Spencer as he ignored Rossi's glare. "How many existentialists does it take to screw in a light bulb?" asked Spencer.

"Don't," whispered Rossi.

Spencer held up a hand.

"Two. One to change the light bulb and one to observe how it symbolizes an incandescent beacon of subjectivity in a netherworld of cosmic nothingness," chuckled Spencer before he continued after a moment of silence, "Um, an existentialist would-," said Spencer before Rossi decided to interrupt him.

"OK, before he does his quantum physics knock-knock joke-," said Rossi causing a lot of laughter, "Do we have any other questions about opportunities in the FBI?" asked Rossi.

"Did you ever shoot anybody?" asked a student.

Spencer and Rossi exchanged glances before Rossi decided to answer.

"Yes," said Rossi before he gestured to Spencer.

"Yes," said Spencer.

One of the male students raised his hands causing Rossi to nod at him.

"How do you two compartmentalize after cases?" asked the student.

Rossi looked at the students.

"I write books about past cases and cook," said Rossi before gesturing to Spencer.

Spencer held up his left hand.

"I spend time with my wife and three kids," said Spencer.

Another student raised his hand.

"What made you two decide to join the FBI?" asked a student.

After Rossi gave his answer, Spencer took a deep breath.

"When it came to losing my biological parents when I was four to a grieving father who lost his own son to a pedophile and eventually losing my aunt and uncle who adopted me when I was 19 to someone who wanted revenge on my uncle, I wanted to prevent other children from becoming orphans like me while I make this country a safer place for my children," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

After accepting thank yous and handshakes from students, Rossi looked at Spencer as they walked away.

"You do know we want them to actually join the bureau?" asked Rossi.

"What? Yeah," said Spencer.

"We want these kids to think it's a cool place to work. I understand that yeah. Existentialism? Existentialism is-," said Rossi before more students approached them.

"That was a funny joke," said Spencer as a female student thanked him before he turned around and started walking again, "What do you mean?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah, to Sigmund Freud," said Rossi.

"I tell them I shouldn't- they keep on sending me here. I don't know why," said Spencer as he and Rossi started going downstairs.

"Because you're young," said Rossi.

"Young or yung?" asked Spencer just as an elderly man approached them.

"Dr. Reid?" asked the man causing Spencer and Rossi to stop, "Wouldn't they sit in the dark and hope that the bulb decided to light again?" asked the man.

Spencer squinted as he raised his eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" asked Spencer.

"An existentialist would never change the bulb. He would allow the darkness to exist," said the man.

Spencer nodded as he smiled.

"Yeah, that's pretty good," smiled Spencer before he and Rossi continued going down the stairs with the man following them.

"I'm Professor Rothschild. It was a brilliant presentation. Brilliant. You're a remarkably effective recruitment tool," said Professor Rothschild as Rossi checked his watch, "The FBI very lucky to have you," said Professor Rothschild.

Spencer smiled a bit as he thought about how his oldest brother-in-law makes sure to occasionally praise him.

"Thank you for saying that," said Spencer.

"May I show you something?" asked Professor Rothschild.

"Yeah, of course," said Spencer.

Professor Rothschild handed him a folder.

"It's all right here," said Professor Rothschild.

Spencer started to look at the pictures of women screaming.

"I don't understand. What-what are these?" asked Spencer.

"Seven homicide victims," said Professor Rothschild.

"Homicide?" asked Rossi.

"7 women. The bodies have never been found. Not a fingernail, not a hair fiber. Acid is a very tidy way of disposing of something," said Professor Rothschild smugly as he took the pictures back from Spencer.

"Acid?" asked Rossi.

"Are you saying that you killed these women?" asked Spencer.

"There is still time to save the others, though," said Professor Rothschild.

"Others?" asked Rossi.

"5 more," said Professor Rothschild.

"What do you mean?" asked Spencer.

"In a bit less than nine hours, five other people are going to be dead. Unless you can find a way to save them," said Professor Rothschild as he tossed the pictures.

Xxxxxxxx 

As campus security led Professor Rothschild to the van that Spencer and Rossi were using, Spencer pulled out his phone and sent Clarissa a text message while he listened to Rossi's side of his conversation with Hotch.

A POSSIBLE SERIAL KILLER APPROACHED ROSSI AND ME CONFESSING ABOUT KILLING SEVEN WOMEN, SO I HAVE A CASE THAT SHOULD ALLOW ME TO COME HOME TONIGHT. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU. ~ SR

A few seconds later Spencer was opening up the backseat of the van so officers could get Professor Rothschild into the van before he looked at Rossi who hung up.

"What is this?" asked Spencer.

Rossi thought about Spencer's eidetic memory.

"Do not forget a word he says the rest of the time we have him," said Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

Halfway to Quantico, Spencer decided to ask Professor Rothschild a question.

"So you said you're a professor at Strayer?" asked Spencer as he made eye contact with Professor Rothschild.

"No," answered Professor Rothschild.

"You didn't?" asked Spencer.

"No," said Professor Rothschild.

"I mean, you did introduce yourself as Professor Rothschild, right?" asked Spencer.

"Your degree in philosophy surprises me, Dr. Reid. It doesn't fit with mathematics and engineering," said Professor Rothschild.

"I kind of like it because there are no right or wrong answers," said Spencer.

"Without right or wrong, how would we recognize perfection?" asked Professor Rothschild.

"Is this fun for you?" asked Rossi.

"Excuse me?" asked Professor Rothschild.

"Are you having fun?" asked Rossi.

"It's quite a bit more complicated than that," said Professor Rothschild.

"What do you mean?" asked Rossi.

"You wouldn't understand," said Professor Rothschild.

"Try me," said Rossi.

"I read your books, David. You're not of the intellectual capacity to grasp what's going on here," said Professor Rothschild.

"If you're trying to piss me off, it's not gonna work. But if you killed 7 women without leaving a trace of evidence, why turn yourself in?" asked Rossi.

"Imagine what the world would have missed if Da Vinci never showed his work," said Professor Rothschild.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer entered the bullpen with Rossi and Professor Rothschild as he noticed everyone having their eyes glued to the TV.

"Earlier this morning, police were contacted and informed that Kaylee Robinson, who ran a daycare center out of her home, had been abducted along with four children. When a parent arrived at 9:30 this morning to drop off her child, she discovered the door…," said a reporter.

Spencer felt his heart clench while being grateful that Diana was safe at school while Bridget and Evan were at home safe with their live-in nanny before he looked at his brother-in-law.

"What's going on?" asked Spencer.

"He said there were 5 more victims we could save?" asked Hotch as he made his way down the catwalk.

Jordan looked at Spencer as she thought about Allison and Gavin who were safe at school.

"A woman was abducted this morning in Loretto, Virginia. She runs a home daycare center. She had four children with her," said Jordan.

"They're all missing," said Emily.

"All five," said Morgan.

Rossi looked at a smug Professor Rothschild.

"Are those the 5 more?" asked Rossi.

"Are you pissed off yet, David?" asked Professor Rothschild before Rossi led him away.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer watched Professor Rothschild before tilting his head a bit as he thought back to meeting Assistant Warden Abner Merriman.

"I never have any normal fans," said Spencer.

"This guy loves the attention," said Morgan.

"He has a God complex. Sooner or later he'll give up something important about Kaylee and the kids. Guys like him always do," said Rossi.

"Before he hurts them?" asked Morgan.

Hotch looked at his watch.

"1:45. He said we had till 10:00," said Hotch.

"We need a button to push," said Rossi.

"The seven original homicides could give us some leverage," said Morgan.

"He says we'll never find any evidence so he has nothing to worry about on them," said Rossi.

"He made of point of saying there are no bodies, no physical evidence," said Spencer.

"We just have to show that a crime was committed. We can do that circumstantially," said Hotch.

"We need to identify the original seven women. Going back in there with names just might shake him up," said Rossi.

"How do we do that?" asked Spencer.

"Reverse profiling," said Rossi.

"Learn everything we can about him and his methods and then profile it back to what kind of victim he would choose and from where," said Hotch.

"From the unsub to the victim," said Morgan.

Xxxxxxxx 

Garcia was sitting at the round table with her laptop in front of her as she looked at her teammates.

"I went through VICAP. There are literally thousands of open missing women cases across the country," said Garcia.

Spencer who was pacing in the conference room looked at his teammates.

"It's not the entire country, though. Kaylee was abducted at 9:30 this morning. He had time to take them somewhere, hide them, and make it to Fredericksburg two hours later," said Spencer.

"He'd need a place with a lot of privacy to hide five victims," said Emily.

Hotch who was also pacing like Spencer looked at his teammates and brother-in-law.

"A house," said Hotch.

"He's local," said Rossi.

Spencer thought about seeing Professor Rothschild showing up late.

"He was late for the presentation. You know, it was more like 2. 5 hours after the abduction. He got there around noon, which puts him somewhere around that radius," said Spencer.

"Garcia, work up a map. We need the farthest point he could have taken Kaylee from Loretto and still gotten back to Fredericksburg by noon," said Hotch.

"Shouldn't be too hard," said Garcia.

"All right, what do we know so far? He's obsessively neat and clean," said Rossi as he started to write on the clear board, "He did research on Reid and me at least. He's abducted 5 people and then gets to a scheduled recruitment session at a specific time. That's extensive pre-planning," said Rossi as he continued to write on the board.

Spencer looked at Garcia.

"Did you find anything in those pictures, Garcia?" asked Spencer.

"I can't even positively say they're dead," said Garcia.

"What about hair color?" asked Rossi.

"All the ones that show hair, they appear to be brunettes," said Garcia.

"So is Kaylee," said Rossi.

"I'll start there. Brunettes from central Virginia that are missing," said Garcia as she jotted down notes just as Morgan entered the room.

"Ident got zip on his prints. He's not in any system. He's a ghost," said Morgan.

"All right, if he hasn't been fingerprinted, he hasn't been arrested. Which also means he hasn't had a passport, driver's license, or been in the military," said Rossi.

Spencer thought about his biological mother being a college professor while his godmother is currently a professor and an FBI agent.

"Never been a teacher, either. You have to be fingerprinted to be a teacher," said Spencer.

"So he's a professor who doesn't teach," said Rossi before he continued to write on the board.

"What kind of professor doesn't teach?" asked Jordan.

"A researcher? Someone on a grant, maybe," said Spencer.

"A grant would give him the time," said Hotch.

"There must be some sort of central grant database. I can't imagine the government just handing out money and not-," rambled Garcia before she saw looks from her team, "I'll look into it," said Garcia as she got up and left the room.

"From past conversations, we know he's a narcissist and seemingly remorseless," said Rossi.

"Psychopath," said Morgan.

"You know, we can eliminate a lot of these open missing persons cases if we could just figure out how he met them," said Emily.

"Jordan, contact the Loretto PD get us an invitation to consult on the Kaylee Robinson case. Be nice to them. They don't have to let us. And then you and Morgan go down there and find out what you can," said Hotch.

"Let's go," said Morgan.

As soon as Morgan and Jordan left the room, Rossi looked at Emily.

"Prentiss, I need you to do something for me.

"Anything," said Emily.

"What's our strategy going to be in there with the interrogation?" asked Spencer.

Rossi turned his head and looked at Spencer.

"You're not gonna be in the room," said Rossi.

"What do you mean?" asked Spencer.

"That's what he wants. He wants to play with you. We have to knock him off his game. That's all we have right now," said Rossi.

"He's right," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer entered Garcia's lair with Rossi.

"He said one of them is already dead," said Spencer as he hurried to Garcia's computers.

"One of the five," said Rossi.

"There are only 3 children," said Hotch.

Spencer's heart melted as he took in the sights of the two little girls while thinking about how Diana asked him to do braided pigtails for her hair while he got her ready for school.

"Is this them?" asked Spencer.

"An anonymous site emailed to me," said Garcia.

"He said one will die every two hours, not all five in ten. When he said 10 hours, I just assumed-," said Rossi.

"It's a chess game, he's two moves ahead," said Spencer.

"Let's not get diverted. How we doing with the seven missing women?" asked Hotch.

Garcia quickly did some typing.

"So far, I've got 39 missing brunettes in central Virginia," said Garcia.

"Ok, 30 years old like Kaylee. Narcissists tend to be extremely preferential," said Hotch.

Garcia did some typing.

"28," said Garcia.

"He said he's been working on this for five years," said Rossi.

Garcia did some more typing.

"Over the last five years, 17," said Garcia.

"All right, if he thinks he's going to jail for even one of the original seven homicides, maybe he'll tell us where the rest of them are and give himself some deal room," said Hotch before he looked at his brother-in-law, "How long do we have until the next one?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at his watch.

"One hour, 48 minutes," said Spencer.

Hotch thought about the dejected look that he saw on his brother-in-law's face earlier as he headed to the door.

"Dave, can I speak to you for a second?" asked Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

After having six possible victims' names written on the clear board, Spencer was watching the live feed from Garcia's laptop while his heart continued to melt for the four children.

"She put herself closest to the end, farthest from the camera," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Emily.

"Maybe she knows something we don't like she doesn't have a lot of time. Let's continue," said Hotch.

Emily looked at another file.

"Uh, Lindsay Connor. She was last seen when she stepped out to have a cigarette while having a blown tire fixed," said Emily.

Spencer squinted a bit.

"Doesn't sound like something routine," said Spencer.

"Lisa McDaniel, Saluda, went missing early 2008 while on her daily jog," said Hotch.

"Oh, she fits," said Emily.

Garcia quickly wrote Lisa's name on the board.

"That's seven, including Kaylee, that makes eight," said Hotch.

Emily looked at the eight pictures and noticed the eight women.

"Whoa," said Emily.

"They're all incredibly beautiful," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at the photos.

"Almost unnaturally, but Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget are considered the most beautiful girls to me," said Spencer.

Garcia noticed the names of the cities.

"What are the chances that three out of our seven victims are from the same town?" asked Garcia.

"What's the population of Saluda?" asked Emily.

"Middle-sex county is small, but it's near water. A lot of people have boats there and weekend homes," said Spencer.

"And two from Gloucester point," said Hotch just as Spencer's phone beeped.

Spencer quickly pulled out his work phone and noticed a picture of toys lined up into a certain pattern.

"Morgan just sent this to me from the Robinson house," said Spencer as he looked at the board before flashing back to what Professor Rothschild said on the way.

Hotch noticed a certain look on Spencer's face causing him to take his brother-in-law's phone as he watched his brother-in-law walk towards the board.

"Perfection," said Spencer to himself as he flashed back to another thing that Professor Rothschild said to him as he wrote 'Loretto 5' onto the board before thought about everything that was said before he drew the symbol that was sent to him on the board, "1-1-2-3-5," said Spencer to himself.

"Does that mean something?" asked Emily.

A few seconds later Spencer sprinted out of the conference room and ran to the interrogation room where Professor Rothschild looked at him.

"Dr. Reid…," said Professor Rothschild.

Spencer quickly pulled the pendant off of Professor Rothschild's neck.

"I know where to find them," said Spencer smugly before he quickly ran out of the interrogation room leaving a shocked Professor Rothschild.

A few minutes later Spencer entered the conference room with Garcia and Rossi trailing after him.

"Garcia, can you put the map of Virginia up on screen?" asked Spencer as he quickly moved the clear board and looked at his teammates, "It's an irrational number known as "phi." It's based on the ratio of line segments to each other and of the whole. It's called the golden ratio," said Spencer.

"Golden rat- that's the web address, ," said Garcia.

"It's a ratio found all through life. In fact, many people that we find conventionally attractive are proportioned based on that ratio. He, uh, he made a reference to Leonardo Da Vinci, remember this? Da Vinci used it in a lot of his paintings. A matter of fact, The Last Supper is a perfect example-," rambled Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Reid, Reid, how do we find them?" asked Hotch.

Spencer held up the pendant.

"The whole concept is represented by this pendant, including the logarithmic spiral created by using a Fibonacci sequence. Follow me on this," said Spencer as he held the pendant towards the map, "You can manipulate this image, right?" asked Spencer.

"Tell me what you need," said Garcia.

"Pull up all the towns that the missings are from," instructed Spencer.

Garcia quickly followed Spencer's instructions.

"Wonderful," said Spencer as he gestured to the map, "We had one in Richmond. One in Dinwiddie, then two in Gloucester point, and three in Saluda, and finally five in Loretto this morning. 1-1-2-3-5 is a Fibonacci series. Each number added to the number before it. It's what his ticks mean. He's subconsciously counting off the Fibonacci sequence in his head over and over again. Now geometrically, it can be expressed as a spiral," said Spencer as he shook the pendant a bit, "It's called a logarithmic spiral. Can you put the spiral up on the map?" asked Spencer.

Garcia quickly pulled up a photo of a logarithmic spiral onto the map.

"Thanks. OK, now flip it 180 degrees," said Spencer.

Garcia quickly followed Spencer's instructions while Spencer positioned the pendant in his hands.

"Now make it bigger," said Spencer as Garcia blew up the picture a bit, "Bigger, just a little bit bigger," said Spencer just until Garcia had the picture blown up to the perfect size, "Stop, stop, stop," said Spencer as he leaned forward and placed the pendant in his hands onto a possible city, "The pendant is like a key. Chester, Virginia," said Spencer.

Rossi walked closer to the map.

"You're sure?" asked Rossi.

"With his level of obsession with these numbers, the ratio will have permeated his entire life. If we took a city map of Chester, the location where Kaylee and her children are being held will follow one of these points on that map as well. The ratio works with any scale at all," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his phone.

"Morgan and Todd are closer. Call them and tell them to get to Chester. I'm gonna get a chopper ready. Reid and Prentiss, get a city map and you're with me," said Hotch as he left the room.

"There's still something... Bugging me about this," said Rossi as he looked at Spencer, "Follow your brother-in-law's orders and I'll contact you before you get to Chester," said Rossi.

"OK," said Spencer as he and Emily hurried out of the room to collect their Kevlar vests and a map.

Xxxxxxxx 

10 minutes later Spencer was running after Hotch and Emily with his Kevlar vest in his hands as he kept himself in a crouched position until a pilot helped him get onto the helicopter before Hotch took the seat next to him while Emily sat on the other side of Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

While watching paramedics take Kaylee and the kids away, Spencer stood with Emily as they listened to Morgan argue with Jordan.

"This is going to be interesting," said Spencer.

"Yeah," said Emily as she and Spencer headed towards an SUV.

"I'm grateful that Clarissa and I hired Lucy to take care of the kids while Clarissa and I work," said Spencer.

"Speaking of Clarissa, have you bought her a wedding anniversary present yet since you two signed up to take a pottery class together to celebrate the eight-year anniversary of the day you two met?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded.

"I already bought a new set of iron pots, pans, and skillets because the set we have is the set we bought when we were finally able to move in together since Clarissa and Lucy have been talking about needing new cookware," said Spencer.

"Your secret is safe with me," said Emily.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two hours later Spencer was giving his brother-in-law his finished case report when Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"What grade level math is Diana doing now?" asked Hotch.

"She recently mastered adding, subtracting, multiplying, and diving fractions and she took it upon herself to start learning algebra," said Spencer before shaking his head, "I have a feeling that Diana might end up with an IQ higher than mine someday," said Spencer.

"There are times that I think your IQ might be higher than 187, Spencer," said Hotch.

Spencer laughed.

"I haven't taken an IQ test since I was 12, but Clarissa has told me that she believes that my IQ might be higher than 187 too," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "Before I met your sister, a lot of girls would run off when they learn that I'm a genius. So I'm grateful that your sister ended up becoming a huge part of my life," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled a bit.

"I feel the same way too because you're a lot different than the boys that Clarissa dated before she met you. Like I told you before, I'm proud to have you as my brother-in-law and as a member of my team," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over an hour later Spencer entered his house and he smiled while Diana, Bridget, and Evan who were all in their pajamas either ran or crawled to him causing him to quickly kneel down and hug Diana and Bridget tightly before Evan reached him causing him to let go of his girls and lift up his five-month-old son.

"Daddy missed you three while I was at work," said Spencer.

"Can I please sleep with you tonight, daddy?" asked Diana.

"Me too?" asked Bridget.

"Eeeee!" screeched Evan.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other as they thought about how much they enjoy the nights they decide to co-sleep with their kids despite the times they dealt with a diapered bum in front of their noses, feet against their mouths or noses, or a certain child becomes a bed hog in their king-sized bed.

"You three can sleep with daddy and me tonight," said Clarissa.

Xxxxxxxx 

An hour later Spencer and Clarissa were asleep in their bed with Diana, Bridget, and Evan.


	54. 52 Pickup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts two days after the last chapter and I promise that there will be more Diana, Bridget, and Evan in the next chapter because Thanksgiving will be happening in the next chapter.

Spencer was sitting at the conference table with his teammates as Jordan pulled up a picture of a young woman.

"Vanessa Holden, age 25. Last Friday night, she was clubbing with her sister. A stranger, white male, roughly her age, picked her up. They left the club at 1 AM, went back to her place. He forced her on her hands and knees. And then he cut her open just below the stomach," said Jordan as she showed another picture.

"Whoa," said Morgan.

"Yeah. Pretty rough," said Rossi.

"The gutting causes the intestines to spill out. You can survive for a few hours, actually even days," said Spencer.

"Postmortem indicates that he slit her throat at 5 AM," said Jordan.

"So he disemboweled her but didn't kill her for four hours," said Rossi.

"He could be a sexual sadist," said Emily.

Jordan passed Rossi a few files.

"Yeah, I thought so, too, but I found two priors from a year ago- Prostitutes, actually, in motel rooms," said Jordan while the files were passed around.

"OK. So keep running with it. Why do you think this is the same unsub?" asked Morgan.

Jordan pulled up some pictures.

"In Vanessa Holden's apartment, the following was discover- bleach, ammonia, trash bags- all in a triangular pattern," said Jordan as she pulled up a few more pictures, "One year ago, motel rooms- bleach, ammonia, trash bags- also in a triangular pattern," said Jordan.

"He's cleaning up," said Emily.

"Might be trying to hide his tracks," said Morgan.

"Could be a sign of remorse," said Spencer.

"Apologizing for the murder by minimizing the mess," said Rossi.

Jordan looked at her temporary teammates.

"But there's one other commonality between both sets of murders. Bleach and ammonia were found under the victim's fingernails," said Jordan.

"He's making them clean up their own murder," said Morgan.

"It's the same unsub," said Hotch before giving a departure time and looked at his brother-in-law, "Before you either call or text my sister and let her know that you have a case, I need to speak to you in my office," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded and a minute later Spencer was sitting on the couch in his brother-in-law's office when Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"With this being our first case back in Georgia since the Hankel case, no one would judge you if you want to pull yourself off this case and take the rest of today off and spending the weekend with Clarissa and the kids," said Hotch.

Spencer sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Even though I'm nervous about returning to Georgia, I need to see if I can handle stepping foot in the state of Georgia again as part of the exposure therapy that I went through so I could handle shovels, fish, cemeteries, and corn again. You know that I succeeded in gardening again, visiting my parents' graves in Las Vegas, and going through corn mazes with Clarissa without having a lot of flashbacks to some of the worst days of my life even though I can never handle the smell of fish cooking or eating fish again," said Spencer.

Hotch shook his head as he thought about how strong his brother-in-law is when it came to dealing with becoming an orphan twice, the bullying he went through in school, and everything that he has already dealt with as an FBI agent and still be the Spencer that everyone knows before smiling at his brother-in-law.

"I hope that the inner strength and fighter spirit that you display never goes away, Spencer," said Hotch.

Spencer grinned.

"I hope so too," said Spencer.

"Go and call my sister and let her know that you are going away for a few days," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded as he left his brother-in-law's office as he pulled his personal cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Clarissa who answered after the second ring.

"I was just about to call you and tell you that Children's National asked me to fill in for Alice while she goes out of town for her brother's wedding tomorrow," said Clarissa.

"It's OK because I just got a case too, Clarissa. Knowing Lucy, she'll make sure that Diana still has a fun weekend without us like she has done countless of times when you're filling in for another nurse and I'm on a case," said Spencer.

"What city are you spending your weekend in?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer took a shaky breath.

"Atlanta, Georgia," said Spencer.

"Isn't this your first case back in Georgia since your abduction and torture?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Spencer.

"How are you feeling about going back to Georgia?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm nervous about possible PTSD symptoms returning while I'm in Atlanta, but I know that you are going to tell me that you're always going to answer your phone and if you can't you'll call me back ASAP and when we hang up you'll be calling your brother and tell him to keep an eye on me," said Spencer.

Clarissa laughed.

"I've trained you well, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer chuckled a bit.

"You sure did. With it being Friday right now, hopefully, I'm back in time for Evan's first Thanksgiving in six days and for us to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary in nine days," said Spencer as he glanced down at his dinged up wedding band.

"Hopefully your home in time too, but I have to get going because a student just entered my office. Please stay safe and I love you," said Clarissa.

"I promise to stay safe and I love you too," said Spencer before hanging up.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over an hour later Spencer was sitting between Emily and the aisle on the jet when Emily looked at her teammates and fiance.

"So if the unsub changed the victimology, does that make him organized or disorganized?" asked Emily.

"Well, the prostitutes point one way, the club goes another," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at a crime scene photo as he tried to force his nervousness on returning to Georgia out of his mind.

"The triangular arrangement of the cleaning supplies is interesting," said Spencer.

"Obsessive-compulsive?" asked Hotch.

"Might have been institutionalized," said Emily.

"We're missing the forest for the trees here. This guy started with prostitutes- a high-risk victimology. Took a year off, came back, killed a socialite," said Rossi.

"No forced entry, no coercion of any kind," said Morgan.

"Exactly. So how does our unsub go from the loser of the year to Don Juan?" asked Rossi.

"Actually, as Byron interpreted him, Don Juan was an ironic reversal of sex roles," said Spencer before he noticed the look that his brother-in-law was giving him, "And when- th-that's about it," said Spencer.

"Something must have happened between the last prostitute and Vanessa Holden making him change his victimology," said Hotch.

Jordan looked at her temporary teammates.

"Could the unsub have known Vanessa?" asked Jordan.

"It's unlikely. Sexual sadists attack anonymously," said Morgan.

"They have to sever a personal connection and see their victims as objects to perpetrate this level of torture," said Spencer.

"We have to build two profiles, then- one for the unsub who killed prostitutes, one for the unsub who goes to clubs," said Emily.

"We've never done that before," said Rossi.

"Prentiss is right. The victimology is so different, we'll treat them as separate unsubs and see what overlap," said Hotch before he looked at his brother-in-law, "Reid, work up a geographic profile, focus on the location of the murders. Prentiss and Rossi, concentrate on the prostitutes. Jordan, Morgan, and I will go deal with Vanessa Holden," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer followed his brother-in-law, Jordan, and Morgan into the bullpen area of a police department when Jordan approached a female detective.

"Detective Harding?" asked Jordan as she received a nod from Detective Harding causing her to shake the detective's hand, "Agent Jordan Todd," said Jordan.

"Thank you for coming," said Detective Harding as she held out her hand to Hotch.

"SSAs Hotchner, Morgan, Dr. Reid," said Jordan.

Morgan shook Detective Harding's hand.

"How you doing?" asked Morgan.

"How are you?" asked Detective Harding.

Spencer looked at Detective Harding.

"Hey, is there a DNA match between the unsub and the prostitutes? We could run through VICAP just in case," said Spencer

"Um, there's no DNA at all. No prints, no fibers. Just like Vanessa, everything gets cleaned up," said Detective Harding.

"Pretty effective forensic countermeasure," said Morgan.

"What about witnesses? Somebody must have seen something," said Hotch.

"Oh, yeah. Lots of people," said Detective Harding.

"So you have a sketch?" asked Morgan.

Detective Harding grabbed a piece of paper and passed it to Morgan causing Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, and Jordan to study it.

"It's a little vague," said Spencer.

"That's because of this guy's other countermeasure. Take a look," said Detective Harding as she started to play security footage and pointed at a man, "So this guy right here, that's our killer," said Detective Harding.

Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, and Jordan studied the footage.

"It looks like a fedora," said Jordan.

"So he's drawing attention to his face while simultaneously obscuring it," said Hotch.

"It's called peacocking- the adornment of some sort of flashy effect to sort of try to distract witnesses," said Spencer.

"So none of your witness statements agree?" asked Morgan.

Detective Harding started to read reports.

"He had a mole, "he didn't have a mole." He had a gap between his teeth, no, his teeth were perfect," read Detective Harding.

"Detective, we're gonna have to have a sit-down with Ashley Holden. She got the best look at the unsub," said Jordan.

"Well, I wish I could make that happen, but unfortunately, the family has decided to stop cooperating," said Detective Harding.

"Why is that?" asked Hotch.

"They won't say. Yesterday the mother would move heaven and earth to help find her daughter's killer. Today, no, thanks," said Detective Harding.

Jordan who was pressing a phone against her ear looked at Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, and Detective Harding.

"I'll take care of this," said Jordan before she walked away.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer walked towards his teammates as he carried two cups of coffee for Morgan and himself.

"The unsub killed the prostitutes in separate pay-by-the-hour motels in Fulton County," said Spencer as he pointed at his geographical profile, "right there in one of the poorer neighborhoods he area. Now, Vanessa Holden's apartment was in the Peachtree District, where there's a lot of big money. Based on the geography, he isn't just changing his victimology, he's changed his whole tax bracket," said Spencer.

"The high profile of Vanessa Holden bears that out. By killing her, he was climbing the social ladder," said Morgan.

Spencer sat down on the edge of a desk by his brother-in-law while Rossi looked at a newspaper he was holding.

"If that's the case, this unsub had a long way to climb. Both prostitutes advertised here," said Rossi as he showed the articles he was looking at, "Look at their pictures," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at the pictures.

"Subservient positioning, asking to be dominated," said Hotch.

"Promising to come to you? That cuts out the social interaction of meeting on a street corner," said Emily.

"That's a long way from a self-assured unsub who hits the clubs," said Morgan.

"Except he took a year off between the murders. Maybe he took that time to change himself," said Hotch.

"That's impossible," said Morgan.

"Why?" asked Hotch.

"Well, I mean, you're talking about a total transformation here. I mean how you talk, I mean how you dress, how you think about yourself," said Morgan.

"Difficult maybe. Not impossible," said Hotch.

"He already started killing. There must have been a secondary trigger that motivated him to change who he was. So if you're gonna transform yourself, how would you do it?" asked Rossi.

"A steady diet of self-help books. Start hitting the gym?" asked Emily.

"You have to learn how to read people. I mean, what is a pick-up? It's basically just a profile," said Spencer.

"Decoding cues of interest and recoding similar ones," said Morgan.

"If you're too obvious, you turn off your target. If you're oblivious, your target moves on to a better profiler," said Emily.

"That doesn't sound like something he could do on his own," said Hotch.

"No. He'd have to go somewhere to learn it," said Emily.

"Yeah. A self-help class maybe?" asked Spencer.

Morgan shook his head.

"Uh, wait a minute. Come on. An unsub who kills prostitutes. Is he really thinking about signing up for a Tony Robbins seminar?" asked Morgan.

Rossi shook the newspaper he was looking at.

"He would if he found a class in the same place he found the prostitutes," said Rossi as he showed an article that had an ad that said 'LEARN HOW TO PICK UP CHICKS'

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer was looking up at a balcony before looking at the blood that was on the ground.

"Well, the preliminary autopsy came back. The victim's name is Becky Williams," said Morgan.

"Was she disemboweled?" asked Rossi.

"No. And what's even weirder is the cleaning supplies were set out, but there were no traces of them on her body," said Morgan.

Spencer squinted a bit.

"Why would the unsub alter his signature and push her out of an eight-story window?" asked Spencer.

"Escalating to sadism maybe?" asked Morgan.

"Gutting and cleaning are what he has to do to find release. He wouldn't change that," said Rossi.

"Well, why not? He's changed everything else about himself," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Did anyone see the unsub?" asked Spencer.

"No surveillance cameras at the club. Becky's friends say she was talking to a guy with sunglasses," said Morgan.

Spencer squinted a bit.

"Sunglasses," said Spencer before he ran into the apartment complex that his brother-in-law and Emily were in and headed to the stairs.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer stepped into Becky's apartment and looked at his brother-in-law.

"Can Detective Harding get a copy of the sketch to Garcia?" asked Spencer.

Hotch turned around and looked at his brother-in-law.

"Did you find anything outside?" asked Hotch.

"No. But I think there might be a new pattern emerging," said Spencer.

"Why do you sound out of breath?" asked Hotch.

"I chose to run up the stairs instead of waiting for an elevator," said Spencer.

Hotch shook his head.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over a half hour later Spencer was sitting in front of a Bureau issued laptop as he had his teammates and Detective Harding surrounding him before he addressed Garcia on the phone.

"Garcia, you ready?" asked Spencer.

"Sending it now. Please be aware that 30 minutes with photoshop does not allow for much artistic flourish," said Garcia.

Spencer pressed a key as the photo of the unsub came up.

"Both times the unsub has gone to a club, he's had some costume," said Spencer as he had a fedora come onto the man's head, "but now there's a theme- a fedora and colored contacts, sunglasses, each time obscuring. Are you ready, Garcia?" asked Spencer as Garcia zoomed in the picture a bit before Spencer pointed at the man's eyebrow, "This area. Now, yes, maybe he's trying to draw attention to him, but maybe he's trying to draw attention away from here," said Spencer as he gestured to a possible scar.

"Something he knows is identifiable- a birthmark or a scar maybe," said Rossi.

"We need to get these out," said Hotch before he looked at Jordan, "Jordan, release these to the press," ordered Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later Spencer was standing in front of police officers while Emily looked at everyone who came to hear the profile.

"Our unsub is a confident alpha male. He is white. He's between the ages of 25 and 30. He's in excellent physical shape to overpower women and also to feed his self-image," started Emily.

"He has an obsession with cleaning. He probably works in some service industry, wiping up after others, convinced everyone looks down at him. His change in himself and his victimology reflects that," said Rossi.

"This is the kind of guy who wants to stand out in a crowd. He's taken a class in how to pick up women. So he'll repeat a series of well-rehearsed lines and mind games," said Morgan.

"He may be uneducated, but he's by no means stupid. Taking this class has given him the ability to read verbal cues and body language," said Hotch.

"One classic routine the viper promotes is called the push-pull. He'll insert himself between two women and immediately after complimenting one, He'll deliver a subtle insult, then pay attention to the other," said Spencer before he decided to do an example as he looked at the mother of two of Diana's friends from school, "Those are really nice earrings. I like those," said Spencer.

Jordan smiled and chuckled as she looked at the father of her four-year-old twins' friend from school.

"Thanks," said Jordan.

Spencer thought about his grandma Lydia.

"My grandmother wears a lot of fake jewelry also. It looks nice," said Spencer causing some chuckles before he became serious, "Ignoring the one man puts her in direct competition with her friend and causes the other to pursue you more aggressively. I was just demonstrating. So I'm sorry," said Spencer as he looked at Jordan before he went back to his original spot.

"Well, we've mapped the hot spots he hits. And he frequents the same clubs that the viper does, so we need eyes and ears in every single one," said Detective Harding.

"Circulate the sketch as widely as possible. We'll need everyone aware that there's a killer out there. Thank you very much," finished Hotch.

After officers walked out of the room, Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"I think I might just stay home and man the tip line tonight. Clubs aren't my thing," said Spencer.

"Not a chance, kid. Whether your married or not, I need a wing-man. Come on, now," said Morgan.

"Actually, there is another angle we need to pursue," said Rossi.

"We still don't know what made the unsub change his victimology, what made him stop killing prostitutes and move into the clubs," said Hotch.

"The answer might be something in Viper's class, but to figure that out, we need to profile the teacher," said Rossi.

"You need to bait him, then, with someone he sees as a challenge," said Morgan.

Spencer realized what his brother-in-law, Morgan, and Rossi were doing as he looked at Emily.

"We need to study his style up close and personal," said Spencer as he glanced at Emily, "It's gonna take someone that he's already attracted to," smirked Spencer.

Emily realized what her fiancé, soon to be brother-in-law, Morgan, and Rossi were doing as she groaned.

"Even though I'm engaged, this is really gonna suck," said Emily.

Spencer looked at Emily.

"Even though I'm going to be celebrating my six year wedding anniversary in eight days, this sucks for me too," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Spencer and Morgan.

"I'm hoping that you two keep each other out of trouble because I don't want my sister or Garcia to get angry," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer looked at three women as he tried to keep the symptoms of sensory overload from increasing as he gave the profile to the women.

"When you think about the nature of serial crimes, it's amazing there aren't more predators in the clubs. I mean, excessive amounts of alcohol, countless opportunities for date rape drugs, Not to mention surprisingly risky behavior being pursued. All right. So who wants a flier?" asked Spencer.

All three women shook their head before walking away.

"Nobody? OK. All right," said Spencer before he made his way to Morgan.

"So how's it going?" asked Morgan.

"Not good because I'm already dealing with sensory overload symptoms. I gave the profile to one woman, she asked if I was the unsub. How are you doing?" asked Spencer.

"Well, I gave out all my fliers," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about how Garcia might be angry at Morgan if Morgan accepted phone numbers from women.

"Even though you're engaged to be married, how many phone numbers did you get?" asked Spencer.

"None. I'm working a case here, kid," said Morgan.

Spencer gave Morgan a look that he used on Diana to get her to behave when she's misbehaving.

"OK, four were offered, but I told everyone that I'm engaged to be married," said Morgan.

"Good because I don't want Penelope to do some hacking and ruin my credit history before I start Christmas shopping for Clarissa and the kids," said Spencer as he pinched his nose and rubbed his eyes, "Can we please get out of here before I have a rare autistic meltdown because of sensory overload?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, and we should go give the profile to the bartender before we leave," said Morgan.

10 seconds later Spencer and Morgan were standing in front of the bartender causing Spencer to smile at a familiar face.

"Excuse me, sweetheart. Whenever you get a chance," said Morgan.

As soon as Austin finished helping a customer, she smiled when she recognized Spencer.

"What can I get you?" asked Austin.

"Hi Austin," said Spencer.

"Even though I went up to DC in August to visit you, Clarissa, and the kids while you were recovering from the events in Colorado, I'm shocked to see you here of all places since you always get sensory overload in places like this, Spencer," said Austin.

"I didn't have a choice because lives are at stake, Austin," said Spencer.

Morgan looked between Spencer and Austin.

"You two know each other?" asked Morgan.

"Spencer and I are adopted cousins through our late aunt Elena's side," said Austin.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Aunt Ethel had an older brother who died from cancer when I was 15 and Austin was uncle Tyler's daughter. After aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon died, Austin and I agreed that we would each pay half of what isn't covered by medical insurance for aunt Elena to keep her where she's hospitalized," said Spencer.

"Since your more in regular contact with aunt Elena, how is she doing?" asked Austin.

"She's doing well, but as much as I want to tell you about how Clarissa, the kids, and I are doing, I need your help on the case I'm currently working on," said Spencer.

"I'll be grateful to help you, Spencer," said Austin.

Spencer pulled out a flier that contained a sketch of the unsub.

"We're looking for this man. Does he look at all familiar to you?" asked Spencer.

Austin studied the picture before looking at her cousin.

"It's not much of a picture," said Austin.

"I know," said Spencer as he reached into his pocket and grabbed a pen and pushed it through the paper, "You know what might help, actually, is he has a scar on his eye right about there. We also know that he's taken classes where he's learned how to distract and charm his victim," said Spencer as he pulled the pen through the paper without damaging it.

Austin laughed as she took the sketch from her cousin.

"OK, are you ever going to tell me how you did that since your nearly five-year-old daughter has been showing me the magic tricks you've been teaching her?" asked Austin.

Spencer chuckled.

"That's privileged information and Diana knows not to tell anyone a magician's secrets," said Spencer.

"So what do I do if I see him?" asked Austin.

"You should call us. Even if you just think you see him, you should definitely call us," said Spencer.

"Is your phone number still the same?" asked Austin.

"It is," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

A few hours later Spencer entered the area where the bouncer told him where his cousin liked to go smoke with Morgan as he kept his calm about his cousin probably being abducted by the unsub.

"The bouncer saw Austin go out the back. She likes to smoke back here," said Spencer as he pulled out his personal phone and quickly dialed his cousin's cell phone number.

"Well, based on the witness' description, it definitely sounds like the unsub was here. We got units at her apartment, but no one's home," said Morgan.

Spencer pressed his cell phone to his ear as he heard his cousin's voice through voicemail.

"Hey, it's Austin. Leave a message," said Austin.

"It keeps going straight to voicemail. Maybe we could have Garcia try to triangulate where she is based on the cell phone," said Spencer just as he and Morgan heard vibrating causing Spencer to find his cousin's phone in a plant, "He has her," said Spencer.

Morgan placed a hand on Spencer's shoulder.

"We'll do our best to find your cousin alive," said Morgan.

"Other than aunt Elena; Clarissa, the kids, and I are all that Austin has left because her mother died three years ago," said Spencer before shaking his head, "I told Austin that she shouldn't be a bartender," said Spencer as he quickly called his brother-in-law who answered without preamble.

"Is your cousin OK?" asked Hotch.

"Austin's missing," said Spencer.

"We'll do our best to find your cousin," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer ran over to his cousin and removed the duct tape from his cousin's mouth while Morgan arrested the unsub.

"Get this off. Get it off. Get it off," cried Austin as she shook her hands.

Spencer quickly removed the duct tape from his cousin's hands as he used a voice that he used for Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack to sooth them.

"OK. It's OK," soothed Spencer.

"I called you," choked Austin.

Spencer started to help his cousin off the ground.

"I know. I know. I know," said Spencer.

"I called you," said Spencer as he led his cousin outside to where an ambulance was waiting.

A minute later Spencer was helping his cousin get onto a gurney and he looked at his cousin.

"Would you like me to stay behind for a few days?" asked Spencer.

Austin shook her head.

"You need to get back to Clarissa and my second cousins, but I'll call you when I get out of the hospital," said Austin.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning at 9:35 AM, Spencer was talking with Reverend Alden just as he heard some familiar voices.

"Daddy!" cried Diana.

"Dada!" cried Bridget.

"Eeeeee," cried five-month-old Evan.

"Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer turned around and grinned as he saw Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan with Lucy just as Diana and Bridget quickly ran towards him causing him to scoop up his two oldest children and hugged each girl tightly and kissed them.

"I missed you, daddy," said Diana as she breathed in the scent of her daddy's cologne.

"I missed you," said Spencer as he kissed Diana before giving Bridget a kiss, "And I missed you too, Bridget," said Spencer just as Clarissa who was carrying Evan on her hip walked over.

"You never called or texted me to tell me that you were coming home today," said Clarissa as she gave her husband a kiss.

After Spencer gave Evan a kiss, he looked at his wife.

"I always enjoy seeing the looks on your faces when I surprise you guys," said Spencer as he yawned a bit.

"How much sleep did you get at the hotel and on the jet?" asked Clarissa.

"Five hours and I chose to come here instead of going straight home because I can easily take a nap while Bridget and Evan nap this afternoon," said Spencer.

Clarissa yawned a bit.

"I'll be taking a nap too because Evan had a rough night with teething," said Clarissa as she ran a hand over Evan's growing curly brown hair.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"Can you please give me a piggyback ride to Sunday school?" asked Diana.

"I can," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was dropping Diana off in the room where children of Diana's age was gathering for Sunday School before he joined Clarissa, Bridget, Evan, and Lucy on a pew while he settled Bridget and Evan on his lap.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two days later Spencer smiled as he talked to his cousin on the phone.

"How are you feeling?" asked Spencer.

"Great. I told my HMO I got abducted by a serial killer, so they gave me free dental x-rays," said Austin.

"When it comes to knowing what its like to be hospitalized for a few days three times, I'm glad your stay at the hospital wasn't too terrible, then," said Spencer.

"Ah, my doctor gave me a clean bill of health. He told me I could even go back to work if I wanted to," said Austin.

Spencer snorted as he thought about the argument he had with his cousin when it came to Austin dropping out of culinary school to become a bartender.

"All righty. Back to bartending. All right," said Spencer.

"No. I quit that job. My recent brush with death has inspired me to pursue a different career," said Austin.

"Well, that's very exciting news. What's, um-what is the new job path?" asked Spencer.

"When it came to aunt Ethel teaching us how to cook and me deciding to spend a few years going to culinary school, I decided to work in a diner up in DC so I can be closer to you, Clarissa, and my adorable second cousins," said Austin.

"Knowing Clarissa, she'll be happy that I will be having more family in the area," said Spencer.

"I'll be starting my new job next week and I'll be starting my drive up to DC tonight," said Austin.

"Have you found a place to stay yet?" asked Spencer.

"I was going to stay in a hotel until I found an apartment," said Austin.

"Knowing Clarissa, she'll force you to stay in our guest bedroom until you find a place to live," said Spencer before he took a deep breath, "Clarissa and I both have experience with dealing with PTSD because you know what happened to me in Georgia last year and we want to help you," said Spencer.

"You win, Spencer," said Austin.


	55. Thanksgiving & Married For Six Years

Spencer pulled up in front of his and Clarissa's house and Evan and Lydia's eyes widened at the sight of the house.

"You and Clarissa have a beautiful house," said Lydia.

"Its a five bedroom and three and a half bathroom house with a pool house that Lucy lives in," said Spencer.

"A perfect sized house for a husband, wife, three kids, and a live-in-nanny," said Lydia.

"Eventually Diana and Bridget will be sharing a room because Clarissa and I are still wanting to have more kids together," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was letting his grandparents into the house where he kicked off his shoes in the foyer.

"Clarissa and I don't allow shoes on in the house," said Spencer.

Lydia and Evan followed their grandson's instructions before Lydia took a look around the living room.

"I'm surprised that this house is very clean when it comes to a cat, a dog, and three kids living in this house," said Lydia.

"Diana has asthma, and her doctor suggested that we keep this house very clean," said Spencer just as an overall-clad Diana who was wearing mismatched socks came running down the stairs while Clarissa followed with Bridget and Evan on her hips.

"Daddy! Grandma Lydia! Grandpa Evan!" exclaimed Diana as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

A few seconds later Spencer was hefting up his nearly five-year-old daughter.

"Pretty soon you'll be too big for me to carry, bumble bee," said Spencer.

Diana gave her daddy an Eskimo kiss that Spencer returned.

"You don't have problems carrying mommy, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer shook his head while a laughing Clarissa approached him with Bridget and Evan who were both wearing overalls and mismatched socks like their big sister.

"She got you there, Spence," said Clarissa as she pecked her husband on the lips.

"Hi Dada," said Bridget.

Spencer grinned at his 15-month-old daughter who was also wearing overalls like her big sister before he took his youngest daughter from his wife.

"Were you a good girl today?" asked Spencer.

Bridget nodded while her curly pigtails bounced.

"I good girl," said Bridget.

"When I came home from school with Diana, she was showing Evan a picture of you again while chanting the word 'Dada'," said Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head in amusement as he looked at his youngest daughter.

"Are you trying to make sure that Evan's first word is 'Dada' like you and your big sister?" asked Spencer as he blew a raspberry on his youngest daughter's cheek.

Bridget giggled before she shyly waved at her great-grandparents.

"Hi," said Bridget shyly.

"Hello Bridget," smiled Lydia.

Evan looked at Clarissa who was holding his namesake.

"Little Evan has definitely grown the past few weeks," said Evan.

"I know," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"Where are Lucy and Austin?" asked Spencer.

"They went to the store to pick up some last minute groceries," said Clarissa.

"Austin?" asked Lydia.

"She's my adoptive cousin through my aunt Ethel's side and she decided to move up here because Clarissa, the kids, and I are all she has left. She's staying with us until she finds a place of her own to live," said Spencer before looking at his grandparents, "I might as well show you two where your staying before giving you two a tour of the house," said Spencer.

"Dinner will be done in 30 minutes, so there's plenty of time for a tour," said Clarissa.

"What's for dinner tonight?" asked Spencer.

"Lucy's famous chicken pot pie," said Clarissa.

Spencer's stomach grumbled loudly causing Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan all to laugh while Clarissa looked at her husband's grandparents.

"Even though Spence and I are great at cooking, Lucy has done a really good job getting Spencer to gain some much-needed weight when we hired her," said Clarissa.

Xxxxxxxx 

45 minutes later, Diana who was halfway done with her dinner looked at her second cousin.

"If grandma Lydia and grandpa Evan are going to sleep in the guest bedroom, where are you going to sleep?" asked Diana.

"Lucy already offered me the bed you sleep in when you and your siblings have a sleepover with Lucy," said Austin.

Spencer looked at Lucy.

"Speaking of beds, pretty soon you'll be needing to add another bed in your cottage for Bridget to use when she grows out of her crib," said Spencer.

"I know," said Lucy.

Diana looked at her parents.

"When Bridget is ready for a big girl bed, can she move into my room and you two buy bunk beds?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances.

"Bridget can move into your room, but your room won't be containing bunk beds," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Diana.

"When it comes to you having asthma it's better for you to sleep on the top bunk, but when it comes to your asthma attacks being more frequent at night," said Spencer before Diana decided to interrupt.

"It's not a good idea for me to sleep on the top bunk because I could fall off the ladder and an adult has to help me use my inhaler until you, mommy, and my doctor decide that I'm old enough to use my inhaler myself," said Diana.

Xxxxxxxx 

Three hours later Diana, Bridget, and Evan were fast asleep in their respective bed or cribs when Spencer walked over to his grandfather who was looking at all of the rewards he received during his time in the FBI.

"Clarissa insists on displaying all of my awards and commendations I received for the past five years instead of me displaying them in the office in the attic," said Spencer.

"I know that the FBI Star, FBI Shield of Bravery, and Medal of Valor are your most recent awards because of watching you receive these medals on national television, but what's with the other FBI Star?" asked Evan.

Spencer sighed while being grateful that the kids were already asleep while reaching into his pants pocket and felt his one-year medallion before gesturing towards the couch.

"We should sit down because I'm not sure how you're going to react when I tell you that I've been held hostage by a religious unsub before," said Spencer.

As soon as Spencer and his grandfather were sitting down, Spencer took a deep breath before making eye contact with his grandfather and started to tell him what happened to him without mentioning the Dilaudid.

Xxxxxxxx 

When Spencer was finished, a teary-eyed Evan gave his grandson a hug.

"Are you OK now?" asked Evan.

Spencer nodded.

"I was forced to take medical leave for six weeks so I could physically recover and work through my mental injuries with a Bureau therapist and an exposure therapist, but I'll be dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and cravings for the rest of my life," said Spencer.

"Cravings?" asked Evan.

"Tobias Hankel drugged me over six times with Dilaudid laced with LSD during the two days I was held hostage," said Spencer.

Evan opened his mouth causing Spencer to interrupt.

"I didn't get addicted at all because I told my brother-in-law and unit chief Aaron and the paramedics I was drugged against my will with Dilaudid and I went through withdrawal during my five days in the hospital with Clarissa, Austin, and Lucy by my side while they took turns taking care of three-year-old Diana," said Spencer before he reached into his pocket and pulled out his one-year medallion, "While I was on medical leave, I was ordered to attend a support group for addicts and submit to random drug tests to prove that I'm clean because of my high-risk background," said Spencer.

"High-risk back background?" asked Evan.

"Becoming an orphan twice and being a victim to extreme bullying until one event way too far that uncle Gordon ended up arresting the high school football team and a bunch of students ended up being expelled, spend time in jail, and register as sex offenders," said Spencer as he started to explain what happened to him.

When Spencer was finished, Evan looked at his grandson.

"When it comes to you for being able to bounce back from everything that has happened to you, you are a very strong young man, Spencer," said Evan.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"I know, and meeting Clarissa 2,919 days ago helped me survive the deaths of aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon," said Spencer.

"Ethel and Gordon did a really great job raising you," said Evan.

Spencer nodded.

"I know," said Spencer before smiling slightly, "I know that my brother-in-law Aaron helped turn me into the man I am today," said Spencer.

"I hope I get to meet your unit chief soon," said Evan.

"You'll be meeting him tomorrow because he, his fiancée who is also my coworker Emily, and my three-year-old nephew Jack is coming here for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow," said Spencer.

"Anyone else joining us for Thanksgiving dinner?" asked Evan.

"My childhood friend Ethan and he just moved up here from New Orleans last month," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer, Clarissa, and Lucy were working on stuffing the turkey they made together when Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Are you happy that both Ethan and Austin decided to move up here?" asked Clarissa.

"I am," said Spencer before noticing a mischievous gleam in his wife's eyes, "Your planning on setting up Austin and Ethan on a blind date, aren't you?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa shook her head.

"Yes," said Clarissa.

Spencer quickly flashed back to the time he witnessed Austin and Ethan interacting at his and Clarissa's wedding nearly six years ago before making eye contact with his wife.

"They spent half of the time at our wedding reception together," said Spencer.

"That's why I want to set them up," said Clarissa before looking at Lucy who was shaking her head, "Can you please not tell anyone what I'm planning?" asked Clarissa.

"I promise not to tell anyone, but you two are as thick as thieves together," said Lucy.

Spencer and Clarissa both snorted.

"Aaron says the same thing about us too, Lucy," said Clarissa.

Xxxxxxxx 

Meanwhile, in the living room Hotch, Emily, and Austin were playing with Bridget and Evan while Ethan sat at the piano with Diana and Jack giving Jack a piano lesson.

"How are you doing, Austin?" asked Hotch.

"It has been a rough couple of days. After Spencer woke me up from a nightmare two nights ago, he told me more about his abduction and his recovery causing me to have hope about bouncing back like he did," said Austin.

Hotch smiled a bit.

"Aside from my sister, Spencer is one of the strongest people I've ever met," said Hotch just as Evan and Lydia came downstairs.

"Can we talk to you, Aaron?" asked Evan.

"Sure," said Hotch.

A few minutes later, Hotch was sitting across from his brother-in-law's grandparents.

"We wanted to thank you for being there for our grandson the past eight years," said Evan.

"Your welcome and I'm proud to call him my brother-in-law while having him as an agent on my team," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later Spencer led everyone in a prayer before Diana looked at her parents, uncle Aaron, Auntie Emily, Lucy, Austin, Ethan, and her great-grandparents.

"Are we going to say what we are thankful for? I want to tell everyone what I said during my school's pageant eight days ago," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled as they thought about Diana's speech that their oldest daughter gave in front of all of the parents and family members a week ago at Washington International School's Thanksgiving pageant causing Clarissa to look at Diana who was sitting between Lucy and Austin.

"Why don't you go first, Diana," said Clarissa.

"OK, mommy," said Diana as she looked at everyone around the table, "I'm thankful for daddy, mommy, Bridget, Evan, uncle Aaron, Jack, uncle Sean, Auntie Emily, Lucy, grandma Alex, grandpa James, grandma Lydia, grandpa Evan, Daisy, Merton, my pet fish, and all of the men and women like daddy, uncle Aaron, Auntie Emily, uncle Dave, uncle Derek, auntie Penelope, auntie JJ, uncle Will, grandma Alex who work hard to keep this country safe from the bad men and women who need really long timeouts," said Diana causing some chuckles around the room before Spencer took his turn to say what he's thankful for.

Xxxxxxxx 

After everyone was done eating dinner and desert, Clarissa looked at Austin and Ethan while Spencer cleaned up Bridget's and Baby Evan's faces.

"Would you two have the honor of loading up the dishwasher while Spence and I give Bridget and Evan their baths?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Austin and Ethan in unison.

"When you two are done, we can start putting the Christmas tree up and decorate the living room for Christmas before I do a magic show for my four favorite children," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana, Bridget, and Jack.

"Eeeeee," screeched baby Evan.

Hotch looked at Spencer and Clarissa as he worked on cleaning up his three-year-old son's face.

"I'll be glad to give Bridget and Evan their baths because Jack needs one too," said Hotch.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"Can I play my violin for grandma and grandpa?" asked Diana.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Diana started to use her eyes on her daddy.

"Will you play your cello too?" asked Diana.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Clarissa shook her head.

"You are really wrapped around Diana's, Bridget's, and my fingers," teased Clarissa.

"I know," grinned Spencer.

Xxxxxxxx 

10 minutes later in the kitchen, Ethan looked at Austin as they loaded the dishwasher while hearing Spencer and Diana play their violin or cello in the living room.

"Are you really moving up here?" asked Ethan.

"I am, and I'm staying here while I look for an apartment while movers pack up my belongings and move them up here," said Austin.

"I'm living in a two bedroom and two bath apartment, so why don't we live together as roommates and split the rent money and bills," said Ethan.

Austin looked at the man she developed a crush on at her cousin's wedding nearly six years ago.

"I think I'll take your offer so I don't ruin Spencer's and Clarissa's sex lives because they're staying at a hotel tomorrow night through Sunday morning to celebrate their wedding anniversary," said Austin.

Xxxxxxxx 

20 minutes later Spencer and Hotch were putting up the Reid family's artificial Christmas tree before everyone excluding baby Evan decorated the Christmas tree and living room while Diana talked about what she wanted for her birthday and Christmas.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning at 11 AM, Spencer and Clarissa were loading their trunk with their Black Friday purchases when Spencer looked at his wife.

"Are we done for the day?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa looked at all of the bags that were in the trunk of her SUV.

"Other than the separate shopping trips we'll both have to go on, I think we're done for now," said Clarissa just as Spencer's stomach growled causing her to look at her watch and notice that it was 11 AM, "We should go get an early lunch before we call Lucy and ask her to get the kids out of the house for a half hour so we can get everything in your home office," said Clarissa.

A minute later Spencer was pulling out of the parking lot of the mall before he drove Clarissa and himself to one of their favorite diners.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later Spencer was laying on the old leather couch that was in the house he spent his teenage years in with his head laying on Clarissa's lap while his arms were wrapped securely around Evan who was napping on his chest when Clarissa who was stroking his hair looked at him.

"You do know that your aunt and uncle are proud of you for the life you made these past eight years," said Clarissa.

"I know," said Spencer just as there was a knock on the closed library door.

"Come in," said Clarissa as she continued to stroke her husband's hair.

A few seconds later Diana and Bridget ran into the library causing Clarissa to look at her daughters.

"Evan's sleeping, so please be quiet," said Clarissa.

"Yes, ma'am," said Diana.

"OK, Mama," said Bridget before she noticed the tears that were falling down her daddy's face, "Why sad, Dada?" asked Bridget.  
Diana studied her daddy before thinking about the date.

"Is it the eight-year anniversary of the day great-aunt Ethel and great-uncle Gordon joined grandma Diana and grandpa William in Heaven?" asked Diana.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her baby sister.

"Daddy will be sad today and tomorrow, but the day after tomorrow he'll be happy again because he met mommy two days after aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon went to Heaven," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other as they watched Bridget accept the big sister wisdom that her big sister gave her before she walked towards her daddy and gave him a kiss.

"Dada etter?" asked Bridget.

Spencer's heart swelled at his youngest daughter's action.

"Yes," said Spencer as he gave both Diana and Bridget kisses before he kissed Evan's head that was covered with curly brown hair.

Clarissa looked at her daughters.

"What were you two doing before joining daddy, Evan, and me in here?" asked Clarissa.

"Bridget and I wanted to invite you two and Evan to our tea party," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged smiles before Spencer looked at his oldest daughter.

"Will you be serving coffee?" asked Spencer.

Diana giggled.

"I always make sure to have coffee for you, daddy," said Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and baby Evan who was sitting in his baby seat were sitting on the floor in Diana's bedroom having a tea party before they headed to the dining room to eat leftover turkey for dinner.

Xxxx 

An hour later Spencer and Clarissa knelt down to Diana's and Bridget's eye levels and smiled at their two daughters.

"You two be good for Lucy and Austin," said Spencer.

"We will, daddy," said Diana.

A teary-eyed Bridget looked at her parents.

"You and mama go bye-bye?" asked Bridget.

"Daddy and I are just going away to a small bed and breakfast in Alexandria to celebrate our anniversary," said Clarissa.

Spencer scooped up Bridget.

"Mommy and I will see you, your siblings, and Lucy at church Sunday morning, Cricket," said Spencer as he lifted Bridget up into the air causing the 15-month-old toddler to shriek with laughter before Spencer and Clarissa took a moment to say goodbye to their son.

Xxxxxxxx 

An hour later Spencer and Clarissa were in their room at their favorite bed and breakfast having a heated make-out session in their bed.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next evening Spencer was tying his tie when Clarissa was exiting the bathroom causing Spencer to gulp at the sight of Clarissa wearing a new purple dress and matching purple high heel shoes.

"You see what you like, Spence?" asked a smirking Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"You look amazing," said Spencer.

"For someone who gave birth to three kids?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head as he thought about how Clarissa sometimes felt insecure about her body that changed during each pregnancy.

"As I told you many times before, you become more beautiful to me every single day, Clarissa," said Spencer.

Clarissa walked over to her husband and pulled his tie as she kissed her husband on the lips.

"I love you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I love you too, Clara," said Spencer.

"Let's get going so we don't miss our dinner reservations," said Clarissa before smirking at her husband, "When we get back, I have plans for you, doctor," said Clarissa.

Xxxxxxxx 

After enjoying a nice Italian dinner and a bottle of wine, Spencer was spinning his wife on the dance floor before pulling Clarissa back to him while an elderly couple who was dancing next to them smiled at them.

"You two make a cute couple," said the elderly woman.

"Thank you," said Spencer and Clarissa in unison.

"I'm James and this is my wife Bonnie," said James.

"I'm Spencer and this is my wife Clarissa," said Spencer.

"How long have you two been married to each other?" asked Bonnie.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other.

"Tomorrow is our six-year wedding anniversary," said Spencer.

"We're celebrating our 50-year wedding anniversary right now," said James.

"Congratulations," said Spencer and Clarissa in unison.

"When it came to watching you two interact from our table next to yours, I hope that you two can make it to 50 years of marriage just like us," said Bonnie.

Clarissa smiled at her husband.

"Since we both work jobs that require us to be on call 24/7 while being proud parents of three kids under the age of five, I have faith that we'll make it to 50 years," said Clarissa just as Spencer twirled her again.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over an hour later Spencer and Clarissa were removing their pea coats and kicking off their shoes before Spencer and Clarissa helped each other undress without ruining their clothes before they locked their lips together and made their way towards their bed.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer and Clarissa woke up to their hotel room's alarm clock beeping and as soon as they had their glasses on, they kissed each other on the lips.

"Happy anniversary, Clarissa," said Spencer.

"Happy anniversary, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I can't believe that we met each other eight years ago today and said 'I do' to each other six years ago today," said Spencer.

"Me too, Spence," said Clarissa before looking at the time, "Do you think that we have enough time for a quickie before we get into the shower, get dressed, eat breakfast before joining Lucy and the kids at church?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Spencer as he locked lips with his wife.

Xxxxxxxx 

Three hours later Spencer and Clarissa approached Reverend Alden who smiled at them.

"I thought that you two lovebirds weren't going to show up because of it being your wedding anniversary today," said a smiling Reverend Alden.

Spencer and Clarissa laughed.

"We spent Friday night and last night at our favorite bed and breakfast in Alexandria and we promised Diana that she'll see us here this morning," said Spencer.

Reverend Alden smiled a bit.

"I can't believe that little Diana will be five in less than a month," said Reverend Alden.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged smiles.

"Neither of us are happy about our most favorite early Christmas gift turning five next month, but it has been an honor that God, my parents, and Spence's biological and adoptive parents chose Diana, Bridget, and Evan for us to raise together," said Clarissa just as Lucy came into the sanctuary with an excited four-year-old, 15-month-old, and five-month-old who all missed their parents.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that evening, Clarissa smiled when she saw the box of brand new iron pots, pans, and skillets.

"This was the set I was hoping to get, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I know," said Spencer.

Clarissa slid a wrapped box to her husband.

"Here's my gift to you," said Clarissa.

Less than a minute later Spencer was smiling as he pulled a new coffee mug, a travel mug, flannel pajamas, a t-shirt, pajama pants, a robe that all had a picture of the element for iron on them or had mini pictures of the element for iron scattered on the flannel pajamas, robe, and pajama pants.

"This is awesome," grinned Spencer.

"When it comes to you having PhDs in engineering and chemistry, I thought that I should think like a scientist," said Clarissa.

Spencer pulled Clarissa into a kiss.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

"I love you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I love you too, Clarissa," said Spencer as he gave Clarissa another kiss before they headed to the bathroom to take a bubble bath together before they get a good night's sleep before work in the morning.


	56. Brothers in Arm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts on December 9th of 2008, so Bridget's now 16-months-old and Evan is still five-months-old.
> 
> Warning: There is an M rated scene in this chapter so please read at your own risk.

Spencer and Clarissa were standing nearby as an elf helped Diana and Bridget climb onto Santa's lap at the mall when Santa looked at Diana and Bridget.

"What are your names?" asked Santa.

"I know that you remember me as Diana Reid and the toddler sitting on your lap is my 16-month-old sister Bridget who was four-months-old when she sat on your lap last year," said Diana before pointing where her mommy and daddy were standing with Evan on daddy's hip, "I want to thank both you and God for making sure that the baby that was in my mommy's tummy last year ended up being a boy," said Diana.

Santa chuckled.

"What's your baby brother's name?" asked Santa.

"Evan," said Diana.

"What do you, Bridget, and Evan want for Christmas this year?" asked Santa.

"I want the Molly American Girl doll and the books that go with Molly, roller skates, I want all of my friends to be able to attend my early birthday party this Saturday," said Diana before she decided to answer for her baby brother, "Evan wants new toys," said Diana before looking at her baby sister, "Can you tell Santa what you want for Christmas?" asked Diana.

"Toys. Books," said Bridget.

Santa looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Why don't you two and Evan come over here so we can all squeeze in for a family picture together," said Santa.

A minute later a smiling Spencer and Clarissa were kneeling in front of a jolly looking Santa who had Diana, Bridget, and Evan were all sitting on his lap with huge grins on their faces while an elf took a picture.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two days later Spencer was sitting in the conference room with his teammates while Jordan played a news clip on TV.

"Earlier this evening, the Phoenix police force lost two of our own. Sergeant Manuel Rodriguez and Officer Thomas Kayser were killed in the line of duty," said Commander Marks.

"That's three officers in the past four days. After the first shooting, the Phoenix Police Department assumed gang involvement," said Jordan as she started to pass out files.

"Pretty reasonable assumption," said Rossi as he passed a file to Morgan.

"True. Almost 30% of all officer slayings are gang-related," said Jordan.

Spencer looked at the mother of one of Diana's best friends from school.

"Technically it's closer to 40%. If a cop isn't killed during a commission of a crime, gang involvement is highly likely," said Spencer.

"Actually, their precinct commander believes it may be a serial and has asked for our help," said Jordan.

Rossi looked at Jordan.

"What makes him doubt the gang theory?" asked Rossi.

"A couple of things. Last night's victims were killed exactly the same way as the first," said Jordan.

Hotch looked down at the report he was reading.

"Shot in the neck. Something that the press didn't release," said Jordan.

"Well, now, wait. There could still be a gang behind this. Killers working together could establish the same MO," said Emily.

"Commander Marks hasn't ruled it out, but there's another detail-," said Jordan before Rossi decided to interrupt.

"Trophies. Killer took their badges," said Rossi.

"Gang members don't usually take trophies. They don't need to. This is an unsub with something to prove," said Morgan.

"And he's got the entire city on edge," said Hotch.

"Kill those who protect and serve, and no one feels safe," said Emily.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over an hour later Spencer entered the master bedroom and smiled at the sight of Clarissa still sleeping in bed as he quickly stripped down to his boxers and pulled on his pajama bottoms that he discarded earlier.

"I want you inside me, Spence," murmured Clarissa in her sleep as she ran her hands over her breasts.

Spencer smirked as he kissed a certain spot below Clarissa's ear. After kissing Clarissa for a minute, Clarissa opened her eyes causing her to blearily see her husband.

"Spence?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer turned on the lamp before he grabbed Clarissa's glasses and perched them over the bridge of Clarissa's nose causing the nearly 27-year-old woman to see her smirking husband.

"I thought that you had a case?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer ran a hand through his wife's sweaty hair.

"Your brother decided that the team will head to Phoenix in the morning," said Spencer before giving his wife a cocky smirk, "Do you always dream about having lovemaking sessions with me when I'm not home?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa turned bright red.

"Yes," said Clarissa.

Spencer smirked.

"What did I do to you in the dream you just had?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa blushed.

"You took off my pajama top while leaving me in my pajama pants and panties before you had your wicked way with your hands and mouth causing both my panties and pajama pants to get soaked really quickly," said Clarissa before she started to explain the rest of the dream.

When Clarissa was finished, Spencer smirked as he looked down at the tent that already formed in his pajama pants.

"Since I'm going to Phoenix after breakfast, let me help you make the dream I interrupted come true," said Spencer as he started to unbutton his wife's pajama top before he grabbed his and Clarissa's ball gag, rope set, and a feather.

Xxxxxxxx 

Five hours later Spencer was sitting around the kitchen island with his family when Spencer looked at Diana.

"I'm leaving for Phoenix this morning," said Spencer as he continued to speak before Diana could speak up, "There's a 50% chance that I'll make it home in time for your party and a 50% chance that I won't make it back in time, but I promise you that I'll try to make it home in time so I can give a magic show to you and your friends," said Spencer.

Diana thought about the birthday parties she attended since the first day of school.

"I understand if you can't make it home in time for my party because a few classmates have mommies and daddies who are serving overseas right now and couldn't make it home in time for their birthdays," said Diana.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later Morgan exited the galley with a cup of coffee for himself, and as soon as he sat down, Hotch addressed Garcia who was already on the phone.

"Go ahead, Garcia," said Hotch.

"OK, while you birds have been in the air, I got the 411 on the first shooting. Apparently, every Saturday night, Phoenix PD sets up a DUI checkpoint," said Garcia.

"Is that common knowledge?" asked Emily.

"Mais, oui. public awareness is part of the deterrent. so our unsub blows past said checkpoint at 90 mph and is pursued by an Officer Jason Kessinger. Kessinger pulls the car over, approaches the driver's side window, where he is shot in the throat. Mon Dieu. he was a single parent, two daughters," said Garcia sadly as she looked at a picture that she kept of Diana and Bridget together on her desk.

Spencer gave Morgan a concerned look as he quickly pulled out his wallet and pulled out the most recent professional photograph of Diana, Bridget, and Evan sitting together for a professional portrait.

"So, the unsub planned ahead, used the DUI stop to set his trap, and then lured the officer to his death," said Rossi.

"It could have been personal. The unsub might have had a problem with these particular officers," said Emily.

"Or with law enforcement in general. He's sending a message," said Hotch.

"Criminals, gang members, academy washouts, security? Teenagers, and that's just a start. I mean, the list of people who have a problem with police officers is a long one," said Spencer as he then looked at a picture of his uncle Gordon in his uniform.

Morgan looked at a crime scene photo.

"The victims were shot in the neck, so the unsub knew they'd be wearing body armor," said Morgan.

Spencer scratched his neck as he looked at his teammates.

"And he used a DUI checkpoint. I mean, both incidents show an active understanding of police procedure," said Spencer.

"Which narrows it down to anybody who watches television," said Morgan.

"We need to cover victimology," said Hotch before he raised his voice a bit, "Garcia, find out everything you can about the officers killed to see what they had in common besides their uniforms," said Hotch.

"Will do, but I should warn you, it will not be cake because I have been on the phone with these guys all morning and pulling files from them has been like pulling molars," said Garcia.

"Is there a problem?" asked Hotch.

"You know, aside from the obvious grief for their fallen compadres, and their fear of being used as target practice, I get the distinct impression from their crabby behavior, they are none too pleased their boss is outsourcing this investigation to the FBI, so...be prepared to hit a blue wall of resistance," said Garcia before she hung up.

Spencer sighed as he looked at his brother-in-law.

"I keep thinking back to the time that my academic adviser at Yale and a police officer ended up gently telling me that a family member of a suspect my uncle did a kill shot on ended up killing my aunt and uncle," said Spencer.

"Are you going to be OK working this case?" asked Hotch.

"Even though the eight-year anniversary of the night my aunt and uncle were murdered happened 12 days ago, I'll be OK because your sister told me that she'll always answer her phone or she'll get back to me as soon as possible," said Spencer.

"Instead of constantly thinking about your uncle, think about the early birthday party that you and my sister are throwing for our favorite nearly five-year-old girl," said Hotch.

Jordan looked at Spencer.

"Allison and Gavin are really excited about Diana's birthday party this Saturday," said Jordan.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"Even though I'm excited about seeing Diana smile and hearing her laughter during her early birthday party, I'm sad that Diana is turning five in 11 days, Bridget already being 16-months-old, while Evan will be turning six-months-old on Clarissa's birthday next week Monday," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer was watching the security footage when Commander Marks looked at Spencer, Hotch, and Jordan.

"Techs have gone over this frame by frame. There's no way to identify the shooter," said Commander Marks.

"Approximate height and weight, that's about all we got," said an officer.

"The unsub's face isn't the only way to identify him. We also look at specific behavioral traits," said Jordan.

Commander Marks looked at Hotch.

"These are the reasons you don't believe it's a gang?" asked Commander Marks.

Hotch watched the footage.

"The shooter established what we call a signature, something he did during the murders that weren't actually necessary. Not part of his MO, but identical in every attack," said Hotch.

"In this case, the unsub took the officer's badges. He's symbolically stripping them of their power and authority. This act is indicative of someone who is looking to gain self-esteem," said Spencer before he focused on the footage.

"Gang members and other assailants who work together kill for different reasons, but usually it's not to gain confidence, 'cause they already have it," said Hotch.

Spencer instantly noticed something in the video causing him to look at his brother-in-law.

"Hotch, you see that? Can we pause this?" asked Spencer before an officer paused the footage, "OK, now zoom in and press play," instructed Spencer.

The officer followed Spencer's instructions.

"Taking the badge would have taken a few seconds," said Spencer.

Hotch instantly noticed what his brother-in-law saw.

"He's lingering," said Hotch.

"Doing what?" asked Commander Marks.

"That's a good question," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was standing with his brother-in-law, Morgan, Rossi, and Commander Marks while Hotch looked at Commander Marks.

"Commander, I understand the pressure you're under, but doing this could undermine the investigation.

"Bringing in another suspect draws attention away from the real unsub. If he starts to feel inadequate, he may strike sooner just to prove himself," said Spencer.

"It's also possible accusing one of their members could antagonize local gangs, which is the last thing your officers need to be worrying about right now," said Rossi.

"All right, look. I told you guys I was out on a limb here, so unless you have a suspect…," said Commander Marks.

"Hotch. Since we've got this guy, why don't we see if we can use him?" asked Morgan before looking at Commander Marks, "You mind if talk to him?" asked Morgan.

"Be my guest," said Commander Marks.

Morgan walked away while Hotch looked at Commander Marks.

"Commander, I appreciate your letting Agent Morgan join the interrogation, but I promise you, this is not our unsub. The real killer's still out there," said Hotch before he walked away with his brother-in-law and Rossi following him.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was looking at the bulletin board before he turned around and looked at his team.

"Ballistics aren't back yet, but the preliminary ME reports suggest the weapon used to kill Officer Beck was not a .357," said Spencer.

"I spoke to Garcia. Beck arrested Diablo twice on drug charges, last time sent him away for 10 years. Diablo was just released on parole last week," said Hotch.

"So Diablo went after the cop who put him away assuming it would be lumped in with the other murders. The unsub would take the fall," said Rossi.

"Hey, it almost worked," said Emily just as Lieutenant Evans entered the room.

"Lieutenant, what did you find?" asked Hotch.

"Well, I pulled up that information on playboy's lieutenant, Bobby Q," said Lieutenant Evans as he passed Morgan the file.

After Morgan looked through the file, he looked at Lieutenant Evans.

"There's not much there," said Morgan.

"And you're thinking playboy was right, that we didn't pay enough attention to the case," said Lieutenant Evans.

"Did you?" asked Emily.

"Look, the majority of homicides in this city most times we spend time and resources following trails that all lead to the same place anyway," said Lieutenant Evans.

"We just assumed this was just another one of those trails," said Hotch.

"Being in a gang shortens your life expectancy, so it's no big surprise when a gangbanger winds up dead," said Lieutenant Evans.

Spencer thought about losing his aunt and uncle because of the kill shot his uncle did and the injuries he sustained since becoming an FBI agent.

"The same thing could be said about being a cop. The job involves a fair amount of risk, so a percentage of untimely deaths is practically inevitable," said Spencer.

Rossi started to walk towards the bulletin board.

"The MO is the same as our unsub's," said Rossi as he removed a pin and looked at Morgan and Lieutenant Evans, "Did, um, playboy tell you if the killer took a trophy?" asked Rossi.

"He said Bobby Q's necklace was missing," said Morgan.

"Yeah, that's in the report. Big chain, solid gold. Just figured the doer took it to pawn it," said Lieutenant Evans.

"Or as a souvenir," said Rossi as he moved back to the table.

"Fits the signature," said Morgan.

"He built up to this. We need to go further back," said Hotch as he called Garcia, "Garcia, can you pull everything in the Phoenix area that matches the same MO as our unsub, not just police officers," said Hotch.

"OK. So I'm searching homicides in Phoenix in, what, the last two months?" asked Garcia.

"Make it three," said Hotch over Garcia's typing.

"Got it. Murders, shootings, specifically neck wounds," said Garcia as she stopped typing, "Oh, I got a guy named Robert Quinones, nickname Bobby Q," said Garcia.

"We already have that one. Anything else?" asked Morgan.

"Ah, just one more. A bouncer at a bar in downtown Phoenix, Mickey Reese. Weapon's a .357 magnum. Interesting. It says here the victim was wearing a ballistic vest. Apparently, they don't serve Shirley Temples at this establishment," said Garcia.

"If the bouncer was wearing a vest, that could be how our unsub developed his MO," said Emily.

"Send us everything you've got," said Hotch.

"Sure. Done," said Garcia.

"All right, we got gangbangers, bouncers, and cops. All pretty tough targets; victims capable of defending themselves," said Morgan.

"As the unsub's sense of power escalated, so did his confidence, leading to bigger and more difficult prey," said Rossi.

"That makes sense. Risky deaths would increase the unsub's feeling of superiority. Same thing with using a .357 magnum. It would make him feel powerful," said Spencer.

"Cops are at the top of that list. High profile, always on alert, and they're gonna make headlines," said Emily.

"Killing a gangbanger isn't easy. They're always armed, travel in packs," said Lieutenant Evans.

"The bouncer's the earliest. It was a pretty simple attack, no carefully thought out plan. He could have been his first victim," said Morgan.

"We need to figure out where their paths crossed. Morgan, you, Rossi and the lieutenant go check out the bar. We'll keep digging," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

As Hotch prepared to give a press conference, Spencer looked at his brother-in-law while not caring that Commander Marks and Lieutenant Evans was there.

"You better stay safe or my wife will make me sleep on the couch for not stopping you from painting a target on your back while your oldest niece will be upset if her favorite uncle can't make it to her early birthday party in two days," said Spencer firmly.

"I promise to stay safe because I can't wait to see the look on yours and Clarissa's faces when I spoil my oldest niece this Saturday as my way to get back at you and my sister for spoiling my son in October," said Hotch before walking away.

Commander Marks and Lieutenant Evans looked at Spencer.

"You and Agent Hotchner are brother-in-laws?" asked Commander Evans.

"We've been brothers-in-law for over six years and 11 days and teammates for over five years, one month, and 21 days," said Spencer.

"Early birthday party?" asked Lieutenant Evans.

"Diana was born nearly five years ago on December 21st, so she's basically a Christmas baby," said Spencer.

"Diana must be one of your most favorite Christmas gifts ever," said Commander Marks.

"She is while my only son Evan was my Father's Day gift this year because he was born on Father's Day," said Spencer.

"How many kids do you have?" asked Commander Marks.

"Three," said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and showed Commander Marks and Lieutenant Evans a picture of his kids, "You two know that Diana and Evan are my oldest and youngest children, but my youngest daughter is Bridget and she's 16-months-old," smiled Spencer.

"Bridget has your eyes while Evan looks just like you," said Commander Marks.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was standing in front of a bunch of officers with his brother-in-law, Rossi, Morgan, Emily, and Jordan.

"The man we're looking for is a narcissist desperate to prove his masculinity. He does this by going after high-risk targets like gang members and police officers," started Hotch.

"Because he's a narcissist, this unsub will be following the investigation closely," said Emily.

"By pretending to take over the investigation, we've put ourselves above the local police, thus suggesting that we're tougher to take out, and issuing the unsub a challenge that he won't be able to ignore," said Spencer.

"And painting a target directly on Agent Hotchner's back," said Rossi.

"All the attacks, with the exception of the last one, have taken place in the Twelve's territory. This is the unsub's hunting ground, and he's unlikely to stray from it," said Spencer.

"Locations have multiple vanish points for the shooter, but limited access and exit routes for his victims. We'll be looking for a similar situation. This should happen very quickly," said Morgan.

"Don't forget- this guy managed to take out five cops by himself. He smart, and he's fearless. He won't be easy to take down," warned Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was standing with his teammates when Jordan made a beeline towards him.

"Male caller. He says he knows where the unsub lives, and it fits the criteria," said Jordan as she passed her daughter's best friend's father a map.

Spencer looked at the map as he walked towards the bulletin board.

"2717 Gelson Avenue. It's the Twelves territory, just off the main street. Looks like there's a series of smaller feeders and allies nearby. This could be it," said Spencer as he made eye contact with his brother-in-law.

"Let's go," said Lieutenant Evans.

"Slow down, lieutenant. He'll be expecting us," warned Hotch.

"All of us. This is his last stand. He's going to want to make it count," said Morgan.

"Yeah, well, this time we know about it and we're ready," said Lieutenant Evans.

"His trap could still work," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at Lieutenant Evans.

"15th Avenue and Gelson. what do you know about the neighborhood?" asked Hotch.

"It's rough. lots of dead-end streets, allies. Major cross street, 17th," said Lieutenant Evans.

"Residential? Any businesses at all?" asked Hotch.

"There's a gas station a couple of blocks down, but that's about it," said Lieutenant Evans.

Spencer quickly got Garcia on the phone.

"Hey, Garcia?" asked Spencer.

"Yes?" asked Garcia.

"Can you get us a satellite image of 15th Avenue and Gelson?" asked Spencer.

"Yes of course. OK, real-time satellite image shows... Not a whole heck of a lot. I've got a two-story apartment building, no activity of any kind, no cars out in front," said Garcia while Spencer looked at the map nearby, "Oh, there's a car down the street. No heat registering, the engine must be cool. Satellite monitoring the last 12 hours is like library-quiet. A truck and two cars left in the AM, nothing came in," said Garcia.

"Thank you, Garcia," said Spencer as he made eye contact with his brother-in-law and pointed out certain locations, "All right, there's a major street in front on the east side, an ally, and two smaller streets to the north and south right here," said Spencer as he pointed at the locations on the map.

"Lieutenant, commander, I need a sniper here and here," said Hotch as he gestured to the map, "Once they're set, the bulk of the squad cars can approach from the south, and the rest of us from the east very quietly. From this point forward, everybody goes in on foot. Morgan, you and I go in first. Rossi and Prentiss behind us. Jordan, you and Reid stay here and work the tip line," ordered Hotch.

"Stay safe, my loves," said Garcia.

"Thanks, Garcia," said Emily before hurrying away with her fiancé, Morgan, and Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day at 4 PM, Spencer was exiting his car just as Diana and Bridget who were both wearing their winter jackets and boots exited the house with Clarissa who was carrying a car seat that contained a covered up Evan.

"You made it home in time for my birthday party tomorrow, daddy!" shouted Diana.

"Dada!" exclaimed Bridget.

Spencer grinned at his family as he grabbed his go bag and messenger bag out of the front seat.

"I told you that I would do my best to make it home in time, Diana," said Spencer as he set down his bags and scooped up Diana and Bridget and hugged them tight to him, "I really missed you guys while I was away," said Spencer.

"I missed you too, daddy," said Diana.

"I miss you too, Dada," said Bridget.

Clarissa pecked her husband on the lips.

"Welcome home," said Clarissa as she lifted up the blanket that protected Evan from the nearly mid-December chill, "Look who's home, Evan," said Clarissa.

Evan gave his daddy a huge grin before Spencer leaned down and kissed his son on the forehead.

"I missed you, Evan," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"Daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at his nearly five-year-old daughter.

"Yes bumblebee?" asked Spencer.

"Are you too tired to go out for pizza with mommy, Bridget, Evan, and me?" asked Diana.

Spencer's stomach growled causing everyone to laugh.

"Not at all because I caught up on sleep during the long flight home from Arizona, Diana," said Spencer before looking at his wife, "I just need to go lock up my revolver and set my go bag down in the laundry room before we can go," said Spencer.

"I'll get the kids into my mini-van," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer was driving his wife and kids to Pizza Hut for dinner.

Xxxx 

The next afternoon Spencer was lighting a candle that was in the shape of the number five on Diana's birthday cake before he, Clarissa, Hotch, Emily, grandpa Evan, grandma Lydia, Joe, Mary, Maeve, Jacob, Rossi, and Garcia led Jack, Abigail, Isaac, Courtney, Allison, Gavin, Hannah, Mackenzie, Skylar, Tommy, Sammy, Patrick, Aria, Ana, and Dewey, and Tammy into singing "Happy Birthday" to Diana. After "Happy Birthday" was sung, Diana blew out the candle causing everyone to clap and cheer while Spencer and Clarissa both wiped the tears that were falling down their faces at the thought of their most favorite Christmas gift turning five.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Morgan didn't make it to Diana's early birthday party because of attending the funeral that he attended in Brothers in Arm. JJ, Will, and Baby Henry stayed home because of JJ and Will being tired while Henry couldn't be around a lot of children yet.


	57. Clarissa Turns 27 & Normal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because of writing an M rated scene in this chapter, I changed the rating of this story from Teen to Mature. I'm not sure if this story should be rated Mature, but please let me know if I made the right choice on changing the rating of this story from Teen to Mature because I don't have Spencer and Clarissa have sex during every chapter.
> 
> Spencer might be a bit out of character during the M rated scene (I know that a lot of you readers will love the scene I wrote) that I include in this chapter, but remember that Clarissa made him much more confident.

Spencer stood outside of his and Clarissa's bedroom with Evan on his hip and Diana and Bridget standing beside him patiently.

"Now daddy?" asked Diana.

"Now," said Spencer.

A few seconds Clarissa woke up to being peppered with kisses and a chubby hand squeezing her nose as she felt her glasses being slipped onto her nose.

"What's with the wake-up call?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer leaned forward and gave Clarissa a kiss.

"Happy birthday, love," said Spencer.

Diana gave her mommy another kiss.

"Happy birthday, mommy," said Diana.

Bridget gave her mommy a sloppy kiss.

"Appy birfay, Mama," said Bridget.

"Mama!" exclaimed six-month-old Evan.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at each other in shock.

"Did he just say my name?" asked Clarissa.

"Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama," repeated Evan.

Clarissa who now had tears falling down her face hugged her six-month-old baby boy tight against her chest.

"You just made my day, baby boy," said Clarissa.

Spencer pouted.

"I thought that Evan's first word would be Dada because of Bridget constantly showing him a picture of me while repeating 'Dada' over and over again," said Spencer just as Diana's, Bridget's, and Clarissa's stomachs grumbled, "I'll be right back," said Spencer as he hurried downstairs to grab the breakfast tray that Lucy was filling up while Clarissa cuddled with her three babies.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting down next to Sean and Lucy as the kindergarten through second-grade classes gathered on the stage or bleachers for the annual Christmas concert before looking at a very curious Bridget who was sitting on his lap while Sean held Evan.

"Ana?" asked Bridget.

Spencer smiled at his youngest daughter.

"Do you see Diana, Bridget?" asked Spencer.

Bridget looked around the gym before grinning when she saw her big sister standing on the stage with the second-grade class.

"Ana!" said Bridget before noticing where her mommy was sitting with other adults, "Hi Mama!" shouted Bridget.

Clarissa who was sitting with other teachers and staff members smiled and waved at her family just as Principal Wilke stood up and took the microphone from the stand.

"I want to thank everyone for coming to the kindergarten through second grade Christmas concert. When the students are done with their concert, Nurse Reid's husband Dr. Spencer Reid will do a magic show for the kids," said Principal Wilke causing cheers.

A minute later Spencer had his video camera out as the kindergartners started to sing "Jingle Bells".

Xxxxxxxx 

After the last song was sung by the second-grade class, Spencer handed Bridget over to Sean as he got off his seat and headed towards the area where Principal Wilke was standing.

"Thank you for agreeing to put on a magic show for the kids," said Principal Wilke.

"Your welcome," said Spencer as he reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a deck of cards before picking one of the students to come up to him.

Xxxxxxxx 

After Spencer and the three students he picked to be his assistants either bowed or curtsied to their clapping audience, Principal Wilke spoke into her microphone.

"I would like to call Nurse Reid up to the stage," said Principal Wilke.

A minute later Clarissa was sitting in a chair with Evan and Bridget sitting on her lap and Spencer standing behind her when Principal Wilke who was holding Diana's hand looked at everyone in the room.

"This Friday will be Nurse Reid's last day subbing for Nurse Shelly because Nurse Shelly will be returning after winter break, and a little birdie told me that its Nurse Reid's birthday today. So we arranged a few surprises for Nurse Reid," said Principal Wilke as she passed the microphone to Diana.

Diana took a deep breath and started to sing.

"Happy birthday to you," sang Diana causing Spencer, all the students, teachers, and family members to sing along, "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday Nurse Reid. Happy birthday to you," sang everyone in the room before the principal passed a big card that looked like a book that said WE WILL MISS YOU NURSE REID to Clarissa who had tears falling down her face.

"Everyone in this school signed it," said Principal Wilke.

"Thank you," choked Clarissa.

"There's one more gift too," said Principal Wilke as she passed a check to Clarissa, "This semester we had jars placed in every classroom and in the office where teachers and students spent the last four months putting spare change into jars as our way to raise money for the pediatric cancer ward at Children's National as our way to thank Children's National for lending you to us," said Principal Wilke.

Clarissa's eyes went wide at the check that was written for $1,830. 54 causing her to burst into tears while Spencer did the math on how it would be possible for the school to raise that much money in coins.

"Based on there being over 330 students and 35 staff members at this school, everyone most likely contributed over $5 in spare change during the past four months," said Spencer as he wiped his wife's tears.

Bridget and Evan both patted their mother's cheek.

"No cry, Mama," said Bridget.

"Mama," said Evan.

Clarissa looked at her Irish twins.

"They're happy tears," said Clarissa before Spencer took Bridget and Evan from his wife while every student came forward to give Clarissa a hug.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later Clarissa smiled at her husband, three kids, brothers, Lucy, Jack, and her husband's teammates as they sang "Happy Birthday" to her before she blew out the candles on her cake.

"We eat cake now?" asked Bridget causing everyone to laugh.

A few minutes later everyone was eating cake as they watched the recording Spencer made of Diana's Christmas concert.

Xxxxxxxx 

After Spencer and Clarissa tucked Diana, Bridget, and Evan into their bed, playpen, or crib in Lucy's cottage, Spencer and Clarissa entered their house and armed the security system and locked windows and doors before they sprinted off to their bedroom. As soon as Spencer locked their bedroom door he looked at his wife who was wearing a pair of dress pants and one of his favorite blouses.

"Please don't undress yet," said Spencer.

"OK," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer was tying Clarissa to the headboard of their bed.

"Why are you tying me up?" asked Clarissa.

"I have one last surprise for you," said Spencer as he gave his wife playful smile as he started to slowly remove his suit jacket before he tossed it into the hamper before he started to slowly remove his sweater vest while Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Are you putting on a stripping show for me?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," smirked Spencer as he slowly pulled off his sweater vest before tossing it into the hamper.

Clarissa groaned as she felt her panties start to get wet.

"If you keep on going as slow as your going, I'm going to be all wet before you start to strip me," said Clarissa.

Spencer smirked.

"That's my plan since I restrained you to keep you from jumping me," said Spencer as he started to slowly untie his tie and tossed it into the hamper.

Clarissa groaned again as she shifted in her restrained position on the bed as she watched her husband undo the cuffs of his dress shirt.

"I don't think I can take this much longer," groaned Clarissa.

Spencer smirked at the anticipation growing in his wife's eyes as he started to slowly unbutton his shirt as his playful smile continued to grow every time his wife groaned as he tossed his dress shirt into the hamper before he slowly removed the belt from his dress pants.

"Please undress faster, Spence," groaned Clarissa.

"No," smirked Spencer as he slowly removed his socks and tossed them into the hamper before he slowly removed his dress pants and boxers before he worked on untying his wife before he slowly undressed his wife as he peppered her body with kisses along the way.

Xxxxxxxx 

Nearly an hour later, a sweaty Spencer looked at his equally sweaty wife.

"Did you enjoy the show I put on for you?" asked Spencer.

"That was so sexy, Spence," said Clarissa before smirking at her husband, "The show you just put on for me beats the new earrings you gave me for my birthday," said Clarissa before gasping when Spencer kissed below her ear causing them to start another lovemaking session.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer was putting his empty plate into the sink when his work phone vibrated causing him to sigh sadly.

"You have a case, daddy?" asked Diana.

"I do because I have to report straight to the airstrip," said Spencer.

"Will you be home in time for my birthday on Sunday?" asked Diana.

"I'll do my best because between December 20th and January 5th I'm on leave for Christmas and New Years," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana and Bridget.

"Aye!" exclaimed Evan as he clapped his hands causing Spencer and Clarissa to exchange shocked looks.

"He's early, Spence," said Clarissa just as Spencer's phone rang causing him to see that it was his brother-in-law, "I'll be leaving the house in two minutes, Aaron," said Spencer.

Diana perked up at the mention of her favorite uncle.

"I haven't left for Quantico yet, but I can swing by and pick you up in five minutes," said Hotch.

"A ride to the airstrip would be great," said Spencer before hanging up.

"Is uncle Aaron stopping by?" asked Diana.

"He'll be here in five minutes to carpool to the airstrip," said Spencer.

"I want to say hi to him," said Diana.

"You and your siblings can come outside and say hi to uncle Aaron as long as you hurry up on finishing getting ready for school," said Clarissa firmly.

"Yes ma'am," said Diana.

A few minutes later Hotch was accepting hugs and kisses from his sister, nieces, and nephew before Spencer and Hotch headed to Quantico.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting next to Rossi on the couch while Jordan passed out files to her temporary teammates.

"This is Orange County, California. 10 days ago, Judy Hannity, a real estate broker, and a mother was shotgunned on the 91 Freeway," said Jordan.

Emily studied the pictures of Judy's wrecked vehicle as she looked at Jordan.

"She survived this?" asked Emily.

"Barely. She's paralyzed from the waist down. The second and third victims were both D.O.A. There were different vehicles for each shooting. A small black SUV, a black sedan, a white sedan, no makes, no plates," said Jordan.

"No solid witnesses?" asked Morgan.

"The first victim described the shooter as a normal, middle-aged white guy in an SUV," said Jordan.

"She gave that description but she couldn't remember anything else?" asked Hotch.

"Isn't that consistent with trauma?" asked Jordan.

"Uh, actually, no. Trauma victims either remember everything or nothing," said Emily.

"So wait-the third victim was shot last week, we just got the phone call today?" asked Spencer

"Until the third shooting, the locals weren't convinced it was a serial shooter. There were different cars, and the first shooting there was a different weapon," said Jordan.

Rossi stood up.

"It's the same weapon," said Rossi as he dropped crime scene photos onto the table in front of Jordan,

"The shot pattern on the second and third one are much wider, though," said Spencer as he watched his brother-in-law, Jordan, Morgan, and Emily look at the photos.

"He sawed off the shotgun. It's the same shooter. He's evolving, and quickly," said Rossi as he sat back down.

"The media has already dubbed him The Road Warrior," said Jordan.

"That explains why they wanted us there so quickly," said Emily.

"What do you mean?" asked Jordan.

"This type of unsub is the hardest to catch. Totally impersonal victims. A third of the crime scene flees with him and his vehicle. The victim's car's a wreck. And the last third, the road, it's contaminated by all the other cars that drive over it," said Morgan.

"So how do we get him?" asked Jordan.

"We build a solid profile. We release it to the public with an appeal for help. Somebody knows this guy." said Hotch.

"And it's my job to make them realize," sighed Jordan while Hotch looked at her.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer and his teammates approached a woman who made their way towards them.

"Thea Salinas, Sheriff's County homicide. I'm running the task-force," said Sheriff Salinas.

Jordan shook hands with the sheriff.

"I'm Special Agent Jordan Todd," said Jordan before she gestured to Rossi, "Special Agents Rossi, Hotchner, Prentiss…," said Jordan.

"Hi," said Emily as she shook hands with Sheriff Salinas.

"Morgan…," said Jordan.

"Hey," said Morgan as he shook hands with Sheriff Salinas.

Jordan gestured to Spencer.

"And that's Dr. Spencer Reid," said Jordan.

Spencer waved at the sheriff while Hotch noticed the destroyed vehicles.

"Are these the vehicles from the shootings?" asked Hotch.

"Yes," said Sheriff Salinas before Hotch and Emily walked away.

"Did you set up the hot-line?" asked Jordan.

"Like you asked," said Sheriff Salinas while Morgan followed Hotch and Emily, "We have the local stations putting the number out there. We're getting about a dozen calls an hour," said Sheriff Salinas.

"I'll alert the media to stand by for our press conference. Excuse me," said Jordan before she walked away.

Sheriff Salinas looked at Spencer and Rossi.

"The sheriff's department and the CHP are on TAC alert. We've got choppers on round-the-clock freeway patrol. The victims' vehicles, with maps, CSPs, and bullet points. Everything we got on the case is in this room," said Sheriff Salinas.

"Anything solid on the tip line?" asked Rossi.

"Usual nut jobs, crime buffs, bored senior citizens," said Sheriff Salinas.

Spencer nodded.

"You might have got everything squared away," said Sheriff Salinas.

"It's not me. It's the shooter. The OC has an endless supply of three things- freeways, news coverage, and blond female luxury car owners," said Sheriff Salinas.

"People are pretty scared?" asked Spencer.

"I could ask for a submarine and get it," said Sheriff Salinas.

Spencer chuckled.

"What?" asked Sheriff Salinas.

"When it comes to Dr. Reid having two daughters who have him wrapped around their fingers, he has a hard time saying no to them while his wife has their six-month-old son wrapped around her finger," said Rossi.

"Mind if I see a picture of your kids?" asked Sheriff Salinas.

Spencer nodded as he pulled out his phone and found the photo taken during Clarissa's birthday dinner.

"This was taken during my wife's birthday dinner yesterday," said Spencer.

Sheriff Salinas smiled at the sight of the nearly five-year-old girl, 16-month-old toddler, and six-month-old baby boy.

"Diana will be five on Sunday, Bridget is 16-months-old, and Evan turned six-months-old yesterday," said Spencer.

"Very cute children you got there and Bridget has your eyes while Evan looks just like you," said Sheriff Salinas.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

"Hopefully with you guys here, this case will be solved in time for the entire task-force can spend Christmas with their families next week," said Sheriff Salinas.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was reading a file in his hands as he decided to tell Sheriff Salinas what he found.

"When the victimology's this specific, we know the victims represent a specific person to him," said Spencer.

"Who?" asked Sheriff Salinas.

"Given the fact that he's the same age and race as the victims, likely a current or former wife or girlfriend," said Spencer.

"So why not just kill the actual person?" asked Sheriff Salinas.

"She's just a scapegoat for his own personal failings. He knows if he kills her, he loses that scapegoat," said Spencer.

"So he just goes around blowing away any women?" asked Sheriff Salinas.

Spencer leaned forward and looked at the map on the table.

"No, just women that remind him of his wife. When this type of killer is triggered, they need to release the resentment quickly. Subsequently, they tend to strike close to the focus of that resentment," said Spencer.

Sheriff Salinas finally understood what Spencer was saying.

"So if the focus is his wife, then that focus is his home," said Sheriff Salinas.

"Yeah. He almost certainly lives in this area. This is his kill zone. Uh, what are these various markers everywhere?" asked Spencer as he pointed at the triangles.

"Uh, roadwork," said Sheriff Salinas.

Spencer mumbled to himself for a few seconds before grabbing the map and hurried towards the area where the rest of the team was working with Sheriff Salinas following him. As soon as he reached his teammates, Rossi noticed a look on Spencer's face.

"What's going on?" asked Rossi.

Spencer laid the map down and pointed at it.

"Out of the 30 roadwork sites in the kill zone, only two were alternate merges, both less than three miles from the crime scenes," said Spencer.

"Alternate merges?" asked Emily.

"Multiple lanes funneled down to one. One car per lane, alternating at the drivers' discretion," said Spencer.

"These sites allow him to set up the confrontation," said Morgan.

"A guy who follows the rules may lash out once, but to do it again, he'd need similar provocation," said Rossi.

"So he seeks out alternate merge sites, then he goes through them over and over again until he finds a woman that fits his victim type and who cuts him off," said Hotch.

"So, we have to shut down every alternate merge in the county immediately," said Emily.

"And we need to talk to the crews that work these sites," said Morgan while Emily walked away as she dialed a number on her phone.

"So what does all this tell you?" asked Sheriff Salinas.

"Impersonal killers are like drug addicts. The first time gives them the ultimate high, and after that, no high is as good. Unfortunately, the addict doesn't know that. He will chase that high to the gates of insanity and death. By now, killing is all our unsub things about. He's set up the exact same situation, again and again, hoping to get the same result. He begins to think he's doing it wrong. He becomes obsessed with improving his skills, honing his MO and tailoring his weapon to his deadly purpose. He figures if he gets them all just right if he can get his technique and his tools perfected, He'll feel that first high again. He's becoming a more lethal addict. And he'll never accept that the high is gone and it won't come back. He'll never stop. Never," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day Spencer was managing the tip lines as he listened to someone speak to him on the phone.

"What is the exact address?" asked Spencer as he wrote down the address as he listened to the caller, "And you said that he saw the press conference, right?" asked Spencer before he listened again, "OK, Thank you," said Spencer he hung up and looked at Morgan and Emily, "Guys, I think we might have something," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer, Morgan, and Emily followed the office clerk towards a desk who was talking about the press conference that he saw.

"That's funny, when I heard the description in the first press conference, I thought of Norman. Then I just thought, it couldn't be, you know? He's so quiet," said the office clerk.

"What is it that Mr. Hill does for you?" asked Emily.

"He's in charge of the company's travel expenses," said the office clerk as he gestured to Norman's desk, "This is his desk," said the office clerk.

"Does he have access to the company cars?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah, the whole fleet," said the office clerk.

Morgan looked at a family portrait of the Hill family causing him to think about the family portraits that Spencer keeps on his own desk.

"What about the first press conference made you think of Norman?" asked Morgan.

"The woman mentioned something about him suffering a tragedy," said the office clerk as he started to explain what happened.

Spencer instantly pulled out his phone and looked at a picture of Diana and Bridget together.

"How long ago did his daughter die?" asked Morgan.

"6 months. I really should have done more to help him," said the office clerk just as a woman came over with some files, "Thank you. Norman's personnel file," said the office clerk as he passed it to Spencer.

Spencer quickly read the first page.

"This address current?" asked Spencer.

"It should be," said the office clerk.

Spencer instantly noticed another file.

"Why does he have two files?" asked Spencer.

"Uh, we cross-reference married couples," said the office clerk.

"I don't understand," said Emily.

"Norman's wife Vanessa works here, too," said the office clerk.

Morgan looked at the Norman family portrait again before making eye contact with the office clerk.

"We need to speak to her," said Morgan.

"Uh, she's not here. She just got a promotion, so she took a couple of weeks off," said the office clerk.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that evening, Spencer exited the elevator with his teammates when Morgan looked at Jordan.

"You all right?" asked Morgan.

"I will be after I cuddle with Allison and Gavin," said Jordan as she walked away.

"Hey, you guys ever notice how the trip home always seems to go so much faster?" asked Emily.

"That's because the tailwinds are in our favor," said Spencer.

"No, I meant 'cause- anybody want to get something to eat?" asked Emily.

"Not really," said Morgan.

"You?" asked Rossi.

Emily thought about Morgan's driving skills.

"No, not really," said Emily.

Spencer noticed two familiar heads in the conference room.

"There are some people in the BAU room, guys," said Spencer just as he grinned at the sight of Diana and Bridget who were both in their pajamas running towards him.

"Daddy!" said Diana.

"Dada," said Bridget.

Spencer grinned as he instantly scooped up Diana and Bridget.

"Well this is a nice surprise," said Spencer as he hugged each girl tightly to him, "Even though you two should be in bed right now, I'm glad that you two are awake and surprising me at work," said Spencer.

"Mommy's in the conference room with Evan and pizza," said Diana causing grins as everyone headed towards the conference room.

A few seconds later Spencer entered the conference room with Diana and Bridget still on his hips when Clarissa stopped pouring soda and milk and looked at her husband.

"Welcome home, Spence," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband.

"Its good to be home," said Spencer as he set down Diana and Bridget just as Evan crawled over to him causing him to scoop up his six-month-old son as he looked at JJ, "What are you doing here?" asked Spencer just as Emily entered the room and gasped at the sight of JJ.

"JJ," grinned Emily.

"Garcia called Clarissa and me and said you guys were on your way back tonight. I thought you could use another surprise," said JJ.

Spencer gave his wife another kiss.

"Thank you for coming here," said Spencer as he smiled down at Henry before looking at Evan who was staring at Henry, "You were this small once, tadpole," said Spencer.

Evan grinned and babbled at his father just as Hotch who was now holding Bridget on his hip looked at JJ.

"I thought I gave you strict orders to get this place out of your head for a while," said Hotch.

JJ smiled when Garcia entered the room with a bottle.

"My bad. I couldn't help myself," said Garcia as she handed the bottle to JJ, "Here. I heated it up. Room temp. Right?" asked Garcia.

"I just realized, with all that we do and see in this room, it never smiles," said JJ before looking at Spencer, "When you surprised us in here with a two week old Bridget and eventually a two-week-old Evan, I decided to continue the tradition of bringing good memories in here," said JJ.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Excuse me, kid," said Morgan before looking at JJ with a nervous look on his face, "Um, JJ, uh... Can I?" asked Morgan as he gestured to Henry.

"Of course," said JJ as she passed Henry to Morgan.

"OK, you gotta hold his head up. Careful, careful," said Emily.

"I got it, I got it. I got it," said Morgan.

"No, you don't got it. You're smothering him," said Garcia.

Morgan noticed a look on Henry's face.

"Look, what's he doing? What's he doing? He is smiling at Derek Morgan," said Morgan as he bounced Henry in his arms.

Clarissa, Garcia, and Emily exchanged glances.

"Gas," said Clarissa, Emily, and Garcia.

Morgan looked at the bottle in Garcia's hand as Henry continued to coo.

"Give me that," said Morgan before he started to give Henry his bottle, "Hey, little man," said Morgan.

JJ looked at Hotch who had an arm wrapped around his sister while he still had Bridget on his hip.

"You're smiling," said JJ.

"Gas," said Hotch as he kissed his youngest niece's head before looking at JJ, "We miss you," said Hotch who still had Bridget on his hip looked at Diana, "Do you have a hug for me?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, uncle Aaron," said Diana as she hugged her uncle Aaron.

At that moment Bridget's stomach growled causing the 16-month-old toddler to lift up her t-shirt and pat her stomach.

"No no," said Bridget causing laughter while Clarissa looked at her husband, brother, Emily, Morgan, and Rossi.

"Because of the long flight you guys had, I took the liberty of ordering pizza for all of us to eat. So let's eat the pizza I ordered before it gets cold," said Clarissa before giving Diana a stern look, "And we'll need to hurry up because you still have school tomorrow morning, young lady," said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am," said Diana before she looked at her daddy, "Bridget needs to sit on your lap because she has been saying 'Dada' a lot since yesterday," said Diana.

Spencer passed Evan back to his wife before accepting Bridget from his brother-in-law.

"You really missed me since I left the house yesterday morning?" asked Spencer as he lifted up his youngest daughter's shirt and blew a raspberry on Bridget's tummy.

"Yes," giggled Bridget.

Diana looked at her uncle Aaron.

"May I please sit on your lap, uncle Aaron?" asked Diana as she used yer eyes while pouting at her uncle.

"Yes," said Hotch before looking at his little sister, "When you were Diana's age, you had me wrapped around your finger," said Hotch.

Clarissa smirked.

"Even though I had Spence wrapped around my finger for the past eight years, I had you wrapped around my finger for the past 27 years, Aaron," said Clarissa causing laughter.

A minute later the Reid family, Hotch, Emily, Morgan, Garcia, Rossi, and JJ were eating pizza while Evan and Henry slept in their car seats.


	58. Diana Turns 5, Christmas, and a Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts on December 21st of 2008 and ends on January 1st of 2009. I hope that everyone enjoys a surprise I included in this chapter. And its true that pediatricians are certified to pierce ears

Spencer smiled as he watched his now five-year-old daughter wake up and slip on her glasses.

"Good morning, daddy," said Diana.

"Happy birthday, Diana," said Spencer.

"I'm five now?" asked Diana.

"Yes you are," said Spencer before looking at the clothing that Clarissa and Diana picked out for Diana to wear to church, "Let's get you ready for church because mommy and Lucy are making a special birthday breakfast for you right now," said Spencer.

"Chocolate chip pancakes?" asked Diana.

"Yes," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was helping his five-year-old daughter put on wool tights and one of her favorite long-sleeved dresses before he started to comb his daughter's mid-back length brown curly hair.

"How do you want me to do your hair today, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"French braids please," said Diana.

Less than a minute later, Spencer was French braiding one side of Diana's hair before he did the opposite side.

10 minutes later Spencer was giving Diana a piggyback ride into the kitchen.

"Here's the birthday girl," said Spencer as he swung his oldest daughter off his back.

"Happy birthday, Diana," said Clarissa as she wiped the few tears that were falling down her face.

"Why are you crying when today is always a happy day for you mommy?" asked Diana.

"I'm just sad about my first baby finally being five-years-old," said Clarissa.

Diana walked over to her mother and hugged her.

"I'll always be yours and daddy's baby," said Diana.

Spencer looked at Bridget who was already sitting in her high chair eating a banana.

"Want to tell your sister what we practiced?" asked Spencer.

Bridget looked at her big sister.

"Appy birfday, Anna," said Bridget.

Diana grinned at the nickname her baby sister gave her.

"Thank you, Bridget," said Diana.

A few minutes later the Reid family and Lucy were eating their breakfast before they headed off to church.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that afternoon Hotch was hugging his oldest niece while being saddened at the thought of his oldest niece being five-years-old.

"Happy birthday, Diana," said Hotch.

"Thank you, uncle Aaron," said Diana.

"I can't believe that your finally five-years-old," said Hotch.

"Because of me turning five today, mommy asked Dr. Sarah to pierce my ears during my check up tomorrow as my birthday present from mommy and daddy this year," said Diana.

Hotch smiled at his oldest niece.

"You want to wear earrings like your mommy and friends from school?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, but mommy said that Dr. Sarah has to do it," said Diana.

Clarissa looked at her oldest brother.

"As a nurse, I feel more comfortable with letting Diana's pediatrician piercing your niece's ears," said Clarissa.

Hotch nodded in agreement.

"Just like your pediatrician did when you were a little girl," said Hotch before smiling at his oldest niece, "After you get your ears pierced, I want to see you," said Hotch.

"Yes, uncle Aaron," smiled Diana before looking at her parents, "Will Bridget get her ears pierced too?" asked Diana.

"Only if she wants to in a couple of years because daddy and I will never force you and your siblings to do anything you guys don't want to do," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later the Reid family, Hotch, Emily, Jack, and Lucy were gathered around the dining room table eating tacos for dinner before Diana got to blow out the candles on her birthday cake.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that night, Spencer and Clarissa entered their bedroom after putting Diana to bed when Clarissa burst into tears.

"What's wrong?" asked Spencer.

"I'm sad that Diana turned five today," said Clarissa.

Spencer hugged his wife.

"I'm sad that our favorite Christmas gift turned five too, but we still have a couple of years to enjoy Bridget and Evan being babies and toddlers before they start going to school like Diana," said Spencer before thinking of his godson Henry, "Do you want to make an appointment with Dr. Larson and get your IUD removed so we can try for our fourth child in a couple of weeks so our fourth child would be born after Bridget's second birthday?" asked Spencer.

"I still want to wait until Evan is out of diapers to try for another baby so Lucy only has to deal with one baby in diapers, but I'm glad that your willing to let me have as many babies as I want," said Clarissa as she locked the bedroom door, "Even though I don't want you to get me pregnant again until after Evan's 2nd birthday, we might as well practice for when we're ready," said Clarissa.

Spencer grinned at his wife as he started to undress his wife while Clarissa undressed him as they made their way to their bed.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer and Clarissa woke up to Diana climbing onto their bed and wiggling her way between them.

"I finally have a loose tooth," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa slipped on their glasses and grinned at each other as they thought about Diana being excited about eventually losing teeth and getting a visit from the tooth fairy like her second-grade classmates.

"Let's see," said Clarissa.

Diana opened her mouth and started wiggling the bottom tooth that was loose.

"You'll be getting a visit from the tooth fairy before you know it," said Spencer.

"Will I see the tooth fairy like I see Santa at the mall?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa grinned at each other as they thought about Diana's excitement about Santa coming in two nights before Spencer looked at his five-year-old daughter.

"The tooth fairy only comes when you're fast asleep," said Spencer just as Clarissa's pager beeped causing Clarissa to quickly grab it and sigh.

"You got called in, mommy?" asked Diana.

"I did, but I don't have to show up until 8 AM," said Clarissa as she looked at the clock, "I have enough time to eat breakfast with you, daddy, your siblings, and Lucy before I head to Children's National," said Clarissa.

"What about taking me to my check up and to get my ears pierced?" asked Diana.

"I'll be taking you, Diana," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

After Dr. Sarah Peterson did her check up on Diana and Spencer answered the necessary questions about Diana's development, she looked at one of her favorite patients.

"Are you ready to have your ears pierced, Diana?" asked Dr. Peterson.

"Yes Dr. Sarah," said Diana.

Dr. Peterson looked at Spencer.

"I need Diana to take her glasses off while her hair gets pulled back into a ponytail," said Dr. Peterson.

Diana removed her glasses and placed them on the counter while Spencer who found a ponytail holder and one of Diana's hairbrushes in his messenger bag looked at his oldest daughter.

"Please come here, Diana," said Spencer.

Diana walked over to her daddy who quickly combed back his daughter's hair into a ponytail before Dr. Peterson who was getting everything ready with Nurse Crystal looked at Spencer.

"Why don't you have Diana sit on your lap facing you," said Dr. Peterson.

"OK," said Spencer as he hefted up his five-year-old daughter and sat down on the exam table with Diana sitting on his lap facing him.

Dr. Peterson looked at Diana as she put an earring into two ear piercing guns while Nurse Crystal started marking Diana's earlobes before she started to disinfect them.

"Are you ready, Diana?" asked Dr. Peterson.

Diana looked at her pediatrician despite not being able to see well.

"Yes," said Diana.

"Just think that I'm giving you a vaccination because it will be over before you know it," said Dr. Peterson.

"OK," said Diana.

"With Christmas being three days away, what's your favorite Christmas carol, Diana?" asked Nurse Crystal.

"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"," said Diana.

"Why don't you and your daddy sing that song?" asked Nurse Crystal while Dr. Peterson looked at Spencer.

"Please hang onto Diana tightly, Spencer," said Dr. Peterson as she and Nurse Crystal positioned themselves on either side of Spencer and Diana.

"OK," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer and Diana were singing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" out loud while Dr. Peterson and Nurse Crystal positioned the ear piercing guns at the same time on Diana's earlobes.

Dr. Peterson looked at her nurse and nodded at her before both women pressed the trigger at the same time causing Diana's eyes to go wide as she felt pain as the earrings went through her earlobes.

"Here are Diana's glasses, Spencer," said Dr. Peterson.

Spencer slipped Diana's glasses onto the bridge of her daughter's nose causing the five-year-old girl who didn't have any tears falling down her face look at her daddy and pediatrician.

"Is it over?" asked Diana.

"Yes," said Dr. Peterson as she held up a mirror causing the five-year-old girl to smile at the sight of earrings on her ears.

"You are such a brave girl, Diana," said Nurse Crystal as she passed Diana a candy cane.

"Mommy says I am brave and strong like daddy," said Diana while Spencer blushed as he listened to the care instructions that Dr. Peterson was giving him.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two nights later the Reid family who were all dressed in their brand new Christmas pajamas were gathered around fireplace with Diana, Bridget, and Evan sitting on their daddy's lap while Diana and Bridget held "A Visit From St. Nicholas" while Spencer read the book out loud while Diana turned the pages for him before he and Clarissa worked as a unified team as they tucked their three sleeping kids to bed.

Xxxxxxxx 

After getting all of the presents put underneath the tree, Spencer and Clarissa entered their bedroom while Clarissa locked the door.

"With you being such a good boy this year, I decided that you can open one of your Christmas gifts a day early," said Clarissa as she started to unbutton her flannel pajama top causing Spencer to groan at the sight of his wife's new lingerie.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer woke up to his five-year-old daughter on top of him.

"Oof," groaned Spencer as he slipped on his glasses and looked at the clock as his eyes went wide when he saw that it was 6:30 AM, "You do know that you're soon going to be too big to wake me up like this, Diana," whispered Spencer.

Diana giggled.

"Merry Christmas, daddy," whispered Diana.

Spencer grinned at his oldest daughter.

"Merry Christmas, Diana," said Spencer just as Diana's stomach growled, "What do you say about helping me make breakfast and we surprise mommy with breakfast in bed?" asked a whispering Spencer.

Diana nodded and a few minutes later Spencer was checking on Bridget and Evan who were either both lying awake and sitting up in their cribs and quickly changed their diapers before he took his three kids downstairs and got started on breakfast while Diana, Bridget, and Evan munched on cheerios or baby cereal while he made Christmas tree and snowman-shaped pancakes as he belted out some of his favorite Christmas carols.

Xxxxxxxx 

20 minutes later Clarissa entered the kitchen causing Spencer who was already loading a try with breakfast looked at his wife.

"We were about to surprise you with breakfast in bed," said Spencer.

Clarissa laughed.

"Having kids really affect my bladder and hearing you belt out Christmas carols, hearing laughter from the children, three empty bedrooms, and smelling breakfast told me that you and the kids were already awake," said Clarissa.

"Can we please eat breakfast now so we can open presents?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa laughed just as Lucy who was already dressed for church entered the kitchen.

"I was about to get breakfast started, but I guess you guys decided to wake up before me," said Lucy.

"Santa came and mommy and daddy made a rule about eating breakfast before opening presents," said Diana.

A few minutes later the Reid family was sitting around the kitchen island eating their breakfast.

Xxxxxxxx 

After Diana got excited about getting everything she wanted for Christmas while Bridget and Evan got excited about their new toys, Diana unwrapped a small jewelry box and grinned when she saw 14 karat gold earrings in the shape of bumble bees causing Diana to grin as she got up and pulled her daddy into a hug.

"Thank you, daddy," said Diana.

"Your welcome, Bumble Bee," said Spencer.

"I'll wear these earrings when I get the all clear to change my earrings," said Diana as she pointed at the small gold ball earrings that her pediatrician put into her earlobes.

"How many more gifts are left?" asked Lucy.

Spencer reached underneath the tree and found a small wrapped box with Clarissa's name on it.

"Merry Christmas, Clarissa," said Spencer.

Clarissa opened her gift and gasped at the sight of her new blue topaz earrings.

"I love them, Spence," said Clarissa before showing her oldest daughter her new earrings, "Daddy and I will make sure to buy you earrings with your birthstone because every child who gets her ears pierced needs to have earrings that contain her birthstone," said Clarissa.

"Pretty mommy," said Diana.

Clarissa looked at the clock before looking at Diana and Bridget.

"Its time for us to all get dressed for church, and after coming home for lunch and nap time we're going to Ambassador Prentiss's house for dinner," said Clarissa firmly.

"Will I be allowed to take some of my new books with me to aunt Elizabeth's?" asked Diana.

"You can," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Lucy worked as a unified team getting Diana, Bridget, and Evan dressed for church before Lucy watched the kids while Spencer and Clarissa got dressed for church.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next night Spencer, Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan were gathered in Rossi's living room while Jack and Evan were asleep in a guest bedroom where Rossi had a crib set up for Evan and a bed set up with rails for Jack.

"Since Evan and Jack are now asleep, its time for Aaron, Dave, and me to give relationship advice on surviving marriage," said Spencer.

"When it comes to Rossi being married three times and Hotch getting married a second time in May of 2010, I think you'll be giving me the best advice," said Morgan while Rossi and Hotch glared at Morgan.

"I'll make sure that you'll be loaded with paperwork when you get back from your honeymoon," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

After Hotch and Rossi gave advice about making sure to never put the job first, Spencer took a deep breath.

"Some important lessons I learned during six years of marriage are, its OK to occasionally behave like best friends instead of husband and wife since most relationships start out as friendship before you start the next level," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled a bit.

"I agree with Spencer on behaving like best friends occasionally," said Hotch.

"My second piece of advice is that marriage won't be always sunshine and roses," said Spencer before his eyes darkened a bit causing Hotch to rest a hand on his shoulder, "I was afraid that my marriage with Clarissa would fail after the Hankel case when I was dealing with severe PTSD, but Clarissa repeated these words to me countless of times after Hankel 'to have and hold, in sickness and health, for richer and poorer, in joy and sorrow, and my promise my love to you' as her way to remind me that I'm stuck with her for the rest of my life," said Spencer.

"Any more advice?" asked Morgan.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"Always be ready to break out of your comfort zone and try new activities because you'll never know if you want to do it again," said Spencer.

"What are some good examples?" asked Morgan.

"You already know about the dance classes that Clarissa and I attended together, but I taught Clarissa how to horseback ride and Clarissa got me to take pottery classes with her as her way to celebrate eight years of friendship last month," said Spencer.

"Any more advice?" asked Morgan.

"My fourth piece of advice is to never go to bed angry," said Spencer before taking a deep breath as he thought about the goodbyes he said to Clarissa prior to the Hankel case and going undercover in Colorado, "Make sure to say 'I love you' to your wife every morning and night in person, during a phone call, or through text messages because you never know when it will be the last time you'll say those words to the love of your life again," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer, Hotch, and Rossi who were all in their suits or tuxedos exchanged smirks as they watched Morgan pace in the room they were waiting in until the time of the wedding while Jack happily colored in his coloring book.

"You're making me dizzy with all that pacing, man," teased Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Now you know how I feel when your pacing," said Morgan before rubbing his head, "Were you three this nervous on your wedding days?" asked Morgan.

"Yes," said Spencer, Hotch, and Rossi in unison.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"I just had to focus on Clarissa the entire time while knowing that I would be leaving the church with the most beautiful girl in the world," said Spencer just as Clarissa knocked on the door.

"Are you guys decent?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, Clara," said Spencer.

"Yes auntie Clara," said Jack.

A few seconds later Clarissa entered the room and Spencer's mouth opened at the sight of his wife in the dress she bought to wear to Morgan's and Garcia's wedding while her long nearly black hair was pulled into a braided bun.

"You look beautiful, Clarissa," said Spencer.

"You look dashing in your tuxedo, Spence," said Clarissa as she held up a hairbrush, a spray bottle, and some gel, "I'm going to slick back your hair, Spence," said Clarissa as she pointed at a chair.

Spencer obediently sat down while Morgan chuckled.

"You're whipped," said Morgan.

Clarissa smirked at Morgan.

"Just wait until you see your car later because Spence, Aaron, David, Emily, JJ, and I are going to have so much fun decorating it," said Clarissa causing laughter.

"You wouldn't," said Morgan.

Spencer smirked while Clarissa looked at her husband.

"You ready?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Clarissa was slicking back her husband's hair while she looked at her nephew who looked adorable in his tuxedo.

"You look handsome, Jack-attack," said Clarissa.

Jack smiled sweetly at his aunt.

"Thank you and you look pretty Auntie Clara," said Jack.

"Thank you," said Clarissa.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer looked at Morgan as they stood by the alter and Reverend Alden.

"How are you doing?" asked Spencer.

"Doing OK," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at Reverend Alden.

"I appreciate you for offering to have Derek's and Penelope's wedding here," said Spencer.

"I can never back out of helping out your second family, Spencer," said Reverend Alden just as the music started allowing JJ to make her way down the aisle.

After JJ took her place on the opposite side of Spencer and Morgan, Spencer's face broke into a huge grin as he watched his nephew carefully make his way down the aisle as Jack carried a small pillow that contained Morgan's and Garcia's wedding bands. When Jack reached them, he took his place next to his uncle.

"How did I do uncle Spencer?" asked Jack.

"Very well," said Spencer just as his smile grew as he watched his smiling five-year-old daughter who was wearing a white poofy knee length dress with a pink sash around her waist while her mid-back length brown curly hair was pulled into French braids confidently made her way down the aisle as she scattered rose petals on the floor.

As soon as Diana made her way down the aisle she ran to her daddy.

"How did I do, daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled.

"Excellent," said Spencer.

Diana hugged her daddy causing Spencer to bend down and kiss his oldest daughter's head causing a bunch of guests to aww at the scene before Spencer looked at his oldest daughter.

"Now please take your place next to JJ," said Spencer softly.

"OK," said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer smirked at Morgan as he noticed that his adoptive big brother's mouth was open in shock as everyone took in the sight of Garcia wearing a floor-length pink wedding dress with a sweetheart neckline as she walked down the aisle with her four step-brothers Rafe, Eddie, Manny, and Carlos who all insisted on walking her down the aisle together.

"Breathe, man," said Spencer softly.

As soon as Garcia reached them, she kissed her four step-brothers on the cheeks as they each took turns shaking hands with Morgan before she faced Morgan as she held his hands.

As soon as Rafe, Eddie, Manny, and Carlos were all standing in front of the front pew, Reverend Alden looked at everyone.

"You may all be seated," said Reverend Alden.

As soon as everyone was seated, Reverend Alden spoke up..

"We are gathered here today in the sight of God, and the presence of friends and loved ones, to celebrate one of life's greatest moments. We are here to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes and blessings to the words that will unite Derek and Penelope in holy matrimony." started Reverend Alden.

Reverend Alden looked at the side that he knew where Garcia's friends and family were sitting.

"Who gives Penelope to be married?" asked Reverend Alden.

Rafe, Eddie, Manny, and Carlos all stood up.

"We all do," said Rafe, Eddie, Manny, and Carlos in unison.

"Derek and Penelope, marriage is the most important of all earthly relationships. It should be entered into reverently, thoughtfully and with a full understanding of its sacred nature. Your marriage must stand by the strength of your love and the power of faith in each other and in God. Just as two threads woven in opposite directions form a beautiful tapestry, so to your two lives when merged together will make a beautiful marriage." said Reverend Alden and he bowed his head causing everyone else to bow their heads as he started to recite a prayer, "Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud. Love is never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable or tough. Love does not hold grudges and will hardly notice when others do it wrong. Love is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. If you love someone, you will be loyal to them no matter what the costs. You will always believe in them, always expect the best in them, and will always stand your ground in defending them." said Reverend Alden.

After Morgan and Garcia recited the traditional vows, Reverend Alden looked at Morgan.

"Derek, do you take Penelope to be your wife?" asked Reverend Alden.

Morgan looked into Garcia's eyes.

"I do," said Morgan.

"Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others and holding onto her forever more?" asked Reverend Alden.

"I do," said Morgan.

Reverend Alden then looked at Garcia who had tears falling down her face.

"Penelope, do you take Derek to be your husband?" asked Reverend Alden.

"I do," said Garcia.

"Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others and holding onto him forever more?" asked Reverend Alden.

"I do," said Garcia.

Reverend Alden looked at Jack.

"May I please have the rings, Jack." said a smiling Reverend Alden

Jack walked to Reverend Alden with the pillow causing Reverend Alden to take the rings as he ruffled Jack's hair a bit before Reverend Alden looked at everyone as he held up the rings while Spencer rested his hands on his nephew's shoulders.

"The ring is a symbol of the unbroken circle of love. Love freely given has no beginning and no end, no giver and no receiver for each is the giver and each is the receiver. May these rings always remind you of the vows you have taken." said Reverend Alden before he handed Morgans and Garcia's wedding band while telling him what to say before Morgan repeated it.

"I Derek, take thee, Penelope to be my wife. To have and hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, and I promise my love to you. With this ring I take you as my wife, for as long as we both shall live," said Morgan before he slipped the wedding band onto Garcia's left ring finger.

At that moment the minister passed Morgan's wedding band to Garcia and showed her the passage he wanted to read before Garcia repeated the passage.

"I Penelope, take thee, Derek, to be my husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, and I promise my love to you. And with this ring, I take you as my husband, for as long as we both shall live," said Garcia before she slid Morgan's wedding band onto his left ring finger.

Reverend Alden looked at Morgan and Garcia.

"By the power vested in me I now pronounce you two husband and wife," said the minister before looking at Derek, "Derek you may kiss your bride."

Morgan gently lifted up Garcia's veil before he pulled Garcia into a kiss that caused Spencer to cover Jack's eyes while JJ covered Diana's eyes while everyone clapped and cheered.

A minute later Morgan and Garcia were walking down the aisle towards the exit hand in hand while JJ went down on her own while Spencer took hold of Diana's and Jack's hands as he walked his five-year-old daughter and three-year-old nephew in the same direction that Morgan, Garcia, and JJ went.

Xxxxxxxx 

Before all of the guests started to eat their dinner, Garcia and Morgan stood up.

"Before everyone starts eating, we wanted to tell you guys that we're 13-weeks pregnant," said Garcia causing Fran to tear up as she hugged Morgan and Garcia while everyone cheered.

Xxxxxxxx 

After everyone was done eating dinner and JJ gave her speech, Spencer took the microphone as he took a deep breath and looked at everyone who was able to attend the reception.

"I first met Derek on October 20th of 2003 when I joined the BAU at 22-years-old. I was a bit intimated of him at first because of him reminding me of my past tormentors from high school, but eventually we ended up bonding over our late fathers being police officers before we formed a brotherly bond," said Spencer causing everyone to smile before Spencer smirked, "As someone who said 'I do' to the love of my life six years and 27 days ago, I'm happy that Derek finally got to say 'I do' to Penelope even though today caused all the single women to mourn over Derek no longer being a single man," said Spencer causing everyone in the room to erupt in laughter.

After the laughter stop, Spencer continued as he held up a glass of champagne and looked at Morgan and Garcia.

"I wish you two good luck in your marriage, and with how you two are great with my three kids, you two will be great parents," said Spencer before Garcia and Morgan made their way to the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer twirled a laughing Clarissa on the dance floor just as Morgan and Garcia who were dancing together made their way next to them while Morgan looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"With the way you two have been all evening, I wouldn't be surprised if you two end up having another baby within the next 11 months," said Morgan.

"We're waiting until Evan's potty trained before we try for baby number four," said Clarissa just as Spencer playfully dipped her, "But we're looking forward to giving you baby clothing as soon as you two find out the gender of baby Morgan," smirked Clarissa just as Diana and Jack came rushing over.

"Can I please dance with you, daddy?" asked Diana.

Jack looked at his aunt.

"Can I please dance with you, Auntie Clara?" asked Jack.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other before they broke apart so Spencer could dance with his oldest daughter while Clarissa danced with her only nephew.

Xxxxxxxx 

Four nights later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy were gathered around the TV as they counted down the last minute of 2008 and as soon as they heard cheers on TV, Spencer and Clarissa pulled each other into a kiss to welcome the start of 2009 while Diana blew on her noise maker.

"Happy New Year!" cheered Diana before she wiggled her way into her parents and gave them each a kiss on the cheek,

"Happy New Year, mommy. Happy New Year, Daddy," said Diana.

"Happy New Year, Diana," said Spencer and Clarissa in unison as they thought about what the year 2009 can bring them.


	59. Soul Mates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts on January 4th of 2009, so Bridget turns 17-months-old in this chapter.

Spencer entered Diana's bedroom and raised his eyebrows when he saw a pajama-clad Diana writing her name and a bunch of words in cursive on her chalkboard.

"Who taught you how to write in cursive, Diana?" asked Spencer.

Diana turned around and looked at her daddy.

"I used my eidetic memory to teach myself cursive when I was going through a third-grade spelling textbook that Ms. O' Conner is having me go through since I mastered all the second-grade words," said Diana.

Spencer shook his head just as Clarissa entered the bedroom.

"Do you want to play a few board games before bedtime, Diana?" asked Clarissa.

Diana grinned.

"Can we please play Uno Attack?" asked Diana.

"Uno Attack it is," said Clarissa.

Diana quickly ran out of the bedroom to head downstairs. Before Clarissa could follow her oldest daughter, Spencer placed a hand on his wife's arm.

"Look at Diana's chalkboard," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at the board as her eyes went wide as she noticed that Diana wrote third-grade level spelling words in cursive while getting the spelling correct before looking at her proud husband.

"Were you teaching Diana how to write cursive without me knowing?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head.

"Diana taught herself cursive," said Spencer.

"Since Diana is already doing some junior high-level schoolwork, I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up graduating high school at 12-years-old like you did," said Clarissa.

"I really don't want Diana or her siblings graduate at 12-years-old like I did, but maybe we can keep them in school with their peers while they take online college courses outside of school," said Spencer.

Clarissa rubbed her husband's arm as she thought about everything she knew about the consequences of her husband skipping a lot of grades.

"Instead of thinking about what to do with Diana's education, our five-year-old daughter is probably wondering what's taking us so long," said Clarissa as she dragged her husband out of their oldest daughter's bedroom.

After quickly checking on their nearly 17-month-old daughter and nearly seven-month-old son, Spencer and Clarissa were playing Uno Attack with their five-year-old daughter.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning, Spencer looked at Clarissa as they got dressed for work.

"Are you happy to be back at Children's National full-time?" asked Spencer.

"I am because all of the doctors and nurses are happy to have me back," said Clarissa.

"How long is it going to be before you start working third shift again?" asked Spencer.

"When it comes to being a mother to three kids and your job, my boss doesn't want me to work third shift anymore," said Clarissa.

"Are you OK with no longer working third shift?" asked Spencer.

"I am," said Clarissa just as Evan started crying through one of the baby monitors while Bridget alerted her presence.

"Dada? Mama?" asked Bridget.

"We might as well deal with Bridget and Evan while getting Diana up for school," said Clarissa.

"Rochambeau on who gets to deal with Bridget and Evan and whoever is done first wakes up Diana for school?" asked Spencer.

"Who does the winner get to deal with?" asked Clarissa.

"Bridget," said Spencer.

"OK," said Clarissa as she and Spencer both held out their fists.

"Rock. Paper. Scissors," said Spencer and Clarissa in unison as they rocked their firsts before Spencer laid out his hand flat while Clarissa left her hand in a fist.

"Paper beats rock, so you deal with Bridget while I get to spend time with my baby boy," said Clarissa.

A minute later Spencer was in Bridget's nursery changing his youngest daughter's diaper.

"Pretty soon mommy, Lucy, and I will be working on potty training you before you transition to a big girl bed, cricket," said Spencer as he wrinkled his nose at the sight of Bridget's poopy diaper while the nearly 17-month-old toddler giggled.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two days later Spencer sat down in front of William Harris's laptop as he talked to Penelope on the phone.

"You find anything?" asked Spencer.

"Give me a minute. I will find the grime," said Garcia.

"All right. You ready to start searching his computer?" asked Spencer.

"Born ready," said Garcia as she started to hack into William's laptop.

Spencer watched all the information that Garcia hacked into pop up onto the laptop.

"Seem to be in control," said Spencer.

"I'm always in control, sweet cheeks," said Garcia.

Spencer looked at the information he was reading.

"So far, William Harris appears to be quite intelligent. He's covering his tracks pretty well," said Spencer.

"Yeah, just because you delete your history, it doesn't mean all your dirty cyber laundry isn't hanging out there for me to find on your hard drive. Rookie mistake," said Garcia.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer held a sharpie in each hand as he looked at Morgan, Rossi, and Detective Linden.

"Garcia's been digging through William's computer. She found an encrypted link to a web page," said Spencer.

"Where did it take you?" asked Morgan.

"Uh, an unsearchable, untraceable blog with tons of journal entries. It's like some sort of diary," said Spencer.

"You find anything incriminating?" asked Rossi.

"I was able to differentiate between two distinct voices, two authors. I found various idiosyncratic words, phrases, punctuation, and orthography within the blog entries consistent with each separate person- words like "soda" and "pop." One guy uses dashes while the other uses ellipses," chuckled Spencer as he turned towards the board that he pinned up pages from the website and continued to do his linguistic profile.

An impressed Detective Linden looked at Rossi.

"Where did you find this kid?" whispered Detective Linden.

"He was left in a basket on the steps of the FBI," whispered Rossi.

Spencer stopped writing and looked at Morgan, Rossi, and Detective Linden.

"One side of the discourse made a reference to the devil's strip," said Spencer.

"What the hell's that?" asked Detective Linden.

Spencer walked closer to Rossi, Morgan, and Detective Linden.

"Uh, it's a small patch of grass that separates the sidewalk from the street. Now, that term is only used in Central Ohio. William lived in Atlanta for 20 years, but he grew up in Columbus. The other guy uses words like "turnpike" and "filling the gas tank, " both specific regionalisms for Florida," said Spencer as he watched William be escorted through the bullpen.

Morgan stopped watching William before looking at Spencer.

"Kid, you sure about this?" asked Morgan.

Spencer gave Morgan an 'are you kidding me?' look.

"Right," said Morgan before thinking about Diana, "Are you already teaching Diana about linguistic profiling?" asked Morgan.

"Clarissa and I recently found out that Diana has been teaching herself how to write in cursive," said Spencer.

"Diana just turned five, Reid," said Morgan.

Spencer smiled.

"I know, but at 17-months-old Bridget is already reading words that are up to three syllable words off of flashcards while you already heard my nearly seven-month-old son say 'mama' and 'Dada' while he picked up baby sign language very quickly," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"With how your kids ended up being geniuses like you, I have a feeling that your kids are going to take over the world," said Rossi.

Spencer beamed.

"Speaking of taking over the world, I already read Diana in on my plans for world domination," joked Spencer.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer read the messages out loud as he continued to make marks on the papers before Morgan approached him.

"Tell me you found his partner," said Morgan while Spencer stayed silent, "Reid," said Morgan.

"It's all so cryptic," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at the messages.

"The end of the day came too soon." Well, they clearly enjoyed being together," said Morgan.

"They wrote a cluster of others right after the first victim, Kim Groves, was killed," said Spencer.

"We need to figure out how they met. There's gotta be something in all this about their courtship," said Morgan as he sat down.

Spencer looked at one of the messages.

""It all seemed so hopeless, but I finally learned to rise above it." It sounds like William confessed he was feeling incomplete," said Spencer.

""He was. He didn't start killing until he met his soul mate," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at a line that he had underlined.

""Faith should never be broken." The longer they got away with it, the stronger their relationship," said Spencer.

Morgan stood up.

"Sounds like these two aren't just obsessed with rape and murder. They're addicted to one another," said Morgan just as Hotch, Emily, Rossi, and Detective Linden approached them.

"We could have saved her," said an angry Detective Linden.

Hotch decided to calm the detective.

"There were no signs of his having a partner until now," said Hotch.

"I guess that's why he's so cocky," said Detective Linden.

"Well, his arrogance is typical of a dominant personality. He's found a submissive who's willing to kill for him," said Hotch.

Emily looked at Spencer and Morgan.

"The partner is a biter. We found marks on Missy Dewald," said Emily as she watched Spencer's and Morgan's reactions.

"They never did that before," said Morgan.

"Well, with William out of the picture, he's changed his behavior," said Hotch.

Spencer squinted a bit as his mind started to race.

"Maybe the partner went back to something that's comfortable, something he's done before," said Garcia.

"I've got Garcia checking dental records against other cases," said Hotch while Morgan passed Rossi some papers before Morgan and Rossi walked away.

A few seconds later Spencer walked back to the board and started marking the papers just as his cell phone vibrated causing Spencer to see a picture message from Lucy while his brother-in-law walked over to him.

"Is everything OK?" asked Hotch.

Spencer grinned as he showed Hotch the picture of his oldest daughter smiling as she held up her first lost baby tooth.

"Diana just lost her first baby tooth, so Clarissa gets to play 'tooth fairy' tonight unless I make it home before Clarissa goes to bed tonight," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled a bit.

"I remember helping mom play tooth fairy for Clarissa and Sean when they were losing baby teeth," said Hotch before Spencer's phone vibrated again causing him to see a text message.

ARE YOU UPSET ABOUT HAVING TO BE AT WORK WHILE DIANA LOST HER FIRST BABY TOOTH LIKE ME? ~ CR

Spencer quickly typed a reply.

I'M UPSET TOO, BUT AT LEAST YOUR BROTHER, THE REST OF THE TEAM, AND ME CAUGHT ONE OF THE UNSUBS. ~ SR

Xxxxxxxx 

Emily looked at the officers who were gathered near them as she explained what happened during her and her fiancé's interview with Connie.

"Connie Mayers described an anger-excitation rapist just like William," said Emily.

"So we're looking at two dominant personalities," said Morgan.

"Makes sense. They have a similar discourse. They're equally well-written," said Spencer.

"That's a big deal," said Detective Linden.

"It's rare in criminal partnerships," said Spencer.

"If their personalities are the same, their lives probably mirror one another's as well," said Emily.

Detective Linden thought about the activities that William Harris does.

"Harris goes to church, on the board of the PTA, coaches his daughter's soccer team, rarely drinks," said Detective Linden.

Spencer and Jordan exchanged glances as they thought about their significant others being part of the PTA at Diana's, Allison's, and Gavin's school.

"Sounds like a saint," said Jordan.

"With a dark side. That's what he connected to in the partner. Prentiss and I will go talk to the family, see if they know who it might be," said Hotch before he and Emily walked away.

Morgan sighed as he got up and walked towards the board.

"Two alpha males won't be easy to break," said Morgan.

"The partner is definitely following the investigation," said Jordan.

"Let's do the talking for them," said Rossi.

Jordan looked at Rossi.

"You want me to put this out in the public?" asked Jordan.

"We've got something better," said Rossi as he shook the papers that contain the messages.

"Why would he read it? He knows William won't be writing," said Detective Linden.

"These men are addicted to each other. Right now, he needs a fix, and the words they've shared are all he has to cling to," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about one of the lines in the messages he went through.

"His partner wrote, "faith should never be broken." A betrayal could devastate him," said Spencer.

"All we have to say is that William's cooperating... And then hope he takes the bait," said Morgan.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting in front of a laptop looking over the message he typed as his trap to bring in the second unsub when Morgan looked at him.

"What have we got so far?" asked Morgan.

"Uh, "we were surprised that you injected yourself into the investigation. You risked a lot in order to help William."," read Spencer.

Morgan decided to help Spencer add more to the trap that Spencer was working on.

"And killing' Missy tells us how close you really are. It must be devastating to learn that William is here with us," said Morgan while Spencer typed those words.

"He's not gonna like that. Sounds like William's cooperating," said Spencer as he continued to type.

Morgan leaned over Spencer's shoulder.

"Well, that's exactly what we want him to believe, so he'll doubt their alliance," said Morgan as he looked at everything Spencer has typed.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over two hours later, Spencer was using his brother-in-law and Emily as some fresh eyes on the messages he was going through when Rossi and Morgan joined them.

"You got something?" asked Rossi.

"One day, the partner wrote, "I feel like such an outsider. "no one understands me. "I watch them chase their little spawns, the same old conversations. Nothing stimulates me."" read Spencer.

"Sounds like a party with kids," said Morgan.

"Yeah, and somebody was not happy to be there," said Emily.

Hotch decided to start reading some of the messages.

""I looked over, and everything changed. The only spark in my day."" read Hotch.

"This is it. It's buried in a later entry, but he's talking about the first time they met," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer was staring at the board while his brother-in-law watched him just as Morgan came towards them.

"Reid, we need to figure out where that party was," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"Let's review one more time. I'm a serial killer writing my partner. Why do I keep a secret blog?" asked Spencer.

"It's a safe way to relive your crimes," said Hotch.

"Uh, no one ever sees you together, and, uh, no one overhears you talking," said Emily.

Spencer started to look at the board again.

"I'd buy all that," said Rossi.

"Sounds like they take turns surprising each other. Uh, listen to this. "I love the challenges. "the timing is always perfect. "thanks for tonight. It was tough, but I figured it out. Nothing was gonna keep me away."" read Spencer.

"What are you thinking?" asked Rossi.

Spencer turned around and looked at his teammates.

"They never write about a time," said Spencer.

"So how'd they know when to meet?" asked Morgan before he walked away again.

Xxxxxxxx 

A short while later Spencer, Hotch, Emily, and Rossi were talking to Garcia on the phone.

"What have we got?" asked Garcia.

"All four victims were abducted at different times of the day. It was never consistent," said Hotch.

"One was even taken on Thanksgiving morning when she went to the market for her mom," said Emily.

"Other than the blog, there is nothing else suspicious on Mr. Sneaky's phone or his computer. All texts, numbers, and files have been accounted for," said Garcia.

"What did they do to communicate?" asked Hotch.

"We're missing something. We know based on the language and the knowledge of the area that the partner was most likely born and raised in Florida," said Emily.

"All right, let's work with the theory that the partner lives in Sarasota," said Rossi.

"They don't call. They don't write. The signal could be something visual, or it could be something audible," said Spencer.

"OK, if it's visual, that could be hanging a flag on their house," said Emily.

"And if it's audible, they'd obviously have to live close enough to each other to hear it," said Hotch.

Spencer's mind started to race as he thought about his brother-in-law's words as he started to look through papers.

"Something audible. Something you can hear. What if... What if they're not writing poetry to each other? What if they're writing lyrics to a song?" asked Spencer as he started to recite some of the words, "Uh, "this feels so good, so free, so right."" recited Spencer.

"Give me something else," said Garcia.

Emily looked at the board that contained Spencer's writing and saw possible song lyrics.

"Uh, "it looks so right. It's all I need tonight."" recited Emily.

"I found it," said Garcia as she started to play Tom Petty's "Here Come My Girls".

Hotch instantly recognized the song.

"Garcia, that's it. That was playing when we pulled in to the cul-de-sac." said Hotch.

"It was coming out of a car," said Emily.

"That's the signal. That's how they knew to go back to Missy Dewald," said Hotch.

"The partner lives nearby. That's where they met. It was a neighborhood party," said Spencer as he thought about the occasional block parties that were thrown in his neighborhood that causes him to give a magic show to the kids.

"Garcia, we need to know which neighbor it is," said Rossi.

"Give me the parameters again," said Garcia.

"We're looking for a white male," said Spencer.

"Married, with children," said Hotch.

"He's either got a good steady job, or he owns his own business," said Emily.

"He's lived in Florida his entire life," said Rossi.

A minute later Garcia was pulling up information as she relayed what she found to her teammates.

"Within close proximity to William, there are seven white males. Five are married with children. Two were born and raised in the sunshine state. One is on disability. One owns a real estate business. Oh, my God. He lives right next door. Steven Baleman," said Garcia before Rossi walked away.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer and Emily made their way towards Hotch and Detective Linden.

"So Steven Baleman has a couple of commercial properties, but so far, there's nothing," said Emily.

"Only he knows where Steven took Andrea," said Spencer before he stood next to Detective Linden.

"I can't believe he sold out his daughter to protect his partner," said Detective Linden angrily.

"He's protecting himself. The minute he says anything, he's guilty," said Hotch before he, Spencer, Emily, and Detective Linden focused on the interrogation.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over five hours later Spencer quietly walked into Diana's bedroom and smiled at the sight of his five-year-old daughter sleeping peacefully in her bed. After removing Diana's baby tooth from underneath his oldest daughter's pillow and putting it into his pocket, he slipped a five dollar bill underneath Diana's pillow before watching Diana sleep for five minutes.

Five minutes later, Spencer leaned down and kissed Diana's forehead.

"Daddy loves you, bumble bee," said Spencer causing Diana to wake up.

"Daddy?" asked Diana groggily.

"Hello Diana," said Spencer.

Diana grinned when she saw her daddy.

"Your home, daddy," said Diana as she hugged her daddy.

Spencer hugged his oldest daughter back.

"Just got home 20 minutes ago and I needed to watch you and your siblings sleep for a few minutes," said Spencer before looking at the clock on his daughter's nightstand, "You need to go back to sleep, Diana," said Spencer firmly.

"Can you read to me until I fall back asleep?" asked Diana.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Diana quickly scooted over in her bed and moved her pillow causing her to gasp at the sight of the $5 under her pillow.

"The tooth fairy came," said Diana as she showed her daddy the $5 bill she received.

Spencer grinned.

"Awesome, and you can show mommy and Lucy the money in the morning," said Spencer firmly.

Diana placed her $5 onto her nightstand and looked at her daddy.

"Can you please read to me before I go back to sleep?" asked Diana.

"I can, but then you need to go back to sleep," said Spencer firmly.

"OK daddy," said Diana as she patted the empty space causing Spencer to join his oldest daughter in bed.

"Please show me where you last left off," said Spencer.

Diana quickly scanned her book and pointed at the section where she fell asleep reading before Spencer started to read out loud.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over a half hour later, Clarissa entered Diana's bedroom and smiled at the sight of her husband asleep in Diana's bed with Diana curled up next to him and an open book on her husband's chest while the $5 bill that she gave to her husband to put underneath Diana's pillow rested on Diana's nightstand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Spencer's grandparents will return in the next chapter and I promise that there will be more of Bridget and Evan in the next chapter.


	60. Bloodline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up including a scene from Season 11's 'The Sandman' because of the case in this chapter dealing with children and Morgan and Garcia are expecting their first child.

Spencer smiled as his seven-month-old son crawled over to him before he lifted up his son.

"You are getting so big, Evan," said Spencer as he blew a raspberry on Evan's tummy causing the seven-month-old baby boy to laugh, "You like that, huh?" asked Spencer.

Evan smiled at his daddy.

"Dada," said Evan just as the doorbell rang causing his eyes to go wide.

"Let's go see who's at the door, tadpole," said Spencer as he made his way to the door and checked the peephole and smiled when he saw his grandparents as he unlocked the door and allowed them into the house, "I'm glad that you two were able to come over for Sunday dinner," said Spencer as he set down his son before he helped his grandparents remove their jackets and hung them up before his grandparents removed their shoes.

"Other than working on unpacking the belongings we brought with us, we're pretty much settled in your Aunt Mary's and Uncle Joe's house," said Lydia.

"Let's go sit down so you two can take turns holding your youngest great-grandson," said Spencer.

As soon as Evan and Lydia were seated, Lydia looked at her youngest grandson.

"Please hand over baby Evan," said Lydia.

Spencer handed his son over to his grandmother who had Evan sit on her lap facing her.

"You definitely have grown since the last time I saw you at Diana's birthday party," said Lydia wistfully.

"He just turned seven-months-old three days ago," said Spencer.

Evan looked at his grandson.

"Where are Diana and Bridget?" asked Evan.

"Diana and Bridget went grocery shopping with Clarissa and Lucy while I have some father/son time with my son," said Spencer as he made funny faces at his son.

Baby Evan grinned at his daddy while showing off the baby tooth that has recently been coming through while drool dribbled down his chin causing Lydia to use the bib that was on her great-grandson to wipe up the drool.

"He must be sprouting another tooth," said Lydia.

Spencer nodded.

"It has been a rough couple of nights, but Clarissa, Lucy, and I are always making sure that there are cold teething rings ready for Evan," said Spencer just as Evan made a sign for milk, "Are you wanting a bottle, tadpole?" asked Spencer.

"Aye," said Evan.

"Daddy's going to fix you a bottle, so why don't you keep your great-grandparents company," said Spencer as he got up and walked towards the kitchen while he smiled as he heard his son babbling away.

Xxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer was changing the time on his watch from Eastern time zone to Central time zone while Jordan uploaded photos onto her laptop.

"We got the up-links of the crime scene photos," said Jordan as she set down the laptop on the four-seater table before sitting down herself, "This is Geoff and Nancy Hale. Both their throats were cut," said Jordan as she showed the pictures from the crime scene.

"Any evidence of abuse?" asked Morgan.

"Nothing," said Jordan.

Spencer got up with his father's watch still in his hand as he joined the rest of his team.

"Slitting someone's throat is quick and efficient," said Spencer.

"That's because the real target was down the hall," said Jordan.

Jordan who was thinking about Allison and Gavin who were both safe at school glared at Emily.

"She has a name," said Jordan firmly.

"What?" asked Emily.

"She's not "the target." her name's Cate. She's 10-years-old," said Jordan firmly.

"All right," said Emily.

"Amber alert in effect?" asked Rossi.

"Since 7 AM. this morning," answered Jordan.

"With the unsub's head start, he could be anywhere within a 400-mile radius. Make sure that they're casting a wide enough net," said Hotch.

"Got it," said Jordan.

"Who discovered the bodies?" asked Morgan.

"Jim Scheuren, Cate's biological father. He was supposed to take her for the weekend. The police don't consider him a suspect," said Jordan.

"We'll want to talk to him anyway," said Hotch.

"We're also going to need a list of registered sex offenders in a 20-mile radius," said Emily.

"What's the makeup of the Hales' neighborhood?" asked Spencer.

"Mostly white and middle class," said Jordan.

"We'll need aerial views of the neighborhood. If Madison County doesn't have them, talk to Garcia," said Morgan.

"Dave, you and Morgan go to the crime scene. The rest of us will get up to speed at the precinct," said Hotch.

Spencer's cell phone vibrated causing Spencer to instantly see a picture of Bridget and Evan playing together that made him smile.

"What is it, Reid?" asked Hotch.

"When I sent Clarissa and Lucy texts to let them know that I'm heading to Alabama for an Amber Alert, Lucy said that she'll make sure to send me a lot of pictures of the kids before and after Diana gets home from school," said Spencer as he passed his brother-in-law his phone as he thought about his second cousins 10-year-old Isaac and eight-year-old Abigail, "I also sent Jacob a text and asked him to send pictures of Isaac and Abigail to me," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled a bit at the picture of Bridget and Evan together before looking at his brother-in-law.

"I can't believe that Evan is already seven-months-old," said Hotch.

"Me too, and my godmother mentioned that Evan has the same personality I had when I was Evan's age," said Spencer.

"Since Bridget and Evan both have your personality while Diana has my sister's personality, I assume that my next niece or nephew might have my sister's personality?" asked Hotch.

"I hope he or she does, but Clarissa and I agreed to wait until Evan turns two to try for another baby," said Spencer before noticing that Morgan was making himself some coffee causing him to join Morgan.

"Need some coffee too?" asked Morgan.

"Yes," said Spencer before noticing that Morgan was looking at a picture of Cate while holding the last ultrasound photo of Baby Morgan, "Since this is our first Amber alert since you found out that you are going to be a dad, how are you doing?" asked Spencer.

"I keep on thinking about the baby," said Morgan.

Spencer smiled.

"I'm thinking about my three kids, Jack, my two second cousins, and my two godsons right now while reminding myself that they're all safe at home or are currently in school right now," said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Your about to be a dad and you have to expect the world to start to feel different," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at the ultrasound photo of the baby that his wife is currently pregnant with.

"It feels so hard. Not as difficult. Literally hard. Like asphalt hard. Like pavement," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about the innocence that Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack have.

"And children are soft," said Spencer.

Morgan sighed.

"Yeah defenseless," said Morgan.

Spencer rested a hand on Morgan's arm.

"That's why every day we try to make this world a little safer. If there's one thing I'm sure of, is that you and Penelope are going to be great parents," smiled Spencer.

Morgan chuckled as he thought about Spencer's BA in psychology and the experience of being a father.

"Charge by the hour, Doc?" asked Morgan.

Spencer softly chuckled.

"I consider this a free session because I had to give a talk like this to Hotch before my nephew was born," said Spencer before thinking about Garcia being 16-weeks pregnant, "When it comes to Garcia having her 16-week ultrasound on Friday, are you hoping to have a baby girl or a baby boy?" asked Spencer.

"I would love to have a baby boy to name after my father, but I like the idea to have a daughter who I can also call my 'Baby Girl'," said Morgan.

Spencer smiled.

"As a father to two daughters, I enjoy being wrapped around Diana's and Bridget's fingers," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer quickly pulled an aerial view map of the Hale family's neighborhood off the bulletin board as he looked at his brother-in-law.

"The Hales' neighborhood is a series of rural roads and one-block streets," said Spencer as he placed it on a nearby table and started to look at it.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"How far to a main thoroughfare?" asked Hotch.

"A little over three miles," said Spencer as he rotated the map.

"So he didn't come upon Cate by accident," said Hotch before he looked at an older man, "Sheriff Bates," said Hotch.

Sheriff Bates joined them.

"Yes?" asked Sheriff Bates.

"Is Cate's father here yet?" asked Hotch.

"He's on his way," said Sheriff Bates.

"Let me know the second he gets here," said Hotch.

"I told you, we already checked out his alibi. He's not good for this," said Sheriff Bates.

"I know, but he might know who is," said Hotch.

"All right," said Sheriff Bates before walking away.

Xxxxxxx 

Three hours later Spencer was looking at a picture of Diana, Bridget, and Evan together when Sheriff Bates looked at him.

"What has you smiling while we're dealing with a child abduction?" asked Sheriff Bates.

"I'm just looking at a picture of my kids," said Spencer as he showed Sheriff Bates the picture of Diana, Bridget, and Evan together.

"They're beautiful and how old are they?" asked Sheriff Bates.

"Diana is five-years-old, Bridget is 17-months-old, and Evan is seven-months-old," said Spencer.

"You seem a bit young to have a five-year-old," said Sheriff Bates.

"I'm 27 and my wife and I were both 22 when Diana was born," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day Spencer looked at the broken glass in Morgan's gloved hand while Sheriff Bates looked at Morgan and Rossi.

"Is it a match?" asked Sheriff Bates.

Morgan nodded.

"Which means the RV park owner was right. They spread it on purpose. So everything they do is part of some ritual," said Morgan.

Sheriff Bates looked at Spencer, Morgan, and Rossi.

"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" asked Sheriff Bates.

"A family that ritualizes killing together? Definitely not," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about the language that Emily told him about.

"You know, if the family speaks Romanian, the spreading of the glass makes sense. It's an eastern European superstition for good luck," said Spencer.

"So they're Romanian. We already knew that," said Sheriff Bates.

"Not just Romanian. we're talking about people that are highly superstitious and obsessed with ritual," said Spencer.

"Romany," said Rossi.

"Romany?" asked Sheriff Bates.

"Gypsies," said Morgan.

"More accurately, someone who has perverted Romany culture," said Spencer.

"Call Garcia," said Rossi while Morgan pulled out his phone to call his wife, "They're tight-knit and nomadic like our unsubs, but not usually prone to violence," said Rossi just as Morgan got his wife on the phone.

"Hiya, baby," said Garcia.

Morgan smiled a bit at the sound of his wife's voice.

"Hey, baby girl, we need to talk," said Morgan seriously.

"PG or NC-17?" asked Garcia.

Morgan placed his phone by his mouth.

"You're on speakerphone," said Morgan in a sing-song voice.

"I charge extra for groups," said Garcia.

Spencer, Morgan, and Rossi all chuckled at Sheriff Bate's reaction.

"We need you to run through crimes similar to the Hale murders in the last two years," said Rossi.

"Oh, I already did that. Zip," said Garcia.

"Go back even further, Garcia. Cross-reference against any small towns that have had reports of petty theft associated with waves of Romany populations entering the area," said Spencer.

"Romany?" asked Garcia.

"Gypsies," said Rossi.

"As in "gypsies, tramps, and thieves"?" asked Garcia.

"Exactly," said Morgan.

"Oh, bless you all for turning my life into a Cher song. You'll have it nearly immediately," said Garcia excitably.

"You're the best," said Morgan before hanging up.

Rossi looked at Sheriff Bates.

"You need to get your men together right now," said Rossi seriously.

"Why is that?" asked Sheriff Bates.

Spencer looked at Sheriff Bates.

"Cause whatever ritual these people are trying to play out, we know Cate Hale didn't fit their needs," said Spencer.

"Which means they'll have to try again," said Morgan.

Sheriff Bates looked at Morgan and noticed his wedding band.

"Is Garcia your wife?" asked Sheriff Bates.

"Yes," said Morgan.

"Any children yet?" asked Sheriff Bates.

"We're currently expecting our first child," said Morgan.

"Congratulations," said Sheriff Bates before he walked away to gather his men.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that night, Spencer was sadly looking at pictures of missing 10-years-old girls as he thought about Diana, Bridget, and Abigail when Hotch and Rossi came into the room with Morgan.

"What's going on?" asked Hotch.

"Garcia, you still there?" asked Morgan.

"Present," said Garcia through the phone.

"Explain what you got," said Morgan.

"OK, I went ahead and went further back looking for similar cases and I made the search national," said Garcia.

Rossi noticed the pictures of missing girls.

"All these are hits?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah. there's 30 of them. They go as far back as 1909. Rapid City, South Dakota, Taos, New Mexico, Gary, Indiana. My map is lit up like a Christmas tree," said Garcia.

Hotch looked at the fliers as he instantly thought about Diana and Bridget as he made a mental note to see his nieces after this case.

"All these girls were abducted and had their parents killed?" asked Hotch.

"The time between the kills was long enough and the regions of the country so spread out that it never showed up as serial," said Spencer.

"What the hell is this?" asked Rossi.

"I don't know, but it looks like it's been going on for generations," said Morgan.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"After this case, I need to really spend some time with my nieces," said Hotch.

"I'm already planning that Diana and Bridget will sleep with Clarissa and me after this case, and if we make it home on time you can join Diana, Bridget, and me on a trip to the aquarium on Saturday because Clarissa and I already promised my grandparents on joining them for a Sabbath meal on Friday before going to the synagogue," said Spencer.

"Are your grandparents settling in OK?" asked Rossi.

"They're pretty much settled in at my aunt's house and they came over for Sunday dinner," said Spencer before he decided to focus on the case.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day Spencer was sitting in the back seat of an SUV with Jordan when he looked at the mother of one of Diana's friends from school.

"You OK?" asked Spencer.

"I will be since I woke up a bit earlier so I could talk to Allison and Gavin before my husband took them to school," said Jordan.

"I talked to Diana, Bridget, and Evan this morning before Diana rode to school with her teacher and Aria," said Spencer.

"And Principal Wilke doesn't have a problem with Diana getting a ride to and from school from her teacher?" asked Jordan.

"Principal Wilke knows that Diana's teacher is a family friend when it comes to Mrs. O' Conner and her daughter living across the street from Clarissa, the kids, and me while attending the same church. When Clarissa was subbing for Nurse Shelly last year, there were times that Clarissa gave Aria a ride to school when Mrs. O' Conner was home sick or had to attend a conference," said Spencer just as Morgan pulled up at the latest crime scene.

A few minutes later Spencer was standing in Lynn's parents' room when Morgan joined him.

"This is what I don't get. In both this house and the Hales' house the girls' bedrooms were closest to the exit. I mean, the unsubs actually had to go out of their way to kill the parents before abducting the girls, said Spencer.

"I think it was a countermeasure," said Morgan.

"What do you mean?" asked Spencer.

"They've been doing this for years and they've never been caught. Why?" asked Morgan.

Spencer squinted as he thought about the answer that Morgan was looking for.

"They disappear in the dead of night, they have a head start on the cops, and they don't kill again for years," said Spencer.

"Exactly. When I was a cop, I would get 10 calls a day from parents in child abductions. Now, as sad as that is, if the families didn't stay on you, at a certain point, other cases would just start taking priority" said Morgan.

"So what are they doing with these girls?" asked Spencer just as Morgan's phone rang.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting next to his teammates as he listened to Garcia on the phone.

"A working theory from 1971 was that a transient killed the family and abducted Kathy Gray. Then all the leads went cold," said Garcia as she looked at a picture of young Kathy.

"How do you watch your family get murdered and then make a life with the people who did it?" asked Jordan.

"It's Stockholm syndrome. You adapt or die," said Rossi.

"And now she's training her son to be a murderer," said Emily.

"At a certain point, once traditions are handed down generation after generation, there is no right or wrong. You simply accept the way the world works," said Hotch.

"The Romany is a closed society. The unsub simply twisted and distorted traditions to become entirely insular," said Spencer.

"Abduction the children keeps the bloodline pure, getting the parents killed ensures that people stop looking for them," said Morgan just as Sheriff Bates knocked on the door and entered the room.

"We got a report of an RV on fire about 20 miles from here," said Sheriff Bates.

"Dave, you, Reid, and Morgan go check it out," said Hotch.

Spencer quickly got up and left the room with Morgan and Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer, Morgan, and Rossi followed Sheriff Bates towards a burned up RV.

"It was started less than an hour ago, so they can't be far," said Sheriff Bates.

Morgan looked at everything that Spencer was shining his flashlight on.

"It looks like they left almost everything," said Morgan.

"They got the girl they wanted. They're starting over," said Rossi.

Morgan lifted up some clothes and saw that the sensors were still on.

"Look at the clothes. Most of them still have the store sensors on them," said Morgan.

"So how'd they get them past security scanners?" asked Sheriff Bates.

Spencer looked at the tinfoil that he picked up.

"Tinfoil," said Spencer.

"Excuse me?" asked Sheriff Bates.

Spencer thought about the report of Cate's cognitive interview that Emily gave him to memorize.

"Cate Hale remembers being locked in a closet surrounded by clothing and tinfoil," said Spencer.

"Shoplifters use tinfoil to line their bags and negate security alarms," said Morgan.

"Makes sense. A lot of Romany make their living as petty thieves," said Rossi.

Spencer picked up a bell that jingled.

"It also explains the bells she heard. Cate says she remembers hearing the sound of bells, followed directly by the father talking to the son," said Spencer as he picked up an arm from a mannequin, "I think that's probably what the mannequin's for. School of the seven bells," said Spencer.

"You dress a mannequin, you line a suit with seven bells. If you can pick his pocket without a bell ringing, you're ready to work a crowd," said Morgan while Sheriff Bates nodded.

"So we know how they make their money," said Sheriff Bates.

"That's not all we know," said Rossi.

"These unsubs are guided entirely by ritual. They abducted Lynn Robillard and killed her family in an area that they knew was surrounded by police and the FBI. They had to. They can't deviate," said Spencer.

"We also know that they're starting over. Which means they're gonna need some money," said Morgan.

Rossi looked at Sheriff Bates.

"Where's the closest shopping mall?" asked Rossi while Morgan dialed Hotch's speed dial.

"About 15 miles from here," said Sheriff Bates.

"Hey, Hotch, we know where they're going," said Morgan.

Xxxxxxxx 

After getting a shower and a couple of hours of sleep, Spencer walked into the room where Jordan was watching the interrogation with Morgan and Rossi as he heard Kathy talk.

"I killed them, all by myself," said Kathy.

Spencer looked at Jordan.

"How's it going so far?" asked Spencer.

"They're trying to crack her by reminding her of the girl she used to be," said Jordan.

Spencer realized that his brother-in-law was playing bad cop while his soon to be sister-in-law played good cop.

"I hope this good cop/ bad cop routine works," said Spencer.

"If her family gets away, we've lost that little girl forever," said Rossi before all four adults watch Hotch lean towards Kathy with his hands on the table.

"You're lying," said Hotch.

Kathy slammed the photo of herself onto the table.

"Kathy- my name isn't Kathy!" yelled Kathy.

"Yes, it is. Your name is Kathy Gray. You're from Vienna, Virginia. Tell me where your husband and son are so I can help you get your life back," pleaded Emily.

Hotch started to scatter crime scene photos onto the table so Kathy could see.

"Want to see what you did?" asked Hotch.

Emily saw what her fiance was doing.

"Hey, don't show her those," said Emily.

"If she killed them herself, she can see it again. Serial killers like to relive their crimes. Did you know that? This is Geoff Hale. He died from a strong, decisive cut. I think that was your husband," said Hotch before pointing at a picture of Nancy, "Nancy Hale, her wound was more tentative This was your son, right? I'm sure by the time he teaches his own son how to kill, his hand will be steady," said Hotch.

"Ok, stop-," said Emily while her fiance ignored her.

Hotch placed more pictures down.

"This is the Robillard family," said Hotch.

"Kathy, you don't have to look at that," said Emily.

Hotch continued to place more pictures down.

"Do you want to see some more?" asked Hotch as he showed Kathy some black and white photos.

"I don't know what that is," said Kathy.

"Then look closely!" yelled Hotch as he pushed in Kathy's chair with a slamming force before he leaned forward a bit,

"You don't recognize your own mother and father?" yelled Hotch.

Kathy started to cry.

"What is…," cried Kathy.

Hotch pointed at a picture of Kathy's mother.

"See? This is the tentative cut your future husband made while he slit your mother's throat. Where are your husband and son?" demanded Hotch.

Kathy continued to cry.

"Cate Hale is only alive because of you, Kathy. isn't that- your-your husband wanted to kill her, and you didn't," said Emily gently.

"No," cried Kathy.

"How does that make you feel? To know that he was willing to kill that little girl? That he would have been willing to kill you, too? They murdered your family, Kathy, and they took you in, but you were never really one of them," said Emily.

"No," said Kathy.

"You were just a breeder," said Emily.

"I won't betray my family," Kathy.

"Your little boy is only 10. There is a chance he could get out of custody when he's 18, but that's only if we get to him," said Emily.

Kathy choked a sob.

"I love my family," cried Kathy.

"Then tell us where your son is," said Emily.

Spencer, Morgan, Rossi, and Jordan noticed the signal that Hotch was giving them.

"She's ready," said Rossi before he went to join Hotch and Emily.

After watching Hotch list names until Kathy reacted to Morris Collins's name, Spencer and Morgan hurried off to arrest Kathy's husband.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer got out of the front passenger seat of an SUV as he and Morgan ran towards Kathy's husband with their guns pointed at Kathy's husband.

"FBI! Hands in the air! Hands in the air! Get on your knees! Down on the ground! Now!" demanded Morgan.

Kathy's husband followed Morgan's orders before Spencer and a few officers pointed their guns at Kathy's husband while Morgan handcuffed him.

"You know, we got a long list of girls to go through with you," said Morgan.

"In history, warriors invaded towns, killed the men, women, and boys, but kept the girls for themselves. You exist because your ancestors did what was needed for you to survive," said Kathy's husband while Morgan hauled him up and shoved him towards Sheriff Bates.

"Get him out of here," said Morgan.

"You'll never find my boy!" yelled Kathy's husband as he was taken away.

"We already have," called back Spencer.

Kathy's husband stopped walking and glared at Spencer while Sheriff Bates looked at Kathy's husband.

"Come on, come on," said Sheriff Bates.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer entered the room where Lynn was sitting in with a female officer and looked at the officer.

"May I please speak to Lynn alone?" asked Spencer.

"Go ahead," said the female officer as she looked at Lynn, "I'll get you some chocolate and juice," said the officer before walking out of the room.

A few seconds later Spencer was sitting by Lynn who looked at him.

"Who are you?" asked Lynn.

"My name is Dr. Spencer Reid and I'm an FBI agent just like Agents Todd and Rossi," said Spencer as he showed Lynn his badge before giving the girl a sad smile, "I understand what your going through because my biological parents died in a car accident when I was four and my aunt and uncle who adopted me died in a car accident when I was 19," said Spencer.

Lynn started crying causing Spencer to look at Lynn.

"Is it OK if I give you a hug?" asked Spencer gently.

Lynn nodded and a few seconds later Spencer was giving Lynn a hug.

"I want to tell you that you'll have good and bad days while you grieve the loss of your parents and get over your abduction, but knowing your aunt and uncle they'll make sure that you never forget your parents like my aunt and uncle did with me," said Spencer as he used his thumbs to wipe Lynn's tears before he pulled a quarter from behind Lynn's ear causing the young girl to giggle.

"How did you do that?" asked Lynn.

"A magician never tells his secrets," said Spencer.

Lynn noticed Spencer's dinged up wedding band.

"Do you have kids of your own?" asked Lynn.

Spencer nodded.

"A five-year-old daughter, a 17-month-old daughter, and a seven-month-old son," said Spencer before he pulled out a business card from his wallet and quickly scrawled his personal cell phone number, "I want you to call me if your ever struggling because I find that its easy to talk to people who know what its like to become an orphan. If I don't answer my phone, I'll get back to you as soon as possible," said Spencer.

Lynn looked at the card that contained Spencer's personal cell phone number.

"Thank you," said Lynn before she hugged Spencer again.

"Your welcome," said Spencer before smirking a bit, "Have you ever heard of physics magic?" asked Spencer.

"No, but is it another magic trick?" asked Lynn.

Spencer nodded before looking at Lynn.

"I need you to cover your eyes and I'll tell you when to open them," said Spencer.

"OK," said Lynn as she covered her eyes.

Less than a minute later Spencer had his bottle rocket set up and fizzing.

"Nothing's happening," said Lynn.

"Just watch," said Spencer as he disguised his voice to sound like an evil scientist.

A few seconds later the film canister shot up and flew across the room and hit the window while Lynn started to giggle just as the female officer returned.

"What just hit the window?" asked the female officer.

"Dr. Reid did physics magic for me," said Lynn before looking at Spencer, "Can you please do that again?" asked Lynn.

"Sure," said Spencer as he looked at Lynn and the officer, "I need you to close your eyes," said Spencer.

Lynn and the female officer closed their eyes and less than a minute later Lynn was giggling again while the film canister flew across the room and hit the window.

"Your good with Lynn," said the female officer.

"I have a five-year-old daughter, a 17-month-old daughter, a seven-month-old son, and a three-year-old nephew back home in Washington DC," said Spencer.

"I have two kids myself," said the officer before Spencer's phone rang causing Spencer to see that it was Clarissa.

"It's my wife calling," said Spencer before looking at Lynn, "Please remember to call me if you ever need anything," said Spencer as he left the room as he answered his phone, "What's up?" asked Spencer.

"Do you know when you are coming home?" asked Clarissa.

"We arrested the unsubs and found the missing girl, so I'll be home before bedtime," said Spencer.

"That's great, and I assume that you need the kids to sleep with us?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Spencer.

"They can sleep with us tonight, but I have plans for you tomorrow night, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer chuckled before he took a few minutes to talk to Diana, Bridget, and Evan as he helped his team pack up.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later Spencer was locking up his revolver when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Your home, daddy!" exclaimed Diana as she made a flying leap towards her daddy.

Spencer easily caught Diana.

"I missed you, Diana," said Spencer.

"I missed you too, daddy," said Diana.

Isaac and Abigail walked over with Bridget on Isaac's hip.

"Dada!" exclaimed Bridget.

"Bridget!" exclaimed Spencer.

As soon as Isaac and Abigail reached them, Spencer accepted Bridget from Isaac.

"Daddy missed you while I was away," said Spencer.

"I miss you too, Dada," said Bridget.

A few seconds later Abigail looked at her second cousin.

"Daddy and aunt Maeve told me that you really needed to see me," said Abigail.

Spencer smiled at the little girl who had his aunt Mary's auburn hair while having the same brown eyes as him.

"Your daddy's right," said Spencer just as Clarissa and Maeve came into the living room with Evan.

"Dada!" exclaimed Evan.

"I missed you, Evan," said Spencer before he kissed his wife, "Hi," said Spencer.

"Hi," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at Maeve.

"Where's Jacob?" asked Spencer.

"He and Ellen are having a date night and I was babysitting my niece and nephew when Clarissa invited us over for dinner," said Maeve.

Spencer's stomach growled causing Clarissa to look at her husband.

"Speaking of dinner, Maeve and I kept your dinner warm in the oven," said Clarissa before looking at Diana, Bridget, Abigail, and Isaac, "You guys can each have a cookie while your daddy or uncle Spencer eats his dinner," said Clarissa.

"Yay!" cheered Abigail and Isaac as they followed their aunt towards the kitchen while Clarissa motioned her husband to come with them.

"You OK?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded as he looked at his daughters who were still on his hips while hearing Abigail's excited chatter from the kitchen.

"I am," said Spencer.

Over three hours later Spencer and Clarissa were asleep in their bed with Diana and Bridget between their parents while Evan slept in his co-sleeper crib.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Baby Morgan's gender will be revealed in the next chapter!
> 
> When it comes to Diana getting a ride to and from school from her teacher, I know that it wouldn't be frowned upon at all because Diana has known Mrs. O' Conner her entire life and Mrs. O' Conner babysat Diana, Bridget, and Evan a few times while the principal approves Diana carpooling with school with her teacher and one of her best friends.


	61. Cold Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts the Monday after the last chapter and I hope everyone enjoys the surprises I include in this chapter!

Diana was eating breakfast with her parents, siblings, and Lucy when she looked at her parents who were both taking drinks of orange juice at the same time.

"I want another little brother," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa both did spit takes causing Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Lucy to all start laughing while Spencer and Clarissa wiped their mouths and the table.

"You should have waited until mommy and daddy weren't eating or drinking anything before you said something like that to your parents, Diana," said Lucy as she patted Spencer's and Clarissa's upper backs, "Are you two OK?" asked Lucy.

Spencer and Clarissa both nodded as they regained their composure before Spencer looked at his oldest daughter while Clarissa stayed silent.

"Is Evan too boring for you?" asked Spencer.

"Evan's not too boring for me, but Evan needs a little brother that he can play with every day because I already have a little sister to play with every day," said Diana as she gave her little sister a dimpled smile causing Bridget to smile back.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over an hour and a half later, Spencer approached Emily, Garcia, and Morgan with a cup of coffee that he picked up on his way to work when Garcia looked at him.

"Reid, we need a DOB on Prentiss," said Garcia.

Spencer shook his head as he looked at Garcia.

"Are you dealing with what my wife calls 'baby brain' that causes you to forget that Emily's birthday is three days after mine?" asked Spencer as he ignored Emily's glare.

"Yes," said Garcia as she looked at the paper, "Libra I should have known," said Garcia as she started to read out loud, "A romantic opportunity may experience a slight hitch thanks to the pesky lunar influence which could have you dipping into a rather chilly mood. If being demonstrative and warm is difficult, then neutralize this temporary cold front with a simple but affectionate gesture," read Garcia.

"I have a simple gesture," said Emily as she flipped the bird just as JJ joined them.

"Hey. You guys ready to gather?" asked JJ.

Spencer, Emily, Morgan, and Garcia all smiled at the sight of JJ who had her blonde hair cut to shoulder length.

"Well, look at you, miss thing. First day back and you're all business," said Morgan.

"Well, it's either dive right in or confront my separation anxiety," said a smiling JJ.

Garcia rubbed her 17-week pregnant stomach.

"It's tough being away from him, huh?" asked Garcia as she watched her husband walk away.

"Yeah," said JJ.

Garcia instantly noticed a ring on JJ's finger causing her to grab JJ's hand.

"Oh, hey, that's new, isn't it?" asked Garcia.

"Yeah, Citrine. It's Henry's birthstone. Will and I both got one," said JJ.

"Oh, that's sweet," said Garcia before looking at Spencer, "Since Clarissa has jewelry that has Diana's, Bridget's, and Evan's birthstones on it, do you have any jewelry with the kids' birthstones on them?" asked Garcia.

Spencer nodded as he reached into his shirt and pulled out a chain causing JJ, Emily, and Garcia to see a gold ring with the birthstones for October and December on one side while the other side had the birthstones from June, August, and December.

"When did you get that?" asked Garcia.

"Clarissa got me this ring for Christmas and I prefer to wear this ring close to my heart," said Spencer.

JJ looked at the newspaper in Garcia's hand.

"You done with this?" asked JJ as she gestured to the newspaper.

"All yours," said Garcia as she passed JJ the newspaper.

"Thank you," said JJ.

A few seconds later Spencer looked at JJ as they headed to the conference room.

"When it comes to having three kids myself, it will eventually get easier to leave your child," said Spencer.

"How hard was it for Clarissa when she returned to work?" asked JJ.

"It was much harder for her after Evan was born, but thankfully Lucy makes sure to send us pictures of the kids before and after Diana gets home from school to reassure us that the kids are fine with her," said Spencer.

"At least Will and I already found a nanny that Will, Henry, and I all love while not judging Will and me for our careers," said JJ.

A few minutes later everyone including Garcia was in the conference room when Garcia looked at the team.

"Before I head to my lair, Derek and I decided that we need to tell you the gender," said Garcia.

Everyone smiled when JJ looked at Garcia.

"A boy or a girl?" asked JJ.

Garcia and Morgan exchanged smiles before they looked at Spencer, Hotch, JJ, Emily, and Rossi.

"A girl," said Morgan.

"A boy," said Garcia.

Spencer's, Emily's, Hotch's, and Rossi's eyes went wide as they realized what Morgan and Garcia said.

"Fraternal twins?" asked Spencer.

Garcia nodded.

"Which I'm really happy about because Derek and I agreed on having two kids while this pregnancy has already been labeled high risk because of my scar from getting shot and requires me to need a C-section while surgery might be needed to fix scar tissue," said Garcia as she and Morgan accepted hugs or handshakes from their teammates.

"Have you two thought about childcare yet?" asked Hotch.

"My mom's in the process of moving out here since she wants to help take care of her grandchildren instead of us hiring a nanny," said Morgan.

A few minutes later, JJ was briefing Spencer, Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi on their latest case.

"There's been a string of abductions in Olympia, Washington, going back nine months. Four women in all, blond, blue-eyed, early 20s. This morning they found one," said JJ as she sat next to Spencer.

"When were they taken?" asked Hotch.

"Nine months ago," said JJ.

"So she was the first?" asked Emily.

"Yeah," said JJ as she showed another picture.

Rossi looked at the picture of the first victim.

"Looks almost mummified," said Rossi.

"Uh, not exactly," JJ.

"Frozen?" asked Morgan.

"Embalmed," said JJ.

"That's different," said Emily.

"Yeah. So the time of death is a bit of a question mark right now," said JJ.

"Where did they find her?" asked Rossi.

"In a state park just east of Olympia. Seasonal hiking area. The body was jarred loose during a mudslide. That, plus the abnormal decomp makes it difficult to know how long she was there," said JJ.

Spencer scratched his chin a bit.

"It says the victims were abducted about three months apart. He's rotating his victims out," said Spencer.

"There are gonna be more bodies out there," said Hotch before he gave a departure time.

A minute later Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message.

OTHER THAN FINDING OUT THAT MORGAN AND GARCIA ARE CURRENTLY EXPECTING BOY/GIRL TWINS, I'M HEADING TO OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON RIGHT NOW. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU AND THE KIDS. ~ SR

Xxxxxxxx 

Emily walked out of the small kitchenette with a bottle of water for herself as she looked at her teammates.

"So if I wanted to embalm a body, well, what's the process?" asked Emily.

"Start with some nose plugs," said Morgan.

"The blood is drained through the jugular vein and replaced with embalming fluid through one of the two major arteries. It usually takes a few hours," said Spencer.

"Then you'd need special equipment, training," said Rossi.

"Knowledge of the human vascular system would also be a plus," said Spencer.

"A doctor, maybe," said JJ.

"A nurse, a technician, somebody with a background in mortuary sciences," said Hotch.

"Now, there's a major they didn't offer at my school," deadpanned Morgan.

"Personally, the whole thing just seems weird to me. Embalming, I mean," said Emily.

"Some people like to look good for their funeral," said Morgan.

"But it's not them. It's just a shell, polished and painted. I just want to be cremated," said Emily.

"The question is why somebody would embalm the body of someone they just murdered," said Hotch.

"He wants to hold on to them. It's a possession issue," said Rossi.

"This way they can never leave. Maybe fear of abandonment speaks to his history," said Morgan.

"But eventually even an embalmed body will decay and he finds himself in need of new victims," said Spencer.

"That explains the abduction cycle a new victim every three months," said Hotch.

"Which means at least two of the remaining women are already dead," said Rossi.

"And the third?" asked JJ.

Hotch looked at the file on his lap.

"Brooke Lombardini," said Hotch as he placed a picture of Brooke on the table by his brother-in-law, fiancee, and Morgan, "It's been four days since she, uh, disappeared following her shift at a local restaurant. We know the odds," said Hotch.

Spencer thought about the odds he ended up beating when he was held captive by Hankel and eventually Cyrus.

"90% of all abduction victims are killed within the first 36 hours," said Spencer while Morgan lifted up the photo of Brooke.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer hiked through the wet and muddy forest with Detective Duran while being grateful for the rubber boots that he was given to wear.

"Hiker found a foot protruding from the soil right up here. The whole side of the hill slid down from up there," said Detective Duran.

"So you're focusing the search in this area here," said Morgan as he pointed at a location.

"Yeah, but if he dumped other bodies here, he's got over 800 acres to work with," said Detective Duran.

Spencer looked at Detective Duran as he worked hard on not losing his balance as he walked through the mud.

"Keep your men near the fire road, detective. One man dragging a body through the woods…," said Spencer.

"110 pounds of dead weight, he's not gonna get far from the path," finished Morgan.

"That's why a lot of killers dismember their victims. They're easier to dispose of that way," said Spencer.

Morgan crouched down to search the ground.

"You think it says something about the profile, he didn't chop her up?" asked Detective Duran.

"Possibly, yeah," said Spencer as he crouched down to see what Morgan found.

Detective Duran noticed something in Morgan's hands.

"What is it?" asked Detective Duran.

Morgan held up a necklace that contained a cross just as some police officers looked at Spencer, Morgan, and Detective Duran.

"Uh, detective. We got-we got something up here," said the officer.

Spencer quickly made his way up the muddy hill without slipping before he noticed a body of a dead woman causing him to search for a necklace with a cross before he made eye contact with Morgan and Detective Durant.

"The answer to your question, detective, is yes, this killer can't dismember these women. He cares for them," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer looked at the three bodies that were laying on the tables as he felt grateful that Clarissa had nearly black hair instead of blonde like Sean as he read the names of the victims from a file.

"Annette Hagen, Erin Bonham, and Melissa St. Claire, all embalmed," said Spencer.

"That's the first three. That leaves the Lombardini girl still out there," said Morgan before he made eye contact with the medical examiner, "Did you figure out the cause of death?" asked Morgan.

"Blood loss," said the ME.

Spencer squinted his eyes as he looked at the medical examiner.

"Blood loss? They were alive when they were embalmed?" asked Spencer.

"Looks that way. Tox screens show significant levels of barbiturate. They were sedated, maybe unconscious," said the ME.

Morgan noticed Annette's, Erin's, and Melissa's hair.

"Reid, look at this. They all have the same haircut," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at the pictures he had of Annette, Erin, and Melissa.

"These are recent photos," said Spencer as he gestured to two of the three women, "These two had much longer hair at the time of their abduction," said Spencer.

"So the unsub cut it," said Morgan.

"Something else he may have done. Their ears have all been double-pierced," said the ME.

Spencer and Morgan looked at the victims' ears while Spencer thought back to holding Diana on his lap as she got her ears pierced over four weeks ago.

"Were they sexually assaulted?" asked Morgan.

"Not exactly. There was no tearing or bruising that would normally suggest it. But I did find trace amounts of semen," said the ME.

Spencer looked up at the medical examiner.

"You're saying it may have been consensual?" asked Spencer.

"No," said the ME.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"She's saying they were dead," said Morgan as he watched Spencer's face show disgust and horror.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that night, Spencer smiled at the sight of his wife's face on his laptop.

"Before we talk about our day, I've been thinking about what we talked about around Christmas and Diana's request this morning and during my annual exam today I got Dr. Larson to remove my IUD," said Clarissa.

Spencer's eyes went wide before his face broke into a huge grin.

"So you're ready to try for another baby?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"When it comes to Diana turning five a few weeks ago, Evan turning one this June, and Bridget turning two this August, I think we're ready since we already started on potty training Bridget since she turned 17-months-old," said Clarissa.

Spencer thought about how many weeks it took him to get Clarissa pregnant with Bridget after she had her IUD removed over a week after his 25th birthday.

"Is there a certain time you want our fourth child to be born?" asked Spencer.

"Around Diana's sixth birthday and Christmas, so our fourth child would be born while you're on leave between Christmas and New Years," said Clarissa.

Spencer quickly did the math before smiling.

"Perfect," said Spencer before he and Clarissa yawned at the same time.

"We both need to get some sleep since its 11 PM here in DC and 8 PM in Olympia, and I know that you are going to wake up around 7:30 AM our time so you can talk to the kids before Diana leaves for school and I leave for work," said Clarissa.

Spencer blushed a bit causing Clarissa to smirk.

"No need to get flustered about waking up earlier when your three hours behind the East Coast time zone because that shows that you are a really devoted father when it comes to making sure to talk to the kids before bedtime and when they wake up in the morning," said Clarissa.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning at 4:30 AM Pacific time, Spencer smiled as he saw Clarissa's, Diana's, Bridget's, Evan's faces on his laptop.

"Good morning," said Spencer.

"Good morning, daddy," said Diana.

"Good orning, Dada," said Bridget.

"Dada!" screeched Evan.

"When do you think you will be home, daddy?" asked Diana.

"Hopefully I'll be home this weekend so we can go on our monthly father/daughter date, Diana," said Spencer before winking at Clarissa, "We'll also have our date night too," said Spencer.

"I'm excited about our date, daddy," said Diana.

"Have you thought of what you want to do?" asked Spencer.

"Can we please go to the International Spy Museum?" asked Diana.

Spencer shook his head as he thought about the International Spy Museum being Diana's current favorite museum when it came to all the museums that they have visited in Washington DC on his weekends off.

"We can go there," said Spencer just as he heard the doorbell rang.

"That must be Mrs. O' Conner and Aria so I can ride with them to school," said Diana.

"Please be a good girl while having fun at school, Diana," said Spencer.

"I promise, daddy," said Diana as she blew her daddy a few kisses causing Spencer to catch them.

"Caught them, bumble bee," said Spencer before he exchanged 'love yous' with the kids and Clarissa before he turned off his laptop so he could get another hour and a half of sleep.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later, Hotch looked at all of the officers who came to hear the profile.

"By now we know the DNA found on the victims did not match anyone in the system, so we're gonna have to look beyond the physical evidence to identify the killer," said Hotch.

"Our unsub is a white male in his mid to late 20s, and he has money. He lives alone, in a large residence. There's enough space and ventilation to accommodate an embalming suite," said Emily.

"He's awkward with people, especially women. An inability to relate socially is common in homicidal necrophiles," said Hotch.

"Because of the alterations to the bodies, we believe the unsub is attempting to recreate a woman he once loved," said Morgan.

"Like a girlfriend?" asked Detective Duran.

"Or a wife, a mother. Someone who left or died suddenly," said Hotch.

"This projection of the loved one coupled with his need to preserve the victims through embalming is similar to the psychopathology of serial murderer Ed Gein. Gein had an Oedipal complex which developed in the years he nursed his paralyzed mother back from a stroke. After she died, his obsession compelled him to dig up corpses of women who resembled his mother. So persistent was his desire to resurrect his dead mother that He actually dressed in female suits fashioned from human skin. Eventually, Gein grew unhappy with the flesh of dead bodies, which had a tendency to dry and crack, so he shifted his focus to live victims whose bodies he could better preserve," said Spencer.

"The evolution from the dead to living victims will also be mirrored in our unsub's maturation," said Hotch.

"We've put together a list of incident reports prior to 2006," said Emily as she grabbed a bunch of reports to pass out,

"You're gonna want to follow up on these. Now, they are inappropriate postmortem conduct, cadaver theft, and graveyard disturbances," said Emily as she started to pass out reports.

"60% of necrophiles work in the death business, So be sure to canvass local cemeteries, mortuaries, and morgues," said Spencer.

"And since we have the killer's DNA, we're gonna be sending you out with kits to swab potential suspects," said Morgan as he held up a bunch of swabs.

The odds of finding Brooke Lombardini alive are slim, but the quicker we identify the killer, the better her chances are. For her sake, let's work fast," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer walked in step with a groundskeeper who was picking up branches from all the rain.

"We're looking for instances where graves have been disturbed- desecrations, exhumations. Female bodies," said Spencer as he crouched down and picked up a branch, "Attractive ones," said Spencer as he put the small branch into the bin that the groundskeeper was carrying.

"Nobody's attractive once they've been in the ground," said the groundskeeper as he placed another branch into the bin.

"They would have been recent burials," said Spencer.

The groundskeeper grabbed an old bouquet of flowers to toss.

"No, haven't had anything like that," said the groundskeeper as he grabbed another small branch off a grave, "An older grave got ransacked a couple years ago," said the groundskeeper.

"Was the body taken?" asked Spencer.

"No. The body was just a pile of bones. They stripped it clean, though. Made off with the jewelry, dress," said the groundskeeper.

"Can you please tell me about the grave?" asked Spencer.

"Sure," said the groundskeeper.

A few seconds later Spencer was taking notes about the grave site that was robbed.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer was staring at the board with Morgan when they turned around at the sound of Emily's voice causing them to see Hotch, Emily, and Rossi.

"Garcia tried to ping the phone, but it was already dead. The unsub probably turned it off when he found her with it," said Emily.

"You mean if he found her," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at Rossi.

"Dave, I agree with you about psychics, but the fact is Sandra Lombardini positively identified her daughter's voice. We have to assume that that call was genuine," said Hotch before looking at his team, "So what do we think? Why is the unsub keeping Brooke alive? And how long do we think she has until he kills her?" asked Hotch.

"Maybe he needs them alive to effect their transformation," said Spencer.

"The change in the hair, the makeup, piercing the ears- that would only take a few hours," said Morgan.

"He's had her for almost five days," said Rossi.

"OK, so maybe it's about something more than just appearance. Maybe it's something deeper," said Emily.

Spencer thought about the phone call he listened to.

"On the phone she made it sound like she was being locked up, and she sounded drugged," said Spencer as he cleared his throat, "These are control mechanisms used in cases of sexual slavery, mind control-," said Spencer.

"It's brainwashing," said Morgan.

"So he's trying to break her down, make her surrender her identity," said Hotch.

"That's what he's waiting for. That's the version of them he wants to hold onto," said Rossi.

"The longer she holds out, the longer she stays alive," said Morgan.

"And as soon as she accepts her new role, her fate is sealed," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer exchanged occasional glances with his brother-in-law as they watched Emily and Detective Fullwood interrogate Ivan Bakunas before Spencer heard a certain phrase that had his mind racing.

"Genuine article," said Spencer before he ran off causing his brother-in-law to race after him.

Less than a minute later Spencer grabbed his black notebook from his messenger bag when his brother-in-law joined him.

"Reid," said Hotch.

"I took a report of a grave robbery," said Spencer as he opened up his notebook and started to search for the report.

"I thought you said it was just a simple theft," said Spencer.

"Yeah, but listen to what was taken," said Spencer as he found the page, "A dress, a pair of diamond earrings, and a pair of pearl earrings," said Spencer.

"Two pairs," said Morgan.

"If our unsub is like Bakunas, then he needs the genuine articles from the true object of his affection to complete the fantasy," said Hotch.

"Exactly. This grave could belong to that woman. Let's see," said Spencer as he found the person the grave belonged to,

"Abigail Hansen," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan were talking to Garcia on the phone.

"Ok, so I got her obit from the Olympian. Abigail Reina Hansen died suddenly at 26 from myocarditis, a heart defect. Sending her passport photo now," said Garcia just as the laptop beeped.

Morgan looked at the picture of Abigail.

"Well, she certainly looks the part," said Morgan as he turned the laptop around so Spencer and Hotch could see.

"Garcia, what else can you tell us about her?" asked Hotch.

"I can tell you that she was born in Amsterdam, she never married, and her employment records show her working for Patrick and Leona Gless from 1985 to her death in 1992," said Garcia.

"Can you get us an address for the Gless family? They might be the only ones who can tell us who Abigail was," said Hotch.

"Yeah," said Garcia.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting on the edge of a desk reading Roderick's letter as he listened to Garcia talk on the phone.

"It's exactly how they said. Roderick's trust was emptied in March of '04. Half a million bucks," said Garcia.

"Where is he now?" asked Rossi.

"Sir, the thing is, he's gotta be using straight cash, 'cause there's no paper trail on him for the last four years. Nothing from the IRS, from the DMV. There's no property or utilities in his name," said Garcia.

"You can't find him?" asked Rossi.

"I'm sorry," said Garcia before she and Rossi hung up.

Morgan looked at Rossi and JJ.

"You know, a half a million isn't what it used to be. And the way this unsub is accustomed to living, after four years he would need to supplement his income," said Morgan.

Spencer heard footsteps coming towards him causing him to see Rossi.

"Anything between the lines, Reid?" asked Rossi.

"Nothing that points to a specific location. He's basically saying he's happy. That should be enough for her. It's essentially a goodbye letter," said Spencer as he closed the letter.

"Enough for her?" asked Morgan.

Spencer grabbed the envelope and looked at it.

"It's only addressed to Leona," said Spencer.

"Why not his dad?" asked Morgan.

"Maybe they didn't get along," said JJ.

"No, that's not right," said Rossi as he got Garcia on the phone again, "Garcia, I need you to check something else," said Rossi before he walked away.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"So basically we got nothing," said Morgan before JJ took the letter from Spencer and looked at it before walking away.

Xxxxxxx 

After JJ got back from visiting Stanley Usher, she told her teammates about what Stanley told her before Hotch looked at her.

"Water," said Hotch.

"That's what he said. Roderick is near water," said JJ.

Spencer who was sitting pretzel legged on a table by Detective Fullwood looked at his brother-in-law and JJ.

"It's not very specific. The earth is two-thirds water," said Spencer.

"He specified a rocky shoreline you could see," protested JJ.

Hotch looked at JJ.

"JJ, this man is not exactly a reliable source of information," said Hotch as JJ went to grab a photo.

"OK. This photo from the Gless house- it was taken at their house on Mercer Island," said JJ as she passed Hotch a photo of a young Roderick with his nanny.

"Waterfront property," said Detective Fullwood.

"No one's lived there for 10 years. It's abandoned. I checked. This could be where he's holding Brooke," said JJ just as Rossi joined them.

"He's sending him money," said Rossi.

Hotch noticed something in Rossi's hands.

"What's that?" asked Hotch.

"Roderick's dad," said Rossi as Hotch took the papers from him, "It's the reason Roderick never said goodbye to him in the letter. They never lost contact. That supplemental income you were asking about? This is it. Every six months, a $50,000 wire," said Rossi.

JJ looked at the bank slips.

"This is Western Union, though. There's no way to tell he's on the receiving end," said JJ.

"I'm telling you, he's sending it to Roderick. If you'd seen his father, you'd know," said Rossi as he looked at Hotch.

"It's true. Deep down, he was very guilty about neglecting him," said Hotch.

"He's submissive in the marriage. He's probably hiding it behind her back," said Rossi.

"You don't think his dad knew?" asked Morgan.

"No. No, I think he's a sad man trying to buy his kid's love," said Rossi just as Detective Fullwood stood up and pointed at a map.

"This is where Brooke's 911 call originated. This Western Union is within the circle. Mercer Island isn't," said Detective Fullwood.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later Spencer was looking at a picture of Diana, Bridget, and Evan with Lucy when Rossi joined him.

"You OK?" asked Rossi.

Spencer looked at the cousin of his children's nanny.

"When it comes to your cousin being my children's nanny while she also helps Clarissa and me with cooking and cleaning, do you think that we're putting too much pressure on Lucy?" asked Spencer.

"Not at all," said Rossi before smiling a bit, "Ever since I was reunited with Lucy, she has been telling me about how much she loves working for you and Clarissa because you and Clarissa really helped her heal over the deaths of her husband and son while Diana, Bridget, and Evan are practically the grandchildren she always wished for," said Rossi.

"The kids all love Lucy too," said Spencer before thinking about Lucy's recent 53rd birthday, "Clarissa and I agreed that we're going to be sad for when its eventually time to hire a new nanny for the kids when Lucy's ready to retire or when she's ready to her to join her husband and son," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer entered Diana's bedroom and smiled at the sight oldest daughter sleeping before he rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Its time to wake up for school, Diana," said Spencer in a sing-song voice.

Diana's eyes flew open and as soon as she had her glasses on and her vision cleared she hugged and kissed her daddy.

"I missed you during the three nights and four days you were in Olympia, daddy," said Diana.

"I missed you, mommy, and your siblings too," said Spencer as he hugged and kissed his daughter just as Diana's stomach growled, "We might as well get you ready for school before we go downstairs for some breakfast," said Spencer as he helped his oldest daughter get out of bed.

Xxxxxxxx 

10 minutes later Spencer was happily greeting Bridget and Evan who were both happy to have their daddy home before Spencer helped Lucy finish up making breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope everyone is excited about me planning on adding onto the Reid family much sooner than I planned because other than the stoylines that are coming up, I needed something good to outweigh the bad.
> 
> I'm thinking about Spencer and Clarissa having a total of six kids together.


	62. Family Fluff & Zoe's Reprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts on February 5th of 2009, so Bridget will be turning 18-months-old and Evan will be turning eight-months-old in this chapter.

Clarissa woke up to her husband talking in his sleep causing her to turn on the lamp.

"Tobias help me!" shouted Spencer in his sleep.

Clarissa realized that her husband was having a nightmare and quickly got out from underneath the covers and pinned her husband down by using her hands to hold down her husband's arms and her knees pinning down her husband's legs.

"Spence, wake up. Your safe in bed with your wife and not in Georgia," said Clarissa before she started to repeat the mantra while praying that Diana, Bridget, and Evan don't wake up.

After Clarissa repeated her mantra for a minute, Spencer's eyes shot open.

"Clarissa?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa wiped the tears that were falling down her husband's face.

"You were having a nightmare about the Hankel torturing you," said Clarissa.

Spencer sighed as he grabbed his glasses and slipped them on as he grabbed his phone and saw the date on the screen.

"Later on this evening will mark the two-year anniversary of the night Hankel abducted me," sighed Spencer.

"I know, Spence," said Clarissa as she moved her husband's bangs out of his face and grimaced at the amount of sweat in her husband's hair before feeling his t-shirt that was soaked with sweat, "You definitely need a shower to clean the cold sweat off of you while I most likely have to change the sheets," said Clarissa.

"Sorry," said Spencer.

"Its OK, Spence," said Clarissa just as they heard some sobs causing Spencer and Clarissa to turn their heads to see a crying Diana standing in the doorway with the stuffed Babar elephant that once belonged to Spencer as a child in her arms.

"Daddy?" asked Diana.

"Did my bad dream wake you up?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as she nervously walked into the room.

"Are you OK, daddy?" asked Diana.

"I will be because mommy's going to take care of me," said Spencer as he hugged his daughter, "I'm so sorry that I scared you, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"Its OK because mommy, uncle Aaron, and Lucy all told me about the symptoms of PTSD. Can I take care of you too, daddy?" asked Diana.

Clarissa smiled at her oldest daughter.

"Daddy is going to take a quick shower to clean himself up, but why don't you help me put clean sheets on the bed and when daddy gets out of the shower we go downstairs for some hot chocolate and cookies as long as you promise to go back to sleep because of having school tomorrow," said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am," said Diana.

Xxxxxxxx 

After eating some cookies and drinking hot chocolate, Clarissa looked at Diana.

"While daddy and I rinse out the mugs, I want you to go upstairs and use the bathroom before getting back into bed so daddy and I can tuck you back in," said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am," said Diana as she allowed her daddy to help her get off the stool before she headed upstairs.

As soon as Diana was out of earshot, Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Since its going to be a few minutes before Diana's back in bed, you should tell me about the nightmare you had," said Clarissa firmly.

Spencer sighed as he started to tell his wife about the nightmare and a few minutes later he yawned.

"We better check on Bridget and Evan, tuck Diana back in, and get some sleep ourselves," said Spencer.

Clarissa nodded as she and Spencer headed back upstairs where they each went into Bridget's and Evan's nurseries and smiled at the sight of their two youngest children sleeping in their cribs before they walked into Diana's bedroom where they saw Diana's bed empty and the stuffed Babar that once belonged to Spencer gone.

"Huh," said Spencer before looking towards his and Clarissa's bedroom, "Do you think that Diana's in our bedroom?" asked Spencer.

"We might as well go see for ourselves before we check the library," said Clarissa.

10 seconds later Spencer and Clarissa entered their bedroom to find Diana sitting up in the middle of their bed with her Babar.

"Why aren't you in your own bed, young lady?" asked Clarissa.

"Daddy doesn't have bad dreams if I sleep with him. So I'm hoping that sleeping with you and daddy will stop daddy from having bad dreams," said Diana as she gave her mommy her puppy dog eye look while pouting.

"You can sleep with daddy and me only for the rest of tonight, but tomorrow night your sleeping in your own bed, young lady," said Clarissa.

Diana grinned while Spencer snickered causing Clarissa to slap her husband on the chest.

"I really wish that you didn't teach Diana and Bridget how to use their eyes and pout to get what they want," grumbled Clarissa.

"Please join me in bed so I can recite one of my most favorite chapter books to you and daddy before we all go back to sleep," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other while Spencer decided to bring up Diana's favorite book.

"Despite all of the books that have been read to you or you read by yourself, "Matilda" is still your favorite?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as her hair bounced.

"Matilda is a genius like me in both the book and movie, but I wish that I could be telekinetic like her," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa softly chuckled as they joined their oldest daughter in bed and a minute later Diana was using her eidetic memory to recite "Matilda" by Roald Dahl out loud to her parents.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over a week later a grinning Spencer who was wearing his best suit with a white dress shirt and purple tie was standing behind a grinning Diana who was wearing a new purple dress while wearing a corsage on her wrist as Clarissa took a picture of Spencer and Diana together.

"Now you two go make your dinner reservations at Olive Garden before having fun at the father/daughter dance at Diana's school," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled as he thought about the look of excitement on Diana's face as she told her that on February 13th there was going to be a Valentine's Day dance and the girls who were able to attend were suppose to bring their daddy, uncle, or grandfather as her date while the boys brought their mother, aunt, or grandmother as his date.

"We'll have a great time, Clarissa," said Spencer.

"We'll have fun, mommy," said Diana.

A few minutes later Spencer was helping Diana get buckled into her booster seat in Clarissa's mini-van before he drove Diana and himself to Olive Garden for their dinner date.

Xxxxxxxx 

Nearly two hours later Spencer was happily spinning Diana on the dance floor while Jordan Todd and her husband Daniel danced next to them with Allison and Gavin.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day during lunch, Diana looked at her parents.

"Can we please make heart-shaped sugar cookies before you two go out for Valentine's Day?" asked Diana before she took another bite of her grilled cheese sandwich.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other before looking at their oldest daughter.

"We were already planning on making cookies this afternoon," said Clarissa.

"Yay!" cheered Diana and Bridget.

Evan who was sitting in his high chair with baby food all over his face clapped his hands.

"Aye!" cheered Evan.

Xxxxxxxx 

After Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget all finished decorating the homemade heart-shaped sugar cookies, Spencer smirked as he grabbed a handful of flour and threw it at Clarissa's face while Diana and Bridget laughed.

As soon as Clarissa cleaned up her glasses, she looked at her husband who was laughing along with Diana and Bridget.

"Oh its on," said Clarissa as she grabbed two handfuls of flour and threw the flour at her husband.

"Food fight!" exclaimed Diana as she grabbed some flour and threw it at her little sister.

Xxxxxxxx 

Five minutes later Lucy was walking downstairs with Evan on her hip just as they heard Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget all laughing.

"Let's go see what mommy, daddy, and your big sisters are doing, Evan," said Lucy as she tickled the nearly eight-month-old baby boy's belly.

Evan giggled as his nanny carried him towards the kitchen and a few seconds later he laughed as he watched his mommy throw flour in his daddy's face while Lucy clicked her tongue at the sight of Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget all covered with flour and leftover homemade icing.

"I only go upstairs for five minutes to collect Evan and I come in here to see the kitchen a disaster and the four of you covered in flour and icing?" asked Lucy before shaking her head, "Sometimes I wonder if there are five kids underneath this roof instead of three kids," said Lucy.

"Daddy started it," said Diana.

Lucy laughed.

"I bet he did," said Lucy as she grabbed a camera that was nearby, "I might as well take a picture for the current photo album that's being put together before you guys clean up the kitchen before you four clean yourselves up," said Lucy.

Clarissa looked at the clock.

"After we shower, we might as well get dressed up for our date night," said Clarissa.

"And after Diana and Bridget are cleaned up, I'll be taking the kids over to Alex's since Alex invited the kids and me to sleepover tonight," said Lucy.

Xxxxxxxx 

After the kitchen was cleaned up, Spencer and Clarissa were getting into the shower together while Lucy gave Diana, Bridget, and Evan their baths.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two hours later Spencer and Clarissa were talking and laughing over an Italian dinner and sparkling wine in one of their favorite Italian restaurants before they went home to have the house to themselves.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day Spencer and Clarissa were cuddling on the couch as they watched Diana, Bridget, and Evan play with blocks together when Spencer sighed sadly.

"Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"I just can't believe that Bridget's 18-months-old," said Spencer quietly.

"I can't believe that Evan turned eight-months-old today, Spence," said Clarissa just as Bridget tugged hers and Spencer's hands.

"Yes Bridget?" asked Spencer.

"Pway wit us," said Bridget as she used her eyes while pouting.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at each other and grinned before they joined their three children on the floor.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two days later Spencer was sitting at the round table with his brother-in-law, Emily, Garcia, and Morgan while JJ stood in front of the monitor and Rossi conferenced in through the phone.

"The crimes are within a seven-mile radius," said JJ.

"Well, that's something," said Morgan.

"Yeah, but the neighborhoods are all completely different. They range from poor to rich, industrial to residential," said Morgan.

"The physical locations are dissimilar, but the operating zone's well-defined," said Hotch just as Garcia hacked into Zoe's laptop from her own laptop.

"OK. I'm in," said Garcia.

"I see you," said Rossi.

"In your web browser for search history. Check out her home page," said Garcia.

Emily who was sitting next to Garcia looked at Garcia's laptop screen.

"All right, so the first thing she looks at when she opens up her computer is a crime column," said Emily.

"Probably to stay current on her studies," said Morgan.

"Can you see what she worked on last?" asked Rossi.

"Voila. These are the most recently opened documents she created," said Garcia.

Spencer leaned to his left and looked at Garcia's laptop screen.

"Looks like she was compiling empirical data about homicide trends in Cleveland," said Spencer before straightened back up.

"Do you think she knew the killer?" asked Emily.

"I don't see any notes indicating suspects," said Rossi.

"Well, Dave, she's a criminology student. She's been taught to analyze statistics and apply theory, not investigate killers. Let's talk about what we know," said Hotch.

"All right. Victim one- Travis Bartlett was last seen at a gay bar. He was shot at night in a park. Victim two, Lily Nicks, a 34-year-old prostitute, her throat was slashed. Victims three and four, June Appleby and Troy Wertsler, Were shot in their car at a parking lot outside of a movie theater. And victim five was a 28-year-old single woman, Kayla James, killed in her home. She was bound, suffocated with a bag over her head, evidence of rape," said JJ as she showed pictures of each victim, "And then the sixth victim was Zoe," said JJ as she showed a picture of the 22-year-old criminology student.

Spencer looked at the file in front of him.

"Victimology, weapons used, and C.O.D. all different. It's hard to imagine it's even the same unsub," said Spencer as he looked at his brother-in-law, Emily, JJ, Penelope, and Morgan.

"It can't be a coincidence that Zoe goes to Kayla James' house and gets murdered," said Rossi.

"All right, let's say it is the same killer. Does anybody see a pattern?" asked Hotch.

Emily looked at the file she was looking at.

"Well, maybe. OK, the first crime, he shoots the victim. The second crime, he rapes a woman and slashes her throat. That's more personal. And the third crime, he escalates to killing two people, And the fourth, he escalates even more by raping a woman, binding her, and suffocating her," said Emily.

"So if it is the same unsub, you could argue that there's a progression of violence with every kill," said Hotch.

Spencer rubbed his chin.

"It could be an anger excitation offender getting more daring with each crime," said Spencer.

Morgan who was looking at his file spoke up.

"I think I got something here. Look at this," said Morgan as he showed a crime scene phone, "the slashes in the prostitute's throat- they're all shallow, unsure cuts," said Morgan.

Morgan grabbed another crime scene picture.

"The Kayla James crime scene- telephone cord, rope, and duct tape were used. It like he couldn't decide how to bind her," said Morgan.

"So without a gun, he's sloppy, inexperienced," said Hotch.

"The young couple shot in the car…," said Morgan as he grabbed the crime scene photo, "That crime scene remind you of anything?" asked Morgan.

Everything clicked in Spencer's brain.

"Yeah, they were shot with a .44 bulldog, just like the Son of Sam used on his victims, which were also young couples in parked cars. It might be nothing, but you're right, there is a parallel there," said Spencer.

Emily thought about the serial killer for the second victim.

"With the second victim, it's hard not to think of Jack the Ripper. The obvious similarity being it's a prostitute whose throat was slashed," said Emily.

Hotch realized which serial killer that that their unsub was copying for Kayla.

"Kayla James was bound, tortured, raped, with a plastic bag over her head like BTK," said Hotch.

"What about victim number one?" asked Morgan.

"Garcia, what neighborhood was he found in?" asked Rossi.

"At a park in the Kingsbury Run area," said Garcia.

"Zoe reminded me last night that Cleveland's most famous serial killer was The Butcher of Kingsbury Run. He found his victims in gay bars, shot them, and dumped their body there. Travis Bartlett was last seen at a gay bar, and his body was found in Kingsbury Park," said Rossi.

Hotch sat back in his chair.

"So these are copycats of famous serial killers?" asked JJ.

"He's a serial killer studying serial killers," said Rossi while not knowing about the shocked reactions that were going around the round table room.

"See you in Cleveland, Dave," said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer was at his desk sending Clarissa a text message to read when she's taking a break.

I'M HEADING TO CLEVELAND, OHIO TO HELP ROSSI WITH A CASE THAT WAS BROUGHT TO HIM. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU, DIANA, BRIDGET, AND EVAN. ~ SR

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer followed his teammates as he carried a box towards Rossi in the Cleveland Police Department.

"Guys," said Rossi.

"Hey, Dave," said Hotch.

Rossi pointed towards a room.

"We're in that room. Coffee's brewing," said Rossi.

"We'll get started on the evidence boards," said Spencer.

"Detective Brady's our point. I'll let you all introduce yourselves," said Rossi.

A second later Spencer was heading to the conference room with his teammates.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer and Emily were setting up the evidence board while Hotch looked at Detective Brady.

"I know it may seem far-fetched, but copycat killers are not entirely uncommon," said Hotch.

"This one happens to be copying several different killers," said Morgan.

"But if he's trying to be The Butcher of Kingsbury Run, why didn't he cut up and mutilate the victims like the real guy?" asked Detective Brady.

"That was seven weeks ago. He was just getting started. Beginning killers are often frightened of the crime itself. They're more interested in getting it over with as quickly as possible and fleeing the scene," said Emily.

"He was just using The Butcher's ruse as a way to lure the victim to be alone with her," said Morgan.

"And by the time he killed Kayla James three days ago, he'd progressed. He came very close to copying all of the BTK's M.O.," said Emily.

Spencer nodded.

"He's reading, learning, borrowing from others because he doesn't know who he is yet," said Spencer.

"And because of this, we think he's young and impressionable, maybe even a student," said Morgan.

"Someone probably enrolled in criminology classes. Our technical analyst is going through names of local students right now," said Spencer.

"Up to this point, changing his m. prevented investigators from linking the crimes. That's why we need to work quickly," said Hotch.

Detective Brady looked at Hotch.

"You're sure about this?" asked Detective Brady.

"It's not a coincidence that all of these random, violent murders in a localized area are copycats of serial killers," said Emily.

"It's as if all the worst serial killers have converged on Cleveland. Every time he plans to kill the murder weapon, the M.O., and the victimology will all change," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer stood with his arms crossed as he stood near Emily while Morgan started to give the profile.

"We have six homicides in a seven-mile radius in East Cleveland. Now, this small zone indicates that's he's a geographically stable offender," said Morgan.

Spencer started to pace a bit while Emily spoke.

"This type of offender is characterized as young, socially immature, of average intelligence, with psychopathic personality traits," said Emily.

"They also usually live alone and have an antisocial nature," said Morgan.

Spencer stopped pacing as he looked at all of the officers in the room.

"A serial killer's first murder is very telling. This unsub's first murder, he chose the M.O. of Cleveland's own Butcher of Kingsbury Run," said Spencer.

"The Butcher isn't as well known as other famous serial killers, but he is a local legend," said Emily.

"And because he picked The Butcher to be first, we believe he's a native of Cleveland and probably grew up hearing stories of The Butcher," said Morgan.

"This is someone who is obsessed with serial killers. His computer will be filled with research on them," said Emily.

"He'll have abundant images of murderers on his computer and possibly even snuff films. He uses these like pornography. They provide some sort of sexual release," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer, Morgan, and Detective Brady walked towards the area where some men were pulling up the dead body that was found.

"They're bringing him up right now," said Spencer.

"Teenagers found him a little over an hour ago," said Detective Brady.

Spencer turned on his flashlight and looked at the victim's eyes.

"It's petechiae in the whites of his eyes," said Spencer before moving his flashlight towards the victim's neck, "Judging from the bruising, he was probably strangled with a wire," said Spencer as he turned off his flashlight.

Detective Brady looked at Spencer and Morgan.

"Is this our guy?" asked Detective Brady.

"It's gotta be. A jogger doesn't get garroted every day," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at the body that was soaking wet from being in the river.

"Whatever signature he left was probably washed away in the water," said Spencer.

Morgan crouched down to look at the body.

"Well, who's he mimicking now?" asked Detective Brady.

Spencer thought about the cases he read about.

"Bike path rapist Altemio Sanchez comes to mind. He trolled bike paths near buffalo garroting his victims. It looks like he copied everything except for the rape," said Spencer.

"Strangulation's a repetition of his last murder of Zoe. The first time he's repeated himself," said Morgan.

"Zoe's murder was spontaneous, though. He didn't plan it. He acted on instinct and did what came naturally to him," said Spencer.

"Maybe what came naturally felt good him and he wanted to feel it again," said Morgan.

Spencer made eye contact with Morgan.

"If he's starting to repeat a pattern, he may have found himself," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer was going through Zoe's notes when Rossi looked at him.

"See anything else in there?" asked Rossi.

Spencer looked up to make eye contact with Rossi.

"Just the notations of an observant student. I've been thinking, though. Zoe got all of her information from the newspapers and from Paula McConnell's column. There's no way she could have known about every homicide in the city," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Well, not every homicide's reported in the papers," said Hotch.

Spencer looked down at the journal in front of him.

"So how do we know the unsub didn't commit more murders than the ones noted in her journals?" asked Spencer.

"We don't," said Rossi.

Spencer started to read through the journal more while not noticing that Rossi was watching him focus on the journal.

"We can check missing persons and see if anyone was last seen in the unsub's operating zone," said Hotch.

Rossi watched Spencer grab a few files and crime scene photos and started to go through them as he flashed back to one of the conversations they had on the day he met 21-year-old Spencer on the day that Spencer married Hotch's little sister.

"Hmm," said Rossi.

Spencer quickly looked up and looked at Rossi while thinking about if he did anything wrong.

"What?" asked Spencer.

Rossi thought about Spencer currently being 27-years-old.

"Well, a young person's mind is so active- Yours, Zoe's, and I imagine this unsub's, too," said Rossi.

Hotch nodded as he thought back to the questions that 19-year-old Spencer asked him on the day his sister dragged Spencer along for his and Clarissa's lunch date.

"I think when we get him, he'll be curious. He'll ask questions just like you did on the day Clarissa brought you along for lunch," said Hotch.

Spencer's face turned beet red just as JJ stormed into the room.

"Rossi heads up. She knows," hissed JJ just as Sheila Hawkes stood in the doorway.

"Did you do this?" asked Sheila as she held up a receipt, "I don't need or want your money. I have taken care of my daughter for 22 years, and she is still my responsibility. I don't need any help from you. You didn't even know her," cried Sheila.

"I'm sorry if I've offended you," said Rossi.

Spencer locked eyes with his brother-in-law

"Just leave us alone," cried Sheila before she left.

A few seconds later Detective Brady came into the room as he finished up a phone call.

"All right," said Detective Brady as he hung up and looked at Spencer, Hotch, Rossi, and JJ, "We found another body. East Cleveland. Strangulation marks," said Detective Brady before walking away.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Let's go, Reid," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was bending forward as he studied the body in front of him.

"This was recent. The bruises on her neck are still reddish," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at the body.

"No other obvious signs of trauma," said Hotch.

Detective Brady looked around the area.

"Well, this isn't a bike path like the last one. Which serial killer is he mimicking now?" asked Detective Brady.

Spencer thought about possible serial killers as he stood up to his full height.

"I don't think he is mimicking anymore. He's starting to show consistency. I think he's developing his own style," said Spencer.

Hotch noticed something on the victim's forehead causing him to look at Detective Brady.

"Has anybody touched her?" asked Hotch.

"No. They have instructions to wait for us and the M.E.," said Detective Brady.

"Where's he?" asked Hotch.

Detective Brady noticed a man coming towards them.

"Dr. Edwards!" shouted Detective Brady as he motioned the M.E. to come towards them, "Here he comes," said Detective Brady.

Hotch looked at the medical examiner.

"Hi. Agent Hotchner. Um, could you take a look at this spot on her forehead?" asked Hotch.

Dr. Edwards noticed a clean spot on the victim's forehead.

"That's strange. Let me swab it and get it back to the lab," said Dr. Edwards.

"Thanks," said Hotch as he stood up to his full height.

Xxxxxxxx 

As they were heading back to the station, Spencer's cell phone rang causing Spencer's eyebrows to raise when he saw that it was Washington International School causing him to quickly answer.

"Is Diana OK?" asked Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Diana?" asked a whispering Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"I'm OK, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer sighed in relief as he looked at his watch and noticed that it was lunchtime at Diana's school.

"Aren't you suppose to be eating lunch at school, Diana?" asked Spencer.

"I am, but I really wanted to tell you that I got a 100% on my math test and that one of my top front teeth is loose," said Diana.

"That's great, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"Are you with uncle Aaron right now?" asked Diana.

"I am," said Spencer.

"Can you please put him on speaker so I can tell him the good news myself?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled.

"Here's a heads up that I'm with one of the detectives right now, Diana. But you can talk for a minute before I have to get back to work and you go eat the lunch that mommy or Lucy packed for you," said Spencer.

"OK daddy," said Diana.

Spencer put his phone on speaker.

"You are now on speaker, Diana," said Spencer.

"Hi uncle Aaron," said Diana.

"Hello, Diana. Why are you calling your daddy when you're supposed to be eating lunch at school right now?" asked Hotch.

"I wanted to tell daddy and you that I got a 100% on my math test and I have another loose tooth," said Diana.

"I'm so proud of you, Diana. And when your daddy and I get back from Ohio, I'll make sure to come over to see your loose tooth before I take you out for ice cream," said Hotch while ignoring the slight glare that Spencer was giving him.

"OK uncle Aaron. I have to go and eat my now and please stay safe," said Diana.

"I promise to stay safe and I love you, Diana," said Spencer.

"I love you too, daddy. I love you, uncle Aaron," said Diana before she hung up.

Detective Brady looked between Spencer and Hotch.

"Uncle Aaron?" asked Detective Brady.

"Dr. Reid has been married to my baby sister for over six years," said Hotch.

"Oh," said Detective Brady before looking at Spencer, "How old is Diana?" asked Detective Brady.

"Diana just turned five in December and she's currently in the second grade because of having an IQ of 168, an eidetic memory like me, while reading 19,000 words per a minute," said Spencer.

Detective Brady whistled.

"You must be very proud of her," said Detective Brady.

"I am, but sometimes I wonder if Diana's smarter than me," said Spencer.

"Any other kids?" asked Detective Brady.

"An 18-month-old daughter and an eight-month-old son, and my wife and I are hoping to be holding our fourth child by the end of this year," said Spencer before he put his hands over his mouth.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"You and Clarissa are really ready to give me another niece or nephew to spoil?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Evan will be turning one in less than four months while Bridget turns two this August, and Diana pointed out that Evan needs a little brother of his own because she has Bridget," said Spencer.

Hotch chuckled.

"When it comes to Diana being a genius like you and having my sister's spitfire personality; Diana's really going to be a force to be reckoned with as she gets older," said Hotch.

"I know, but I'm praying that my fourth child has Clarissa's personality because Bridget and Evan have my personality," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

After searching through Eric's apartment, Hotch looked at his brother-in-law who was holstering his revolver.

"Reid, check the computer. Detective, we should talk to the neighbors, find out where he goes, where he might be on a weeknight," said Hotch just as Rossi joined them.

"Aaron. He's reading my books," said Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

10 minutes later Spencer was sitting next to Detective Brady on the couch as he went through Eric's laptop when his brother-in-law joined them.

"Reid, anything?" asked Hotch.

Spencer opened up Eric's calendar and saw something about Al's Alehouse causing him to quickly pull up information when Detective Brady looked at Hotch.

"Al's Alehouse. That's like five miles away," said Detective Brady.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law and Rossi.

"It's on the schedule for tonight," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer was going through Eric's apartment when his cell phone rang causing him to see that it was his brother-in-law as he quickly answered his phone and placed it against his ear.

"Reid," said Hotch.

"Hotch," said Spencer.

"I need something, anything that might show where he was trolling for more victims," begged Hotch.

Spencer walked through the hallway of Eric's apartment.

"We've been through everything," said Spencer as he stopped to look at the pictures on the wall.

"He marked up Rossi's books. Check the bookcase. Maybe he was scouting for locations to commit more murders," said Hotch.

Spencer quickly thought about the pictures he saw on Eric's laptop.

"Pictures," said Spencer.

"What?" asked Hotch.

"Framed photographs in his hallway. Nothing else... Nothing else is framed. They look like originals. Let me call you right back, Hotch," said Spencer.

"OK," said Hotch.

Spencer quickly hung up and removed a photo from the wall and looked at it.

Xxxxxxxx 

After taking down all the photos and going through Eric's laptop again, Spencer quickly got his brother-in-law on the phone.

"Yeah, Reid," said Hotch.

"I found pictures on his computer in a special folder he created. They're scenic places in the city. Three of them I recognize from his crime scenes. There are more pictures of places I don't recognize," said Spencer.

"Email them as soon as you can," said Hotch.

"All right," said Spencer before his brother-in-law hung up.

A minute later Spencer was emailing the pictures to his brother-in-law.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day Spencer walked over to Rossi and sat down across from him.

"Clarissa and Lucy told me to tell you that you're coming home with me tonight," said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Rossi.

"When I'm feeling down about the aftermath of a case, cuddling with Diana, Bridget, and Evan always cheer me up while Clarissa and Lucy decides to cook one of my favorite foods so Lucy wants you to come over and play with the kids while she cooks you one of your favorite foods," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "Lucy's already planning on making spaghetti carbonara while Bridget and Evan eat spaghetti," said Spencer.

"Has Evan eaten spaghetti yet?" asked Rossi.

"Evan just turned eight-months-old on Sunday, and Clarissa told me that she's ready to introduce Evan to pasta tonight," said Spencer just as his phone vibrated causing him to see a picture of Bridget and Evan together and showed Rossi the picture of Bridget and Evan.

Rossi looked at the picture of Bridget and Evan sitting together on the floor as they build a tower of blocks together.

"I can't believe how big Bridget and Evan are getting," said Rossi.

"Me too, and I'm sad about Bridget turning two in less than six months while Evan just turned eight-months-old," said Spencer.

"Has Evan showed any signs of being ready to walk yet?" asked Rossi.

"He's already standing up in his crib while holding onto the railing while standing up while holding onto furniture, but Diana and Bridget both took their first steps when they were both nine-months-old," said Spencer.

"So if Evan's a lot like his big sisters, he'll take his first steps at nine-months-old," said Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer followed his teammates off the elevator and into the bullpen where Penelope was standing as she rubbed her 20-week pregnant stomach.

"Derek I really need you to rest your hand on my baby bump now!" exclaimed Garcia.

Morgan quickly walked over to his wife and rested his hand on his wife's stomach and a few seconds later his eyes went wide.

"The babies are finally kicking?" asked Morgan.

Garcia nodded.

"I told them that you were coming home today and they just started kicking," said Garcia before looking at Spencer, Hotch, JJ, Emily, and Rossi, "Before you guys get busy, please come feel the babies kick," said Garcia.

A few seconds later Spencer, JJ, Emily, Hotch, and Rossi all took turns feeling the Morgan twins kick.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later Spencer and Rossi entered the Reid family home, and as soon as Spencer locked up his revolver in his safe he quickly scooped up Diana and Bridget and settled both girls on his hips.

"Daddy missed you two girls so much while I was in Ohio," said Spencer.

"Bridget, Evan, and I all missed you, daddy," said Diana while Bridget nodded agreement.

"I miss you, Dada," said Bridget.

"Where's Evan?" asked Spencer.

"He's right there," said Diana as she pointed to where Evan was standing up while holding onto a coffee table.

Spencer's eyes went wide causing him to quickly set down Diana and Bridget.

"Go get mommy and Lucy and have them turn on the video camera," said Spencer.

"OK daddy," said Diana as she hurried off to the kitchen while Rossi scooped up Bridget.

Spencer took a few steps closer to Evan just as Clarissa quickly joined him while Lucy turned on the video camera.

"Look at you, big guy," said Spencer.

Evan grinned at his mommy and daddy.

"Mama. Dada," said Evan.

"Do you want a hug from daddy?" asked Spencer.

"No," said Evan.

Spencer pouted at his son while a giggling Clarissa looked at her baby boy.

"What about a hug from mommy?" asked Clarissa.

Evan gave a big grin as he let go of the end table and took 14 wobbly steps towards his mommy's arms before falling into them.

"Mommy's so proud of you, little man," said Clarissa as she lifted up her baby boy and hugged and kissed him.

Spencer wrapped his arms around Clarissa and Evan while being careful to not squish his son.

"Daddy's proud of you too," said Spencer as he kissed his son before Diana and Bridget joined them causing Spencer to scoop up his daughters who both gave Evan a kiss.


	63. Pleasure is my Business

Spencer smiled at Evan who was sitting up on his own on the floor.

"Can you show me where your nose is, Evan?" asked Spencer.

Evan grinned at his daddy as he touched his nose.

"Good job, tadpole," said Spencer before he thought of another body part, "Where's your belly button?" asked Spencer.

Evan quickly patted his belly.

"Good job, tadpole," said Spencer before tilting his head, "What about your toes?" asked Spencer.

Evan quickly touched his feet causing Spencer to grin.

"What about your right ear?" asked Spencer.

Evan quickly put his hand on his left ear.

"Left ear?" asked Spencer.

Evan touched his left ear just as Merton came over to them causing the eight-month-old baby boy to grin and point at the white Maine Coon cat.

"Cat," said Evan.

Spencer grinned.

"That's Merton the cat," said Spencer.

Merton walked over to Evan and placed his head underneath Evan's hand.

"Can you gently pat Merton?" asked Spencer.

Evan grinned as he patted his six-year-old companion who purred.

"Cat," said Evan.

"Good job, buddy," said Spencer when Daisy joined them, "Hello Daisy," said Spencer as he petted his oldest daughter's four-year-old Bichon Frise Daisy.

"Og," said Evan.

Spencer quickly translated what his son said as he grinned at his son.

"Your right about Daisy being a dog," said Spencer as he watched his son pet Daisy.

Evan yawned causing Spencer to smile.

"I guess that its nap time for you and daddy is going to work on a few consults as you nap," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was in his home office working on one of the consults he took home to work on during the weekend as Evan peacefully slept in his crib.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over an hour later Spencer smiled as he let his oldest brother-in-law and three-year-old nephew into the house.

"Hi uncle Spence," said Jack as he hugged his favorite uncle's legs.

Spencer grinned as he scooped up his favorite nephew

"You've gotten so big since the last time I saw you, Jack-Attack," grinned Spencer as he hugged his nephew.

Jack grinned.

"Where is Auntie Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget?" asked Jack.

"They're attending a girls-only event at church, so I'm stuck at home with Evan," said Spencer.

Jack looked around for his cousin.

"Where is Evan?" asked Jack.

"He's upstairs taking a nap, but he should be awake soon," said Spencer before grinning at his nephew, "I don't know if your daddy told you yet, but Evan took his first steps a few days ago," said Spencer.

Jack nodded at his uncle.

"Daddy show me a video of Evan walking," said Jack just as Evan's voice sounded through the baby monitor.

"Dada?" asked Evan.

Spencer checked his watch and sighed.

"Evan's naps are definitely getting shorter," said Spencer before looking at his brother-in-law and nephew, "I'm going to go grab Evan really quick," said Spencer.

"OK uncle Spence," said Jack.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Should I prepare a bottle for Evan?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"There are a few bottles of milk that just need to be warmed up and Jack can have a cookie that was made this morning," said Spencer as he hurried towards the stairs.

Hotch looked at his son.

"Let's go fix your cousin a bottle while you have a cookie," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Five minutes later Spencer walked into the kitchen with a toddling Evan beside him causing Hotch to grin at his nephew.

"Hi," said Evan as he waved at his favorite uncle and cousin.

"Look at you, Evan!" said Hotch.

Evan grinned at his favorite uncle while Spencer looked at his son.

"Please say hi to Jack," said Spencer.

Evan looked up at his cousin who was sitting on a stool.

"Hi Ack!" exclaimed Evan.

Jack who had cookie crumbs on his face grinned at his cousin.

"Hi Evan," said Jack.

Hotch quickly scooped up his nephew and placed him in his high chair and handed Evan his bottle causing Evan to quickly sign 'thank you' to his uncle.

"Your welcome, Evan," said Hotch.

Evan started to drink his mommy's milk while Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"He's really well mannered," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"It turns out that Diana's been teaching Evan that it's important to say please and thank you," said Spencer.

"Just like she did with Bridget," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Diana really loves being a big sister," said Spencer.

"What about Bridget?" asked Hotch.

"She loves Evan," said Spencer before remembering what's going on Monday morning, "I'll need to come into work late on Monday morning because of Bridget having her first occupational therapy appointment," said Spencer.

"How did Diana react to the news about her sister being autistic?" asked Hotch.

Spencer smiled.

"She took the news very well because she already knows that I'm autistic while she just got a new classmate who moved here from Iowa that has autism," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

The next day at church Reverend Alden looked at his congregation.

"How many of you remember our time at a family camp at my sister's and brother-in-law's ranch during Father's Day of 2006?" asked Reverend Alden.

Spencer, Clarissa, Lucy, the Barry's, and a bunch of other families raised their hands.

"Good because it's our church's turn to take over that ranch for Father's Day weekend and there are 20 cabins available for families who wouldn't be able to sleep in tents," said Reverend Alden before he started his sermon.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over 45 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were fixing themselves some coffee when Peter and Sarah Barry approached them with Dominic.

"Are you guys going to participate at this year's family camp?" asked Peter.

Spencer and Clarissa grinned at each other before grinning at their friends.

"We already arranged to have Friday through Tuesday of Father's Day weekend off through our bosses because we told them that we're going camping that weekend," said Clarissa.

"Are you guys, the kids, and Lucy are going?" asked Sarah.

"We signed up to attend Camp Faith five minutes ago and we're already getting a cabin because of Diana's asthma," said Spencer.

"How many asthma attacks did Diana have last week?" asked Sarah.

"She didn't have any at all, but hopefully she'll outgrow her asthma like I did when I was a kid," said Clarissa just as Bridget ran over to them as she clutched her ears.

"Too noisy?" asked Spencer.

Bridget nodded as tears fell down her face causing Spencer to scoop up his youngest daughter.

"I might as well go grab your noise cancellation headphones from the van," said Spencer before looking at Clarissa who was holding Evan on her hip, "While I go grab Bridget's headphones, do you need anything else from the van?" asked Spencer.

"Don't think so because there's plenty of diapers in Evan's diaper bag," said Clarissa.

"I'll take Bridget with me so she can calm down outside," said Spencer.

"Reverend Alden did say we can use his office if we need to," said Clarissa.

Spencer gave Clarissa and Evan each a kiss.

"I'll be back as soon as possible," said Spencer before he walked away with Bridget while waving at Diana who was playing with Courtney and Isabel.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer looked at JJ, Emily, Rossi, and Morgan while his brother-in-law listened on the phone.

"Female serial killers are a fascinating field. We don't have much information on them, but what we do know involves throwing the rules completely out the window. Signature, for instance. They don't torture or take trophies," said Spencer.

"There's no sexual gratification when a woman kills," said Morgan.

Spencer shifted in his seat.

"Exactly. Murder is the goal. They don't have to do anything extra," said Spencer.

"So, basically, women are more efficient at killing?" asked JJ.

"Historically, they have had body counts in the hundreds," said Spencer.

"So assuming that the job is the stressor, what are some of the reasons prostitutes kill their customers?" asked Hotch.

"Money, drugs, post-traumatic stress disorder," listed Morgan.

"At some point, every call girl, no matter how well paid, gets coerced into an activity she didn't consent to," said Rossi.

Spencer grabbed his mug of coffee and took a sip.

"Aileen Wuornos used to purposefully stage paid sexual encounters as an excuse to murder men she thought would rape her," said Emily.

"But Wuornos was psychotic and disorganized. I think this girl's poisoning them before she has sex with them," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at the M.E. report in his hands.

"She's using tetramethylenedisulfotetramine. It's a popular rat poison in China, easily soluble in alcohol," said Spencer as he noticed Emily staring at him.

"Poison is the perfect M.O. Quiet, quick, and the victims never see it coming because they think they're getting lucky. Does that mean something to you?" asked Rossi.

"Well, at $10,000 a night, these men are paying for discretion as well as sex," said Hotch.

"She has a history with them. They see her repeatedly," said Rossi.

"She didn't decide to kill them in the moment. She walks in with the intent to kill them and she's doing it before she sleeps with them," said Hotch.

"So she's not just organized, she's also methodical," said Spencer.

"She decides early which one of her clients are worth killing and which aren't, and plans accordingly," said Morgan.

Emily shook her head.

"Maybe the victims all share the same fetish," said Emily.

"Both victims were in their 50s, highly visible. Careful out their image. I mean, if they were kinky in the same way, they'd go to great lengths to hide it," said Morgan.

"And we're facing a corporate culture that'll do everything it can to keep us out," said Hotch.

"Actually, I had some luck there. Hoyt Ashford's wife isn't too happy with how he died," said JJ.

Spencer picked up the crime scene photos and started to look through them.

"She's agreed to talk to us?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah, but because every silver lining has a dark cloud, uh, the Hedge Fund released a statement," said JJ as she looked at the file in front of her, "Uh, "Ashford died peacefully in his home, according to lawyer David Madison." They're already trying to close ranks," said JJ.

Spencer thought about the words that JJ read.

"Does that language sound familiar to anyone else?" asked Spencer.

"What do you mean?" asked Hotch.

Spencer grabbed a file.

"The press release from the first victim," said Spencer as he pulled a piece of paper out of the file and looked at it, "Uh, "according to the company lawyer, Stanton died peacefully in his home."," read Spencer.

"Prentiss and Morgan, start with the wife. See if you can get her to open up. JJ, call the lawyers and tell them I want to meet with both of them," said Hotch.

"You want to play them off each other?" asked Rossi.

"I think one of them wrote both press releases. Let's see which one calls us back," said Hotch before he hung up.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was leaning against the front passenger side of an SUV when Emily got out and made her way towards him.

"Um... I don't get it. I thought Hotch said we were going to meet a madam here," said Emily.

Spencer and Emily started walking towards the house.

"Actually, there's a lot of overlap between real estate and sex work. Property is a safe and inspection-free investment for large sums of cash. Your brownstone used to be owned by a gigolo," said Spencer.

Emily looked at Spencer in shock when a Madam named Lauren approached them.

"Well, hello, you two!" exclaimed Lauren cheerfully.

Spencer looked at and decided to take the lead because of Emily being in shock as he tried to get over the own shock of Lauren looking so much like his aunt Ethel.

"Ah. Are you the…," said Spencer.

"Isn't this neighborhood just fabulous? And you're gonna love this house," said Lauren as she led Spencer and Emily into the house, "You two need lessons in faking it. I teach a class," said Lauren.

Emily who was finally out of her shock spoke up.

"Uh, I'm... I'm sorry. I just... I want to be clear. You are a madam, right? You arrange dates for escorts?" asked Emily.

Lauren looked at Emily.

"All I arrange are meetings. What happens between two consenting adults when that meeting is over Is something I'm not liable for. Now... who wants a scone?" asked Lauren.

Spencer and Emily quickly followed Lauren.

Xxxxxxxx 

After eating a scone, Spencer and Emily explained about their unsub before Lauren looked at them.

"Oh, yes. We all know about this woman. She's terrible for business," said Lauren.

Spencer who was holding a cup of coffee in his hands looked at Lauren.

"I guess there are only so many men that can, uh, afford the service you provide," said Spencer.

"Well, that's certainly true. But the way she's behaving, she's only hurting herself," said Lauren.

"And why is that?" asked Emily.

"An escort's client list is the most important investment she has. It's her daily income and her retirement package when she sells the list," said Lauren.

"So she isn't working with a service, is she?" asked Emily.

"No madam would allow an escort to kill off the clientele," said Lauren.

"What about the, um, type of work your employees do? We're sort of operating under the assumption that this escort is, um, killing men who... make her perform a… Specific sexual act," stuttered Spencer.

"What did you have in mind, sweetie?" asked Lauren.

Spencer held his breath as he looked at the woman who looked like his aunt Ethel.

"I... I don't even... I don't know," stuttered Spencer.

"If I may. I think you're looking at this all wrong. Start with this question… Why would a man pay a woman five figures?" asked Lauren.

"It's not for sex, is it?" asked Emily.

"Of course, you've got to be good in bed to be successful," said Lauren causing Spencer to think about Diana, Bridget, and Evan being some of the reasons why Clarissa says that he's good in bed, "But that's the easy part," said Lauren.

"What's the difficult part?" asked Emily.

"What men want more than the no strings attached sex is a therapist. Someone who will absorb the worst parts of their personalities," said Lauren.

Spencer thought about the therapists that he has seen throughout his life.

"Their fears and their insecurities," said Spencer.

"Everything they can't take home to their wife," added Emily.

"That's what I groom my girls to do… How to talk to these men. How to listen. Don't get me wrong. Deviancy comes with the territory. I can't tell you how many men need to be submissive as an outlet from their extremely stressful jobs. I can tell you that if the sex was the reason she was killing these men, she would have broken long before she charged $10,000," said Lauren.

"So it isn't how these men act in bed, its how they act out of it," said Spencer.

Lauren looked at Spencer.

"Why are you so nervous around me, sweetie?" asked Lauren.

Spencer blushed a bit as he opened up his wallet and pulled out the last photo of him with his aunt Ethel.

"You look like my late aunt Ethel," said Spencer.

Lauren looked at the picture of Spencer's aunt.

"She must have been really special to you if you're nervous around me," said Lauren.

"My biological parents died when I was four causing my mom's brother and his wife aunt Ethel to adopt me and raise me until their deaths when I was 19. It's just hard to be around women who look like my aunt and men who look like my uncle," said Spencer.

Emily thought about the pictures she saw of Spencer's uncle before looking at Spencer.

"That's why you're nervous around Sean," said Emily.

"Sean?" asked Lauren.

"One of my two brothers-in-law," said Spencer.

Lauren noticed the engagement ring on Emily's finger and the dinged up wedding band on Spencer's finger.

"You two are married to each other?" asked Lauren.

"No," said Spencer and Emily in unison.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer looked at the list that everything that Joseph Fielding owned as he looked at his teammates.

"18 cars, six houses, and three boats. Can you even boat in Dallas?" asked Spencer.

"You know, when you're talking about that much money, 10 grand for a call girl is like deciding where to go for dinner," said Emily.

"Are you there, Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"Affirmative," said Garcia.

"I have half a million over here for something called the bat cave. And here's a picture of him as fetish batman. That is wrong," said JJ.

Spencer looked at the list while being grateful that he and Clarissa chose to spend their trust funds on their house, continuing their own education, Lucy, Diana's and eventually Bridget's and Evan's private school tuition.

"Is there anything this guy didn't like to spend money on?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah, his ex-wives. Fielding was married four times. He didn't have prenups the first two, but he did everything he could to cut off his ex-wives," said Hotch.

Emily thought of Jack, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Henry, and the twins that Garcia is currently pregnant with as she moved some hair behind her ears.

"Are there children involved?" asked Emily as she sat down.

"Yes, with three of the wives. Hoyt Ashford was married a few times, too, wasn't he?" asked Hotch.

"This amount of money is sick," said Garcia.

"What did you find?" asked Emily.

"Well, all three of our dearly departed rich guys were embroiled in bitter court battles over how much to pay in alimony and child support, and even when the court ruled in the wife's favor, which was almost always, these three charmers just, you know, decided not to pay," said Garcia.

Spencer took a sip of his coffee.

"Garcia, can you generate a list of high-profile Dallas CEOs who are holding out on their ex-wives?" asked Hotch.

"One loaded losers list, Dallas edition, comin' at ya. Penelope out," said Garcia before hanging up.

Hotch thought about the child support he was paying to Haley for Jack.

"So why would a prominent businessman who could easily pay child support refuse to?" asked Hotch.

"For this type of overachieving personality, paying money after the marriage ends probably offends him," said Spencer.

"They're spending tens of thousands on an escort, but they won't drop a dime on their wife and kids? That's cold," said JJ.

Spencer nodded in agreement as he thought about some of the single mothers or single fathers from church who aren't getting child support from their ex-husbands or ex-wives causing a lot of parents like him and Clarissa to help out any way they could.

"Narcissistic, self-absorbed, a pathological avoidance of paternal responsibilities," said Hotch.

"Meanwhile, most prostitutes come from broken homes, she's listening to pillow talk. Could serve as some sort of trigger," said Spencer.

"How their ex-wives are cheating them out of money, how their kids are nagging them," said Emily.

"Everything that these men take for granted and that she never had," said Hotch.

"Well, should I assemble the police for a profile?" asked JJ.

Hotch shook his head.

"I just don't think it's gonna help. She lives in a completely different world than they do," said Hotch.

Spencer rubbed his eyes.

"Same with the news-watching public," said Spencer as he blinked a few times.

"And the CEOs who sleep with her won't admit to it," said Emily.

"Like I couldn't even get past the team of lawyers protecting them," said JJ dryly.

Hotch quickly thought of something.

"What if we give the profile to the corporate lawyers?" asked Hotch as he watched his brother-in-law, fiancée, and JJ all perk up, "They've cleaned up after her, even if they don't realize that they've seen this woman," said Hotch.

"Because every time we've approached them, they've circled the wagons. What makes you think this is going to be any different?" asked Emily.

"Because she's putting them at risk, too," said Hotch.

A few seconds later Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Even though I'm still a bit angry at my grandparents for disowning my father and not be in my life until I approached them myself, I keep on thinking about the single parents at church who have either ex-wives or ex-husbands that refuses to pay child support or alimony just like these CEOs," said Spencer before shaking his head, "Aunt Ethel could have used all of the profits from her business and the cookbooks that she sold for herself, but she chose to split the profits to aunt Elena and me while living off uncle Gordon's income. After aunt Ethel died, her former employees who bought the catering business from me choose to give all the profits from the business and cookbooks sold to me as extra income," said Spencer.

"That's nice of them," said JJ.

"How many cookbooks were sold last year?" asked Emily.

"The letter I received from my lawyer told me that over 20,000 of aunt Ethel's cookbooks were sold last year," said Spencer.

"Damn," said Emily.

"What do you do with the profits from the cookbooks and the catering business?" asked JJ.

"A third of the profits I receive goes towards aunt Elena's medical care, another third goes into Clarissa's and my joint saving's account, while the last third goes into the bank account that Clarissa and I set up for the kids private school tuition since my godparents firmly told Clarissa and me that they insist on paying for half of the kids school tuition," said Spencer.

"That's nice of your godparents," said JJ.

"They did the paperwork to make Diana, Bridget, and Evan legally their grandchildren since they told me that my kids are the only grandchildren they're only going to get even though I've been telling Alex that she can always adopt a child instead of doting on the kids and me," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer stood next to his brother-in-law as his brother-in-law looked at all the lawyers in the room.

"We're looking for a white woman between the ages of 25 and 30. She's paid between 10- and $15,000 per session, and she's very well versed in the world of money and privilege," started Hotch.

"Even though she's a call girl, she doesn't look like one. She could pass as a businesswoman or a co-worker. You've probably written up her personal expenses as losses. Shoes, jewelry, clothing," listed JJ.

Spencer looked at the lawyers.

"Your bosses pay her in cash, but they may also be paying her in other ways… Taking care of her, a new car, paying for her medical bills, even," said Spencer.

"She probably did not grow up with a father figure, and she is now turning that rage toward clients who walk out on their families," said Emily.

"What's going to happen once this woman is caught?" asked a lawyer.

"She'll be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," said Hotch.

"What about the other men she's sleeping with, the ones she doesn't kill?" asked the same lawyer

"What about them?" asked Emily.

"Will they be prosecuted?" asked the same lawyer.

"Right now we're concentrating on stopping her from killing again," said Hotch.

Another lawyer removed his glasses as he spoke.

"That's all well and good, but our employers are going to ask us about the risks involved in cooperating with an FBI investigation," said a lawyer.

"Tell your employers that the risk is not only a physical one. She's compromising privileged information as well," said Hotch.

"After she sleeps with these men, they talk to her. It's part of the release they get in seeing her," said Spencer.

"All that dirty laundry you've worked so hard to cover up… She knows it," said Emily.

"As long as she's out there, It's not just your clients that are vulnerable. Your firms are, too," said JJ.

A young female lawyer looked at Spencer, Hotch, JJ, and Emily.

"Excuse me. I'm Allison Barnes. I'm a lawyer at Webster Industries where Joseph Fielding worked," said Allison.

"This is really not the time," hissed Larry.

"We'd like to hear what she has to say. Go ahead, Ms. Barnes," said Hotch.

"A while back, I, um, looked at some paperwork that Mr. Fielding filed about a penthouse downtown. I asked him what he'd be using it for, and he just kind of chuckled and said it was for a friend. Is that the kind of information you're looking for?" asked Allison.

JJ looked at Allison.

"Do you have an address?" asked JJ.

Allison nodded.

Xxxxxxxx 

Hotch looked at the books on the bookshelf and thought about the first edition books his brother-in-law owns.

"Antique first editions on the bookshelves," said Hotch.

Rossi held up a DVD case.

"And porno in the DVD player," said Rossi.

Spencer paced around the penthouse while thinking about how every room in his and Clarissa's house was painted and decorated.

"Nothing identifiable. No pictures, no sense of personality. Her lifestyle is completely disposable," said Spencer.

Hotch pulled a book off the bookshelf and looked at it.

"Well, these aren't just for show. The spines are cracked. Somebody's read these," said Hotch before he noticed a language that his brother-in-law and fiancée knows, "Who reads "Voltaire" in French?" asked Hotch.

"Someone with good taste. Probably well-educated," said Rossi.

"You know, we profiled that she learned to fake privilege. What if she's not faking it?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"You're saying maybe she came from money the whole time?" asked Spencer.

"Maybe," said Hotch just as the land-line rang causing Spencer, Hotch, and Rossi to walk towards the phone.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law and Rossi.

"Prentiss should answer. If it's a customer, she'll get more information out of them," said Spencer.

"Unless she's calling in for her messages," said Rossi while Morgan got his wife on the phone.

"Yeah, Garcia, we're getting a call to this line. Can you work some magic?" asked Morgan.

Less than 15 seconds later Hotch looked at his fiancée.

"Prentiss, get ready to vamp. She's gonna work it," said Hotch just as the phone went to voicemail.

"Hi, it's me. You know what to do," said a woman just as a voicemail sounded through the speaker, "Aaron. I know you're up there. Pick up. Aaron Hotchner," said the unsub in a sing-song voice.

Spencer listened to his brother-in-law talk to the unsub before hearing some of the words he brother-in-law said to get him concerned.

"No. My wife cheated on me causing us to divorce," said Hotch before listening to the unsub, "I have a son, two nieces, and a nephew," said Hotch as he gazed at his brother-in-law who nodded in approval.

Five seconds later Spencer listened to his brother-in-law talk again.

"I have him every weekend I'm home because my ex-wife knows that she can't keep my son from seeing his aunt, uncle, and cousins," said Hotch as he listened to the unsub before continuing again, "My sister and brother-in-law who were the ones to catch my ex-wife cheating on me let me see my nieces and nephew whenever I want," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

After returning to the field office, Spencer was replaying the recording of the phone call between Hotch and the unsub.

"Don't compare yourself to the men I see. You are nothing like them. You're just another whore," said the unsub before Spencer stopped the recording.

"Her use of the word whore is interesting. It suggests she's trying to disassociate herself from her actions," said Spencer.

"But she's become more personal with the murders. She's changed her M.O. from poison to a gun," said Emily.

"And she changed her victimology. Trent Rabner was faithful to his wife until she died. They didn't have kids," said JJ.

"Her whole justification for who's worth killing and who isn't is gone," said Morgan.

"She's obviously devolving. This is gonna be ugly. She's the type who could go on a spree and take out anyone she sees as a target," said Morgan.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Could we go to the end just before she pulls the trigger?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded as he followed his brother-in-law's instructions.

"Well, you want to show the world all these bad men and my investigation's just getting in your way," said Hotch.

"No, Aaron. You're not doing your job! You don't want to arrest me, you don't want me in custody, because you're in their pocket. You just want me to disappear, just like they do," cried the unsub.

Hotch stopped the recording.

"Who's "they"?" asked Hotch.

Spencer squinted.

"The mean she sleeps with, I'm assuming?" asked Spencer.

"No, it's bigger than that now. She's lumping Hotch in with the lawyers," said Morgan.

Emily crossed her arms.

"So maybe it's anyone in a position of power who could cover this up. Cover her up," said Emily.

Rossi thought about the ring that Morgan and Emily found.

"The purity ring you found... You said it was tiny?" asked Rossi.

"Only a little girl could wear it," said Morgan.

Spencer and Hotch exchanged glances as they thought about the purity ring that Clarissa wore until Spencer married Clarissa.

"She wouldn't buy that for herself. It was a gift. Maybe she's talking about her father," said Rossi.

"Well, if her father was anything like these CEOs, he probably walked out on her, too," said JJ as she shook her head.

"Ok, so, you're rich, you decide to start sleeping with men who are like your father to get back at him. How do you go about finding clients?" asked Emily.

"Could she have started with the service?" asked JJ.

Spencer thought about the day before.

"She wouldn't need to. The madam says that she trains these girls how to act around these men. This unsub already knows how to do that," said Spencer.

Emily thought back to the meeting too.

"She said something else, too. She said that your client list was like your 401k. You sell it when you retire. So maybe our unsub bought her client list from another call girl," said Emily.

"It makes sense. They're expensive names. Only someone who came from money could afford it," said Morgan.

"So who's recently retired?" asked Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was going through everything they had on Megan Kane with JJ when his brother-in-law approached them.

"So here's what we know about Megan Kane," said JJ as she handed Hotch a picture, "Her parents divorced eight years ago," said JJ.

Hotch looked at the picture of Megan while his brother-in-law talked.

"After the divorce, she traveled internationally. We're not sure when she came back, but she kind of fell off the grid, which is easier to do when you're making tens of thousands of dollars a night," said Spencer.

"Garcia put a trace on her father, communication, accounts, the whole nine. I also forwarded the picture to Dallas P.D. and upscale hotels," said JJ.

Hotch realized where he first saw Megan.

"I saw her two nights ago in the elevator of my hotel," said Hotch as he watched his brother-in-law's and JJ's eyes go wide, "Call Ebbett Oil. Tell Andrew Kane I need to meet with him as soon as possible," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer looked at his teammates as they flew home from Texas.

"I thought that I should tell you guys that Clarissa, the kids, Lucy, and I are going to be attending Camp Faith with other families from church during Father's Day weekend this June," said Spencer.

"What is Camp Faith?" asked Morgan.

"The church that Clarissa and I became members of when we settled down in Washington DC hosts a family camp every three years around Father's Day weekend. The last time that Faith Church hosted Camp Faith was during Father's Day of 2006 when Diana was two-years-old," said Spencer.

"You, Clarissa, and Diana went?" asked JJ.

Spencer nodded.

"We did and we had a lot of fun as a family while bonding with other families," said Spencer before grinning a bit, "There's horseback riding, swimming, inner tubing, hiking, arts & crafts, a dance for the parents on Saturday night while the kids all gather in the mess hall for a movie night, and on Sunday morning Reverend Alden gives a sermon in the mess hall," said Spencer.

"What about the members of the church that can't go to this camp?" asked Morgan.

"There's another reverend available to give sermons to everyone who stayed behind while Reverend Alden is away with the congregation who attends camp," said Spencer.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"When it comes to the purity ring that Morgan and I found, are you going to be the type of father to give Diana, Bridget, and any other daughters you and Clarissa have each a purity ring?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded as his face turned red.

"When each girl menstruates for the first time and Clarissa gives them the bird and the bees talk, I'll be buying a purity ring and taking them on a date where I'll present them the ring and make them promise not to make me a grandfather until after they get married," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Damn straight, and I'm glad that you kept my sister a virgin until she became Mrs. Spencer Reid," said Hotch.

"Even though I promised my aunt and uncle that I would stay a virgin until my wedding night, I thought that you would shoot me if Clarissa and I broke our promise to stay virgins until our wedding night," said Spencer before shaking his head, "But your sister scares me more than you do," said Spencer causing everyone to laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: When it comes to Spencer saying that he was afraid of Hotch shooting him if he didn't keep Clarissa a virgin until he married Clarissa, don't forget that Hotch carries two guns so Spencer had a right to be scared about the possibility of Hotch shooting him if he hurt Clarissa or make Clarissa break her vow to stay a virgin until she got married.


	64. Omnivore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts two and a half weeks after the last chapter and the events of Demonology never happened (Hotch does know about Emily's abortion though). Bridget's now 19-months-old and Evan is nine-months-old in this chapter.
> 
> Here's a warning that there's a bit of foreshadowing in this chapter because of the upcoming events that both affected Spencer and Hotch are happening soon (I'm sorry to say that I'm still following the first half of season 5 to a T while I'll be making AU changes to Emily's storyline in season 6) and I want to give the Reid family, Hotch, and Jack something good to remind everyone that the good times always outweigh the bad.
> 
> Garcia is 25-weeks pregnant in this chapter.
> 
> Warning: There's M-rated content at the end of the chapter.

After supervising Diana praying to God and Jesus for the great day she had, keeping her parents, and her siblings safe at night, and her wish for another baby brother Spencer was tucking his oldest daughter into bed.

"How much longer until you and mommy make Evan a big brother?" asked Diana.

"It's going to take a couple of months before mommy finds out if the magic trick I did to get a baby into her womb is successful," said Spencer before looking at the clock, "We only have 10 minutes before you start your journey in dreamland, so do you want me to read you a bedtime story or sing to you?" asked Spencer.

Diana smiled as she thought of the times her daddy occasionally sings her to sleep instead of reading her a bedtime story.

"Please sing to me, daddy," said Diana.

"What song?" asked Spencer.

"Jesus Loves Me" because I like singing that song in Sunday School," said Diana.

Spencer smiled as he thought about all the times that Diana would sing that song during their drive home from church.

"Are you going to sing with me?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer and Diana were singing "Jesus Loves Me" and halfway through the song, Diana fell asleep causing Spencer to make sure that his five-year-old daughter was asleep before giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Daddy loves you, Diana," said Spencer before he stood up and left his oldest daughter's room.

After checking on Bridget and Evan one last time, Spencer entered the master bedroom where a horny Clarissa pounced him by pulling him into a heated kiss that caused them to rip their clothes off of each other before they ended up in their bed.

Xxxxxxxx 

Little did they know that their family of five would start growing to six that night and the new member would remind everyone that the good times will always outweigh the upcoming bad times.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer entered his brother-in-law's office and looked at his brother-in-law.

"Mind if I take tomorrow off?" asked Spencer.

Hotch looked up at his brother-in-law.

"Is everything OK?" asked Hotch.

"I just want to have a day to bond with Bridget," said Spencer.

"Is Bridget handling occupational therapy fine?" asked Hotch.

"She's been thriving the past two weeks in occupational therapy," said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Since I took a day off to chaperone Diana's class field trip to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum last week and tomorrow is our last day to be desk-bound for two weeks, I'm hoping that there isn't an issue for me to take another day off so Bridget can get her day with me like Diana did," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled a bit.

"You can take tomorrow off, but in return I expect you to bring my youngest niece here for a short visit," said Hotch.

"Deal," said Spencer before grinning, "Knowing Bridget, one of the activities she would want to do is visit you here," said Spencer just as his personal phone vibrated causing him to pull out his phone and smile at a picture of Bridget and Evan building a tower of blocks together.

"A new picture of my youngest niece and nephew?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded as he passed his oldest brother-in-law his phone causing Hotch to look at a picture of Bridget and Evan building a block tower causing him to think about his youngest niece's and only nephew's age.

"I can't believe that Bridget's now 19-months-old and Evan's now nine-months-old," said Hotch.

"I know," said Spencer before sighing, "Its a bummer that I get fewer pictures of Diana during the day because of her being in school, but I'm glad that I always take a picture of her every morning I'm home while Clarissa or Lucy always sends me a picture of Diana before and after school when we're on cases," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

The next morning the Reid family and Lucy were eating breakfast when Spencer looked at his youngest daughter.

"Daddy's not going to work today because I asked uncle Aaron for the day off to spend the day with you," said Spencer.

Bridget set down her fork and clapped her hands.

"Yay!" cheered Bridget before looking at her big sister, "You come too, Anna?" asked Bridget.

Diana shook her head.

"I can't join you and daddy because its the law for me to go to school, but when I get home I'll be glad to hear what you and daddy did today," said Diana before tilting her head, "If you do end up visiting uncle Aaron at work, I want you to give him a kiss for me," said Diana.

Bridget nodded as her nearly black curly pigtails bounced.

"OK, Anna," said Bridget.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"Because of Mrs. O' Conner, Aria, and Mr. O' Conner being on vacation and there's a sub teaching my classmates and me can you please drive me to school and pick me up from school?" asked Diana.

"I already told mommy and Lucy that I'll be driving you to and from school today," said Spencer.

Diana gave her daddy a dimpled smile as she showed off the open space from the baby tooth she lost a week ago.

"Thank you, daddy," said Diana.

Lucy looked at Spencer.

"You can use my car today because I didn't plan on taking Bridget and Evan anywhere because of planning on cleaning the house," said Lucy.

Xxxxxxxx 

After Spencer helped his oldest daughter get out of the backseat of Lucy's SUV and handed Diana her backpack, he crouched down and gave his oldest daughter a hug and a kiss.

"Have a good day at school, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"I will, daddy," said Diana as she gave her daddy a quick kiss on the cheek, "I love you, daddy," said Diana.

"I love you too, bumble bee," said Spencer as he watched his oldest daughter run off to where a few of her friends were already playing.

A few seconds later Spencer was back in the driver's seat and as soon as he pulled out of the school's parking lot he looked at the rear view mirror where he was able to see Bridget who was happily playing with one of her dolls.

"What shall we do first, Cricket?" asked Spencer.

"See unca A," said Bridget.

Spencer smiled as he shook his head.

"How about we wait with visiting uncle Aaron until lunchtime so we can take some yummy lunch to uncle Aaron," said Spencer.

"OK, Dada," said Bridget.

"Where else would you like to go?" asked Spencer.

"See Nemo and Dory," said Bridget.

Spencer grinned.

"To the aquarium it is," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

A few hours later Spencer stood at his brother-in-law's office door while holding Bridget on his hip and a bag of food in his free hand and knocked on the closed office door.

"Come in," said Hotch.

Spencer shifted the bag of food in his hand as he opened up his brother-in-law's office door and stepped inside before noticing Strauss sitting across from Hotch.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted you two, but I kept my promise about bringing Bridget by to see you while I brought lunch for you, Bridget, and me to eat," said Spencer.

Chief Strauss smiled a bit while Hotch stood up and made his way over to Spencer and took the bagged lunch.

"We just finished up our meeting and your brother-in-law was telling me that you were taking a day off to spend time with Bridget before cases start back up again," said Strauss before gasping at the sight of Bridget, "Bridget has grown so much since the last time I saw her, Dr. Reid," said Strauss.

Spencer smiled.

"Bridget turned 19-months-old nine days ago," said Spencer before swooping up the 19-month-old toddler and blew a raspberry on Bridget's stomach causing the toddler to squeal with laughter.

"Dada!" squealed Bridget just as her stomach growled causing her to pat her stomach, "No. No," said Bridget causing Spencer, Hotch, and Strauss to all smile and chuckle.

Spencer looked at Bridget.

"We'll be eating lunch in a minute before we head back to DC as you nap," said Spencer.

Bridget glared at her daddy.

"No nap," said Bridget.

Hotch beamed at the sight of his youngest niece giving her daddy the famous "Hotchner glare" while Spencer looked at his youngest daughter.

"You will be getting a nap Bridget Mackenzie Reid or I will be getting in trouble with mommy if she finds out that I allowed you to skip your afternoon nap," said Spencer before tilting his head in contemplation, "Since its not too cold outside, we'll go to the zoo as long as you take a nap while I drive us back to Washington DC," said Spencer.

"OK," beamed Bridget.

Strauss looked at Spencer.

"Even though I know that Bridget has your personality, eyes, and curls; she's definitely Clarissa's daughter and Hotch's niece," said Strauss.

Spencer and Hotch both chuckled.

"I knew what I was getting into when I fell in love and married Clarissa," said Spencer before smiling, "I keep on telling myself that when it comes to all three kids being geniuses like me while Diana and Bridget already mastered the 'Hotchner glare' that I've been subjected to for the past eight years, three months, and 16 days that they're going to be forces to be reckoned with as they get older," said Spencer.

Strauss smiled a bit as she looked at Bridget who was staring at the food that her uncle was laying out.

"I'll let you guys eat lunch before Bridget goes to the zoo," said Strauss before she got up and let the room.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over two hours later Spencer was walking around the Smithsonian's National Zoo as he pushed Bridget in her stroller as he quizzed his youngest daughter on animal sounds as they made their way through the zoo.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day Spencer was sitting on top of Emily's desk and telling her about his day with Bridget when he watched his brother-in-law and JJ leave Hotch's office and come down the stairs.

"Well-shouldn't we wait for the official request? We haven't been invited-," protested JJ.

"We will be," said Hotch as he walked towards the elevators.

JJ looked at Spencer, Emily, and Morgan.

"Well, it looks like we're going to Boston," said JJ before looking at Spencer and Emily, "When it comes to you two knowing Hotch better than the rest of the team, do either of you two know why he's fixated on going to Boston?" asked JJ.

Spencer took a breath.

"When it came to spending two years in Cambridge, Massachusetts to attend M.I.T. and Hotch telling Clarissa and me to be careful when Clarissa moved to Cambridge to be with me, I believe that my brother-in-law is wanting to go to Boston is because of The Boston Reaper being back," said Spencer as he looked at his watch and realized that Clarissa was most likely on break causing him to call his wife who answered on the second ring.

"Hi Dr. Sex God," said Clarissa.

Spencer's face turned beet red while being grateful that Morgan and Emily weren't looking at him.

"Clarissa," groaned Spencer.

"Your magical swimmers got me pregnant three times already and with spending nearly every night during the past two weeks trying to conceive baby number four, I have a feeling that we'll find out within the next two months that I'm pregnant," said Clarissa.

Spencer groaned.

"Someday you're going to be the death of me, Clarissa," said Spencer.

Clarissa giggled as she thought about Spencer telling her about having to talk to a Madam during a case in Texas nearly three weeks ago while thinking about how hookers like to proposition her husband in front of her when they're out and about in Washington DC at night.

"Because of your encounter with that madam over two weeks ago, I like reminding you about being a genius in bed," said Clarissa before becoming serious, "I assume that you called me to tell me that you have a case instead of calling me to get you turned on so we could do another round of being like rabbits tonight?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm going to Boston, Massachusetts because of The Boston Reaper being back so I'm hoping that you are in an empty room or outside right now," said Spencer just as he heard Clarissa stop driving, "Aren't you suppose to be at work right now?" asked Spencer.

"I offered to spend my break going to Starbucks and pick up coffee and tea for a few nurses and doctors in the ward I'm working in today, so I have a few minutes to talk before everyone at work gets worried," said Clarissa before she became serious, "Even though Aaron missed my 16th birthday because of spending six weeks in Boston because of that case, I remember how much that case affected Aaron," said Clarissa seriously before taking a deep breath, "Hopefully this case works out better since Aaron has your genius brain to help him find what he missed over 11 years ago, but please let me know if Aaron's having emotional troubles with this case so I can knock some much-needed sense to him over the phone," said Clarissa firmly.

"Yes ma'am," said Spencer before getting serious, "I have to get going, but I'll try to find time to call during dinner or before Evan's bedtime so I can recite a bedtime story and listen to Diana's prayers over the phone," said Spencer.

"Please stay safe," said Clarissa.

"I promise and I love you," said Spencer.

"I love you too," said Clarissa before hanging up.

Xxxxxxxx 

Hotch looked at his teammates as he read his file on The Reaper case out loud.

"The Reaper is driven by a need to dominate, control, and manipulate."" read Hotch.

Emily looked at her fiancé.

"So then why would he offer a deal that would stop him from doing that?" asked Emily.

"Well, killing gave him power, but after so many, the payoff began to diminish. So he decided to switch tactics. Offering the deal gave him the ultimate power, better even than killing. He manipulated the police into voluntarily surrendering," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"He even got it in writing," said Spencer.

"He won. Why start killing again?" asked JJ.

"Well, because the only person who knew he'd won, the person he made the deal with, just died," said Morgan.

"Narcissistic killers need other people to recognize their power. That's why they contact the media," said Rossi.

"So how did he stop for 10 years?" asked Emily.

Spencer picked up the book that Hotch once gave him as a present.

"In "Night of the Reaper", the author suggests he had been arrested for an unrelated crime or died. Perhaps he's trying to correct that misconception," said Spencer.

"What has he been doing all this time?" asked JJ.

"Planning what he would do if he started killing again," said Hotch.

Morgan looked at the pictures in front of him.

"So from '95 to '98, he shoots, stabs, and bludgeons 21 victims. Men, women, all ages, all types. No specific victimology or M.O. how did you build a profile from there?" asked Morgan.

"We didn't. Shaunessy sent us home before we had a chance. B.T.K., the Zodiac, and The Reaper all have similarities. They're all highly intelligent, disciplined, sadistic killers who name themselves in the press," said Hotch.

"Highly intelligent may be a bit of an understatement," said Spencer as he shook the book in his hands, "The Reaper and The Zodiac killer have never been arrested. The B.T.K. killer was only caught after 25 years because he went to the press to counter a book that said he'd died, moved away, or been locked up, just like this one," said Spencer.

JJ looked at the note on her lap.

"Speaking of the media, when this gets out, it's going to be a frenzy," said JJ as she held up the note, "If they get wind of this, they're going to be all over the Boston police," said JJ.

Hotch looked at his teammates.

"The longer we can float the copycat story, the better chance we'll have of catching him. Rossi, Prentiss, and Morgan go to the field office, set up shop, go through everything there. JJ and Reid, we'll go to the crime scene," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting in the back seat of an SUV when he saw his brother-in-law motion him and JJ to come.

"That's our cue," said Spencer as he got out of the SUV.

After Spencer and JJ showed some officers their badges, they were ducking underneath the crime scene tape and approached Hotch and the Sheriff causing Hotch to look at his brother-in-law and JJ.

"This is SSA Jennifer Jareau, Dr. Spencer Reid, Sergeant Mike O'Mara," said Hotch.

JJ looked at Sheriff O'Mara.

"Uh, we're setting up at the field office," said JJ.

"OK. I'm done here," said Sheriff O'Mara as he looked at his officers, "Give them anything they want," said Sheriff O'Mara as he handed Hotch some papers back.

"Thank you," said Hotch while JJ followed Sheriff O'Mara.

Spencer looked at the file in his hands as he looked at his brother-in-law as they headed close to Evan's vehicle.

"Nina Hale, 19, and Evan Harvey, 23," said Spencer as he kept on telling himself that his nine-month-old son Evan was currently at home safe with the nanny, "Nina's throat was slashed, she was stabbed 46 times. Evan was bludgeoned and then shot. No shell casings were found," said Spencer.

Hotch walked closer to Evan's SUV.

"He preferred revolvers, .44 magnum," said Hotch before he read something from his file, ""The younger the female victim, the more time he spends with them, usually with a knife."," read Hotch.

Spencer noticed a tan line on Nina's wrist in the crime scene photo.

"Tan line on her wrist. Probably wearing a watch of some sort," said Spencer.

Hotch noticed something in a crime scene photo of Evan's dead body causing him to look at a tech.

"Do we have his wallet?" asked Hotch.

Hotch accepted the wallet from the tech as he looked at his brother-in-law.

"The Reaper took items from each victim and placed them on the next, so as to make sure we knew it was him," said Hotch as he looked at Evan's driver's license, "No corrective lens requirement," said Hotch.

Spencer thought about his own glasses that were currently in his messenger bag because of opting to insert his contact lenses as he was getting ready for the day.

"The glasses aren't his?" asked Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"He only took glasses from one victim-the ninth. We should have found them on the tenth and we didn't. They were never found," said Hotch.

"What was so special about the ninth victim?" asked Spencer.

"He survived," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting down next to his brother-in-law with a laptop in front of himself when his brother-in-law looked at his teammates and Sheriff O'Mara as he gestured to a picture of the ninth victim.

"George Foyet, 28, was the ninth victim and the only one to survive The Reaper," said Hotch before he gestured to his brother-in-law to move on to the next slide.

Spencer followed his brother-in-law's orders.

"Not for lack of trying," said Rossi.

"Amanda Bertrand, 19, his date for the evening, was not as lucky," said Hotch while his brother-in-law pulled up a picture of Amanda, "He likes to attack them inside or near their cars, At night, on poorly lit, less populated roads," said Hotch.

"Foyet said he approached them Pretending to be a lost tourist. In the hospital, we put Foyet with a sketch artist," said Sheriff O'Mara.

Spencer pulled up a picture of the sketch of The Reaper.

"The Reaper always uses some sort of ruse to get close to and spend time with his victims," said Hotch.

Spencer held up the note that Hotch asked him to do a linguistic profile on and gestured to the eye that The Reaper drew on.

"The eye, as he depicts it, appears to be the Eye of Providence, a symbol adopted by the U.S. government and incorporated into the great seal in 1782 with the words, "Annuit Coeptis" inscribed beneath. That's Latin for "providence"-or fate-"," said Spencer as his brother-in-law pulled up a picture of a car that had FATE written on it, "Has favored our undertakings." The Reaper seems to see himself as the personification of fate," said Spencer.

"So, how did Foyet survive?" asked Emily.

Hotch gave his brother-in-law a look causing Spencer to play the 911 recording on the laptop. After the recording was finished, Spencer looked at his teammates, brother-in-law, and Sheriff O'Mara.

"That call was made from a pay phone about a mile from the crime scene. EMTs arrived 15 minutes later. Bertrand was D.O.A., Foyet barely breathing," said Spencer.

"So The Reaper made one of these calls after each of his killings telling police where to find the bodies?" asked Emily.

"Until this one, the ninth. If he hadn't made this call, Foyet wouldn't have been found in time. The call saved him," said Hotch.

"So The Reaper didn't make any 911 calls after this one?" asked Morgan.

Hotch nodded while JJ answered a phone call.

"Yeah?" asked JJ.

"Looks like he learned his lesson," said Emily.

Hotch picked up Foyet's glasses.

"There's a reason he left Foyet's glasses at the last crime scene. Foyet could be in danger," said Hotch.

"We'll find him," said Emily as she and Morgan stood up.

JJ got off the phone and looked at Hotch.

"Hotch, there's a reporter outside insisting on speaking with you. Roy Colson. He says he knows you," said JJ.

After Hotch left the room, Sheriff O'Mara looked at Spencer.

"You and Agent Hotchner seem very close because you two were communicating with each other with silent looks," said Sheriff O'Mara.

"I've known Hotch for over eight years and three months because of meeting his little sister in college," said Spencer.

Sheriff O'Mara gestured to Spencer's wedding band.

"So you're his brother-in-law?" asked Sheriff O'Mara.

Spencer nodded.

"For over six years and the higher-ups have no problem with me being on the same team as my brother-in-law we promised to stay professional," said Spencer.

"Any kids?" asked Sheriff O'Mara.

Spencer beamed as he pulled out his phone and showed Sheriff O'Mara a picture of Diana, Bridget, and Evan together.

"Diana is five-years-old and my Irish twins Bridget and Evan are 19-months-old and nine-months-old," said Spencer.

Sheriff O'Mara looked at the picture of the Reid children.

"Beautiful children you got there," said Sheriff O'Mara.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Clarissa woke up to her cell phone ringing and a few seconds later she noticed that it was Rossi calling her causing her to quickly answer her phone.

"Are Spence and Aaron OK?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm sorry to wake you up, but can you please talk some sense into your oldest brother?" asked Rossi.

"What happened?" asked Clarissa.

"Did Spencer tell you the reason why we're all in Boston?" asked Rossi.

"The Reaper and I remember Aaron working that case because he had a lot of kissing up to do because of missing my sweet 16th birthday party because of that case," said Clarissa.

Rossi quickly explained what happened and the talk he had with Aaron and when he was finished he spoke up.

"Do you think you can remind him that it's not his fault?" asked Rossi.

"I can because I had to remind Spence that the two victims that were killed by Hankel while he was being held hostage was not his fault while my boss has to remind me that it's always not my fault if a child dies under my care," said Clarissa.

"Thank you," said Rossi before hanging up.

A few seconds later Clarissa called her brother who answered on the second ring.

"Did your husband or Dave call you?" asked Hotch.

"Dave did," said Clarissa.

"I should have known since Spencer's still asleep at the hotel," said Hotch.

"Let me tell you this, what happened tonight is not your fault," said Clarissa firmly before continuing before her oldest brother can speak, "When it comes to being a pediatric nurse, I know that its important to know that it isn't always my fault whenever a child under my care dies because not all diseases are curable by the drugs I administer to the child or the child is too severely injured to survive. So please stop blaming yourself or I'll really spoil my nephew the next time I see him," said Clarissa.

"When did you get so bossy?" asked Hotch.

"Other than being known as a spitfire; I've been a little sister for over 27-years to one of the FBI's best unit chiefs ever. I'm a wife who has to make sure that my husband doesn't do anything stupid. I'm a nurse who has to make sure that kids stay in bed when their sick or injured. And the best reason why I got so bossy is because I'm a mother," said Clarissa firmly.

Hotch laughed.

"Mom would have been so proud of you for being the woman you are today," said Hotch.

Clarissa smiled sadly as she thought about the 10-year anniversary of the day that her mother died was quickly approaching.

"I know, but I need to get back to cuddling with my husband's pillow because wearing a pair of Spence's pajama pants, one of his dress shirts, and a cardigan of his isn't helping me," said Clarissa.

Hotch chuckled as he thought about how much Spencer misses Clarissa and the kids during cases.

"Your missing Spencer?" asked Hotch.

"The kids and I always miss him when he's away, but Diana and I are both proud of Spence and you for deciding to make this country a safer place," said Clarissa.

"I love you, Clarissa and please give the kids a kiss from their favorite uncle," said Hotch.

"I love you too, Aaron and I'll give them a kiss from you," said Clarissa before hanging up.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer looked at the recent crime scene photos while Hotch looked at his brother-in-law and Rossi.

"He never used code before. Why now?" asked Hotch.

Spencer tilted his heads at the numbers.

"They're not part of a pattern or equation. Mathematically, they're insignificant," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at the numbers.

"Maybe so, but I know I've seen them before," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law and Rossi again.

"Foyet said he likes to attack people in their cars. Tonight he hit a bus," said Hotch.

"Which is why Foyet only takes a bus," said Rossi.

Hotch made his way towards a map of Boston.

"It was the number seven. And it stops right in front of Foyet's apartment," said Hotch as he pointed at the map.

Rossi nodded.

"He knows where Foyet lives," said Rossi.

"And he wants us to know it," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at one of the numbers.

"1439," said Spencer to himself as he quickly realized something causing him to look at his brother-in-law, "The apartment you interviewed him in today was 1439 Yarbrough," said Spencer.

Rossi pulled out his black notebook and looked at it.

"The other addresses he gave us. 201 South Brookline. 1488 Edenhurst. The numbers on the bus are Foyet's addresses," said Rossi.

"We'll split up and cover each address," said Hotch before looking at his brother-in-law, "You're with me," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law who was wearing his FBI issued windbreaker over his Kevlar vest as he sped towards one of Foyet's addresses.

"Reid?" asked Hotch before he focused on the road.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law who was focusing on the road.

"We're not splitting up at all because I don't want my sister to kick either of our asses," said Hotch.

"I was already planning on sticking close to you the entire time," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer exited the house that he and his brother-in-law went through together with his brother-in-law as he reached for the mic on his vest.

"We got nothing," said Spencer.

"Same thing here. Have you heard from Morgan?" asked Rossi.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law who shook his head.

"No," said Spencer.

"We better get there fast before we have to deal with a pissed off Garcia," said Emily.

Spencer and Hotch looked at each other and shuddered as they thought about Clarissa's pregnancies with Diana, Bridget, and Evan and Haley's pregnancy with Jack.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was studying the blood on the kitchen floor when his brother-in-law joined him.

"O'Mara was clearly killed outside. This was someone else. There's signs of a struggle and a lot of blood," said Spencer.

"But no body," said Hotch.

"Just the drag marks. The human body holds five quarts of blood," said Spencer before quickly calculating the amount of blood that he's looking at, "I'd say there's four quarts. Whoever the bleeder was, they lost too much to survive," said Spencer.

"Foyet? It was his worst fear, that The Reaper would come back and finish the job," said Rossi.

"We offered him protection. He refused. It was his choice," said Hotch before walking away.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Aaron might need some time with his nieces and nephew after this case," said Rossi.

Spencer nodded in agreement.

Xxxxxxxx 

A couple of hours later Spencer exited the elevator with his teammates when Garcia made her way to her husband as quickly as possible and hugged him the best she could despite her 25-week pregnant stomach.

"I'm glad that your OK, Derek," said Garcia.

"I was afraid that I was never going to come home to you or hold our children," said Morgan as he rested a hand on his wife's baby bump and smiled as he felt two kicks, "Daddy's going to be OK," said Morgan.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer and Emily rushed over towards Hotch, Rossi, and JJ while Spencer held schematics in his hands.

"The Boston field office just identified documents from Foyet's house," said Emily as she hung up her phone and pocketed it.

Spencer showed the schematics that he was holding to his brother-in-law, JJ, and Rossi.

"They're schematics for the electrical, heating, and water ducts for the East Woburn Correctional Facility," said Spencer as he handed them to his brother-in-law.

Hotch shook the schematics in his hands.

"He had the schematics?" asked Hotch.

"And not just for Woburn. For every jail, prison, and courthouse in Massachusetts," said Spencer.

"And 10 years to plan," said Rossi.

Garcia who was standing with her husband looked at her teammates.

"They're gonna find him, right?" asked Garcia as she rubbed her 25-week baby bump.

Hotch looked at the TV that was talking about George Foyet.

"No, they're not," said Hotch.

Morgan looked at his wife and teammates.

"He said he'd be more famous than we knew. And he was right," said Morgan.

Xxxxxxxx 

After checking on Diana, Bridget, and Evan who were all sleeping peacefully in their bed or cribs, he entered the master bedroom and smiled at the sight of his sleeping wife before he headed into the bathroom where he turned on the shower. Halfway through his shower, he heard the door opening causing him to grin.

"I don't think that my wife would be pleased if someone else joins me in the shower," said Spencer.

"Oh really?" asked Clarissa as she stepped into the shower and closed the door.

Spencer turned around and held his breath at the sight of his naked wife as he felt his body start to react.

"Hi," said Spencer.

"Hi," said Clarissa before tilting her head, "What's wrong?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer quickly explained what happened during the past couple of hours and George Foyet escaping before Clarissa hugged him.

"Is Derek OK?" asked Clarissa.

"Paramedics did check him over and Penelope will be taking care of him," said Spencer.

"How about Aaron?" asked Clarissa.

"He's upset about Foyet outsmarting all of us," said Spencer.

Clarissa hugged her husband while water streamed over the both of them.

"The US Marshals will do their best to find Foyet, but I'm glad that everyone came home alive," said Clarissa before she smirked as she saw her husband's erection, "I might as well help you with your problem before we both get some sleep," said Clarissa as she knelt down in the shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm not going to write about what Clarissa does, but let's just say that that shower got really hot and steamy.


	65. House on Fire

Diana looked at her parents and Lucy as they ate dinner.

"Can we please watch a movie after I help put dishes in the dishwasher?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other.

"After you and your siblings have your baths, sweet pea," said Clarissa.

"Thank you, mommy," grinned Diana.

"What movie do you have in mind, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

Diana thought about the movie that mommy and daddy bought the day before.

"Bolt"," said an excited Diana.

"Bolt" it is," said Clarissa.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over a half hour and three squeaky clean kids later, Spencer was sitting on the middle of the couch with his feet resting on the coffee table, Clarissa sitting between his legs with Evan on her lap, while Diana and Bridget were sitting on either side of him as the family of five watched "Bolt". Diana and Bridget fed their parents popcorn while everyone laughed as they watched Daisy go crazy over the dog on the TV while not realizing what was currently going on in Royal, Indiana.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that night at 10:45 PM, Spencer woke up to his work phone ringing and after answering a call from JJ he was quietly getting out of bed just as Clarissa opened her eyes.

"Duty calls, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Spencer as he climbed out of bed and quickly pulled on a pair of pants, a dress shirt, and one of his thick cardigans, "I'm going to check on the kids and make sure that they're asleep and give them kisses before I leave," said Spencer.

Clarissa got out of bed and quickly re-buttoned her husband's dress shirt and tucked it in for him.

"Please stay safe, Spence," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband.

"I promise," said Spencer as he grabbed his freshly packed go bag, "I love you," said Spencer.

"Love you too," said Clarissa before she walked into the master bathroom.

A few seconds later Spencer was in Evan's nursery and he smiled at the sight of his nine-month-old peacefully sleeping in his crib with his arms over his head as he kissed his fingers before touching Evan's forehead.

"Daddy loves you, tadpole," said Spencer before he instantly smelt a whiff of a stinky diaper causing him to gently lift his son out of his crib and change his son's diaper without waking up his son.

After changing Evan's diaper and putting his son back into his crib, Spencer entered Bridget's nursery and smiled at the sight of the 19-month-old toddler peacefully sleeping in her crib as he kissed his fingers and gently touched Bridget's forehead.

"Daddy loves you, cricket," said Spencer.

Bridget opened her eyes and blinked a few times at her daddy.

"Dada?" asked Bridget.

"Daddy got called in for work, so please go back to sleep," said Spencer as he kissed his fingers and touched Bridget's forehead again.

"M-kay," said Bridget as she hugged her teddy bear tighter to herself as she closed her eyes.

Spencer quietly exited his youngest daughter's bedroom and walked towards Diana's bedroom and smiled at the sight of his five-year-old daughter sleeping peacefully in her bed. Spencer quietly reached his oldest daughter's bed and bent down and kissed Diana's forehead.

"Daddy loves you, bumble bee," whispered Spencer.

Diana opened her eyes and blearily looked at the digital alarm clock and noticed that it was 10:50 PM before looking at her daddy.

"If you are in my room this late, I take it that you just got called into work," said Diana groggily as she sat up in her bed.

Spencer shook his head as he thought about Diana being a genius like him.

"I just got called in five minutes ago," said Spencer as he hugged his oldest daughter causing Diana to hug him back,

"Please be a good girl for mommy, Lucy, and Mrs. O' Conner," said Spencer.

"I promise, daddy," said Diana before she kissed her daddy's cheek, "Please stay safe, daddy," said Diana.

"I promise to stay safe, and please go back to sleep," said Spencer as he gave his oldest daughter one last kiss before he tucked his daughter back into bed.

"OK, daddy," said Diana before looking at her daddy, "I love you, daddy," said Diana.

"I love you too, bumble bee," said Spencer as he watched his daughter close his eyes.

30 seconds later Spencer entered the kitchen only to find Clarissa pouring coffee into one of his travel mugs.

"I thought that you could use some coffee for the drive," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled at his wife as he added a liberal amount of sugar into his coffee.

"Your the best wife ever," said Spencer as he kissed his wife.

"Don't you ever forget that," said Clarissa as she grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and passed it to her husband,

"Something to eat while on the road," said Clarissa.

After giving Clarissa one last kiss, saying 'I love you' to each other, and grabbing his revolver from his gun safe and his go bag by the door; Spencer quickly headed towards the garage where he noticed that the garage door was already open and his Volvo was already started causing him to smile as he realized that his wife decided to get his car started for him.

"Note to self, take Clarissa out on a date night this weekend," said Spencer as he got into his car.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer watched the news footage about the movie theater fire while thinking about the family movie night that he, Clarissa, and the kids were having while that fire happened.

"This is news footage from a movie theater in Royal, Indiana, population 2,000. Earlier tonight 19 people were killed," said JJ.

Morgan turned his head and looked at JJ.

"And they're sure it's arson?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah. Two days ago the same thing happened at the local recreation center. 12 victims, no survivors," said JJ.

Emily turned her head and looked at JJ.

"I heard about that," said Emily.

"Yeah, it was all over the news," said Morgan.

"There were some details that didn't make the news. A week and a half earlier there were some fires at a convenience store, a local restaurant. Luckily, it was after hours and no one was hurt," said JJ.

"So whoever set these went from no victims to 31 in two weeks. That's a hell of an escalation," said Rossi.

Emily looked at JJ.

"Why didn't they call us in sooner?" asked Emily.

"The local police and fire department knew they were dealing with an arsonist, but they had no idea he'd become a killer," said JJ.

"Most arsonists don't. They just like setting fires. Any deaths that occur are almost always accidental," said Spencer as he sat down.

"31 victims is not an accident," said Morgan.

"The police chief knows he made a mistake. And he learned the hard way that even though not all arsonists are killers, they do have one thing in common- Once they start, they can't stop," said Hotch.

After Hotch gave a departure time, Spencer looked at his teammates and brother-in-law.

"Clarissa, the kids, and I were having a movie night of our own when this fire happened," said Spencer.

"What movie?" asked Morgan.

"Diana decided that we needed to watch "Bolt" because Clarissa brought home the movie on the 21st," said Spencer as he sent Clarissa a text message to wake up to.

I'M GOING TO ROYAL, INDIANA FOR THE MOVIE THEATER FIRE THAT YOU'LL SEE/HEAR ON THE NEWS. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU AND THE KIDS. ~ SR

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer exited the kitchenette with an open file in his hand.

"Based on the limited population of Royal, the unsub is most likely a local male between the ages of 17 and 30," said Spencer as he sat on the ledge.

"What, arson is a sexist industry?" asked Garcia.

"For the most part, yeah," said Spencer as he thought about catching Clara Hayes when Diana was only 21-months-old, "Only 12% of arsonists are female," nodded Spencer.

"Apparently women just aren't inclined to burn things," said Emily.

"Let's go with the numbers. Focus on males," said Hotch.

"Well, we can scratch hero complex off the list. He hasn't left anyone to save," said Morgan.

Spencer shifted the file in his hands.

"Yeah, but we can't rule out firefighters and other first responders," said Emily.

"How's about I do a background check on all local firefighters and EMTs?" asked Garcia.

"And flag anyone with a history of being first on the scene," said Hotch.

"Or anyone with a juvenile record that includes vandalism or small nuisance fires," added Rossi.

"I will look at everything from firebug to flamethrower," said Garcia.

Hotch looked at JJ.

"JJ, check out the news footage. I want the word out that w e'd like to see any personal videos or photos of the fire. Arsonists like to watch, and if our unsub stuck around, maybe somebody will recognize him," said Hotch.

"I'm on it," said JJ.

"Locals find anything in their call logs that resemble the unsub's M.O.? I mean, he may have staged practice runs," said Morgan.

"According to the fire chief's report there was nothing similar in the past year," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at Garcia.

"Garcia, extend your search statewide. The unsub may have done his practicing far enough away so as not to arouse suspicion," said Hotch.

"I will cast a wide net, sir," said Garcia.

JJ looked at her teammates.

"I grew up in a small town. People are gonna assume anyone we question is guilty," said JJ.

"The last thing we want is for this to turn into a witch hunt," said Rossi.

"It's exactly what this is. We're just gonna have to keep the locals from realizing it," said Hotch before looking at Garcia again, "Garcia, I want you to find out everything that you can about the 31 victims, and I don't mean just their paper trail. I need to know everyone related to them, everybody they owed money to, everybody they had an argument with," said Hotch.

"Sir, if I'm hearing you right, you're saying I'm the witch hunter?" asked Garcia.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," said Hotch before remembering that Garcia is currently 25-weeks pregnant with twins, "You can always call another technical analyst to assist you so you can get some rest for the babies and your health," said Hotch.

"Yes sir," said Garcia before signing off.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"With everything that Clarissa has done for me when I got called in, I'm going to surprise her with a date night this weekend," said Spencer as he started to explain what Clarissa did.

When Spencer was finished, Hotch smiled a bit.

"Your right about needing to take my sister on a date night, and I'll be glad to have the kids sleep over at my apartment so Lucy can take a night off," said Hotch.

"OK," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

JJ looked at her teammates.

"I have been through every piece of footage I could find," said JJ while Spencer grabbed a file and looked at it, "No one sticks out at the fires. No one appears to be inappropriately voyeuristic. No one with bandages," said JJ.

"Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah. No firebug firefighter, no flammable juvie records, however, of the 128 reported instances of petty larceny and vandalism in the last year, there are a few names that sort of stick out, so I'm emailing you those photos. I also have a pattern of small gasoline fires about 300 miles away. A town called Franklin. Got a, uh, trash can fire, a Christmas tree, and an abandoned shed. And I sent you that file," said Garcia.

"Given the 50-mile search radius, there's bound to be a certain percentage of nuisance fires. We can't necessarily attribute that to our unsub," said JJ.

"That's true. Only 7% of arsonists use wooden matches with a gasoline accelerant. Our unsub and this guy," said Spencer as he looked at Garcia, "Nice work, Garcia," said Spencer.

Garcia smiled and nodded at him.

"What about the victims?" asked Hotch.

Garcia gave a bitter chuckle.

"Well...given that I've had less than eight hours, I can't really-," said Garcia before Hotch interrupted her.

"I appreciate the time constraint, what have you found?" asked Hotch.

Spencer started to look at the pictures of the victims as he listened to Garcia.

"Uh, a mixture of ages and genders. Mostly local. A cousin visiting from a nearby town," said Garcia.

Spencer looked at the laptop.

"Is there any crossover between the victims and the two towns, Garcia?" asked Spencer.

"Hey, it's a little teeny tiny town," said Garcia as she got up and waddled towards the table in her lair and grabbed some files, "There's nothing but crossover. Um... Alex Nagel, he was killed in the rec center. Now, not only was Nagel an upstanding member of the local church, but he also owned quite a bit of real estate in Royal, including the movie theater. Windy Kennedy was killed at the movie theater. She was a single mom. She worked a double shift at the local discount store. And she still managed to find time to volunteer at the rec center. I also have a third-grade teacher, third cousins, and at least three potential affairs," said Garcia.

Hotch rubbed his forehead.

"You're gonna have to start weeding out some of these, Garcia. Third cousins and religious affiliations are probably not gonna help us. I need to know who had enemies, who had secrets, who was a target," said Hotch.

"Oh, with all due respect, sir, my brain muscles are comfortable with being intuitive with information, not people. Looking at people like that is not part of my job description. I'm not a profiler," said Garcia.

"Well, you're gonna have to be. We don't have much time," said Hotch before looking between his two youngest teammates, "You two look into the nuisance fires. Garcia, stay on the radio," said Hotch before he walked away.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer looked at everyone who came to listen to the profile.

"All of the first four fires; the convenience store, the restaurant, the rec center, and the movie theater are indicative of a revenge arsonist. That's someone who's seeking retaliation for an injustice, whether real or imagined," started Spencer.

Emily looked at the officers and firefighters.

"Revenge arsonists often target group headquarters, such as churches or government buildings," said Emily.

"This unsub has chosen local gathering places with large numbers of potential victims inside. It's clear to us that he's chosen to target this community as a whole," said Hotch.

"That tells us that the unsub is a local, someone who lives or grew up in Royal," said Rossi.

"But he feels like an outsider. As if this community has wronged him in some type of way," said Morgan.

"These fires are just his way of striking back, trying to draw attention to himself. These fires not only killed innocent people, but they also gave the unsub a sense of power over the community," said Emily.

"But somehow those fires were lacking. They didn't exact the correct measure of punishment Or attract enough attention," said Rossi.

"Or they didn't attract the attention of the right person," said Morgan.

"So with the bar fire, he didn't increase the number of victims. He reduced them," said Spencer.

"That's why the third fire is key. He's not striking out at the community as a whole anymore. He's now striking out at one or more individuals," said Hotch.

"You're sure it's the same guy?" asked Fire Captain Daniel Wales.

Spencer noticed the cue that his brother-in-law was giving him.

"The odds of another arsonist in a town this small are almost negligible," said Spencer.

"That's why we need to concentrate on these victims. These five will hold the key," said Hotch.

"So all we gotta do is just figure out who would have wanted to hurt them?" asked Chief Carlson.

"It may not be that simple," said Rossi.

"This type of rage tends to stem from things that people keep buried. Things they just don't talk about," said Morgan.

"Which is why we're gonna have to dig deeper," said Hotch.

"Understood," said Chief Carlson.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day Emily looked at Spencer.

"So tell us about the bar victims," said Emily.

"All right," said Spencer as he pointed at two pictures on the bulletin board, "Hilda and Roger Drake," said Spencer.

"She was a teacher, he sold insurance," said Garcia.

"Friends, enemies?" asked Emily.

"Oh, no, nothing like that. They seemed sweet. Their biggest problem was finding baby names. Hilda was pregnant," said Garcia as she rubbed her 26-week baby bump.

Spencer thought about Evan while JJ thought about Henry.

"Are you sure? The M.E. Hasn't even started yet," said JJ.

"No, people in Royal take out ads," said Garcia as she started to read some ads, ""Lordy, lordy, looks who's 40." "Ask Jane what she was doing at the American Legion on Friday night."," said Garcia.

Emily shook her head.

"That's just wrong," said Emily.

JJ shook her head as she thought about her own childhood.

"That's small-town life for you. Your business is everybody's business," said JJ.

"There was a belly watch on Hilda," said Garcia.

JJ decided to change the subject as she looked at the file in front of herself.

"Uh, what about Eric Gall?" asked JJ.

"Oh, Eric," said Garcia as she stood up, "He was a boozer. He spent most of his time at Pop's Place. I've got a few drunk and disorderlies, but he seems harmless. And given the amount of rounds he bought, it's safe to say the whole town loved him," said Garcia just as Morgan's phone rang.

"It's Hotch," said Morgan as he answered his phone causing Spencer, JJ, Emily, and Garcia to listen to Morgan's side of the conversation before he hung up and looked at his teammates, "OK, well, they managed to speak to the bartender. According to her, there was a guy there before the fire. He didn't speak to anybody and he kept switching seats. She didn't seem to recognize him," said Morgan.

"OK. Wait," said Emily as she stood up, "So she knew the owner and the boozer, and the husband wouldn't have gotten up and changed seats," said Emily as she gestured to the pictures on the wall.

"If the bartender didn't recognize him, maybe he's just not from Royal," said JJ.

"That's not necessarily true. What if she knew him and she just didn't realize it?" asked Spencer.

"What, like a disguise?" asked JJ.

"The fire captain said the unsub knew the layout of the movie theater. He used that knowledge to light the fire. But at the bar, the unsub kept changing his seats," said Spencer.

Emily realized what Spencer was saying.

"Which would give him a better view of the entrances and exits," said Emily.

"So he was studying the layout. He wasn't familiar with the area," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about how strange it was for him to be back in Las Vegas after living in New Haven for a couple of years when he, Aunt Ethel, and uncle Gordon went back to Las Vegas.

"What if he grew up in Royal and he moved away?" asked Spencer before looking at Garcia, "Garcia, what year was that bar built?" asked Spencer.

Garcia made her way towards her chair.

"Uh, the bar was built five…," said Garcia as she sat down as she looked at her computer, "Six years ago," said Garcia.

"And what about the movie theater?" asked Emily.

"The movie theater was built in the forties. It was a single screen, they divided it two years ago. Rec center was built in the late seventies," said Garcia.

Morgan pulled out his phone.

"I'm gonna call Hotch," said Morgan.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting next to JJ as he noticed his brother-in-law and Rossi coming towards them as Garcia told them about the owner of the bar.

"Jason Elliot opened Pop's Place six years ago when he moved to Royal from Indianapolis," said Garcia.

"Why? Does he have friends or family here?" asked JJ.

"None that I could find," said Garcia.

"What about the bar? Did Jason buy it from someone, take over their business?" asked Morgan.

"No. Jason started the bar himself. He named it after his father, who, by the way, was his sole beneficiary," said Garcia.

Emily crossed her arms.

"Makes sense. He was single," said Emily.

"Well, he was single, up until a couple days ago, because two days ago, Jason married…," said Garcia as she held up a picture of a young smiling woman, "Tina Wheeler," said Garcia.

Rossi instantly remembered Tina.

"The EMT," said Rossi.

"Yeah. I had checked her out originally as one of the first responders, but her work records looked squeaky clean, and so I let it go until I realized she'd married Jason, and then I did some more aggressive digging, which I should remind you-you asked me to do, and it turns out that Tina's parents died in a fire when she was five," said Garcia while Spencer instantly pulled out his wallet from his pocket and looked at two pictures of his four-year-old self with his parents before looking at a picture of his 19-year-old self with his aunt and uncle before he closed his eyes, "After they died, her and her brother Tommy were sent to live with their grandparents in Royal," said Garcia.

Hotch glanced at his brother-in-law and noticed that Spencer was looking at pictures of himself with his parents, aunt, and uncle as he made a mental note to find a time to talk to his brother-in-law later before looking at Garcia.

"Send us everything you have on them," said Hotch.

"Well, that's just it. I got…," said Garcia as she wheeled her office chair towards a table and grabbed a file, "I got plenty on Tina, but I can't really find anything on her brother," said Garcia as she opened up Tina's file and started to read it, "Tina, she, uh, she lived in Royal, she went to a community college a few towns over, got a degree, took a job, worked hard, married Jason- uh...wait... Tommy, it's like... He just disappeared," said Garcia.

Hotch looked at Garcia.

"Find him, Garcia," said Hotch firmly.

Xxxxxxxx 

Hotch paced by the bulletin boards as he looked at everyone in the room.

"We believe Jason Elliot may have been the target," said Hotch.

"Jason," said Chief Carlson.

"The bartender said that Jason stopped by the bar at the same time each day to pick up the cash and take it to the bank," said Emily.

"Which would have made him an easy target for anyone who knew his schedule," said Emily.

"I don't get all this. Jason was a good man. It may sound corny to you, but everybody loved him," said Chief Carlson.

Spencer glanced at the wedding band that he either wore on his left ring finger or on a chain around his neck for nearly six years and four months.

"Two days ago, Jason Elliot married Tina Wheeler," said Spencer.

Dr. Rawlings looked at Chief Carlson and the BAU team.

"She told me about it yesterday. Uh... All the tragedies made them not want to wait. It's a damn shame," said Dr. Rawlings.

"What can you tell us about Tina's brother Tommy?" asked Hotch.

Chief Carlson and Dr. Rawlings instantly became shocked.

"Tommy?" asked Dr. Rawlings.

"Uh, nobody's seen him around here in more than 10 years," said Chief Carlson.

Spencer gave Chief Carlson and Dr. Rawlings a look that he gives to Diana when he knows that she's hiding something from him.

"Uh, we actually think they may have. They just might not recognize him," said Spencer firmly.

"How is that possible?" asked Dr. Rawlings.

"Well, he's aged 10 years, and he'd make sure to go unnoticed," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at the laptop that they were using to video chat with Garcia.

"Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"Tommy Wheeler," said Garcia as she came into view, "Little Tommy Wheeler. You remember him? He and his sister Tina moved to Royal when he was five. Doc Rawlings was his pediatrician. Apparently, early medical records indicated Tommy may have been emotionally unbalanced," said Garcia.

Dr. Rawlings nodded as he remembered Tommy.

"Tommy was a little unstable. His parents dying brought that out," said Dr. Rawlings.

"Granted, I don't have a medical degree, but my guess is, watching his parents die in a fire didn't help Tommy's emotional well-being," said Garcia.

"What about Tina? How did the fires affect her?" asked Morgan.

Dr. Rawlings thought about Tina as a child.

"Uh...Tina wasn't as damaged by it as he was. Uh, she adjusted more quickly," said Dr. Rawlings.

"She was Tommy's lifeline," said Chief Carlson.

Spencer thought about how much he clung to his uncle Gordon after his parents died.

"She was more than that. In a situation like this- no parents, new environment, and grandparents probably too old to take care of them, Tina became Tommy's whole world," said Spencer.

"Sister, mother, family," said Rossi.

"They were very close," said Dr. Rawlings.

"Close enough that Tina distorted Tommy's love map," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at his teammates, Chief Carlson, and Dr. Rawlings.

"The way an individual gives or receives love- Their love map- is established by the age of six. With the death of the parents, Tommy's love map revolved exclusively around Tina," said Spencer.

"Yeah, it was like they were in their own little world. By the time they were eight, they even had their own language," said Chief Carlson as he noticed mixed reactions, "It was a bit disturbing," said Chief Carlson.

"But understandable. Perfectly understandable," said Garcia.

"Maybe," said Chief Carlson.

Hotch rubbed his forehead.

"So what happened?" asked Hotch.

"What do you think happened? People talked. It's the only real occupation in Royal," said Garcia.

"There were rumors. It was that Tommy and Tina were too close. Nothing was ever confirmed, though," said Chief Carlson.

"No, it wasn't. But, then, the truth didn't matter," said Garcia.

"After the rumors started, things got ugly. People pointed fingers, Tommy got expelled from school," said Chief Carlson.

"Based on nothing but hearsay," said Garcia.

"Not true. The school had a cause," said Chief Carlson.

Garcia glared at Chief Carlson.

"No, they didn't," said Garcia.

"Garcia-," said Hotch before Garcia interrupted him.

"I spoke to his teacher. She told me how the whole school and the whole town turned against him, based on nothing but a rumor. She also told me another rumor," said Garcia angrily.

"Garcia. Take a few deep breaths and calm down before your blood pressure gets too high and causes harm to yourself and the babies," said Hotch.

Garcia took a few deep breaths.

"In this one, 14-year-old Tommy was beaten within an inch of his life by adults. Grown men," snapped Garcia.

Everyone turned to look at Chief Carlson.

"I didn't hear about it until after the fact. There was nothing I could do," said Chief Carlson.

"Broken bones, punctured lung. All because of a rumor," said Garcia.

"I couldn't go after anyone based on only my suspicions. Nobody was talking about it, not even Tommy. I spoke to his grandparents and told them what to do," said Chief Carlson.

"Yeah. So they moved Tommy to a Colorado boarding school, and they cut off all ties between him and his sister. It was as if Tommy never even existed," said Garcia.

"It was for the best. They would have killed him," said Chief Carlson.

Spencer who was holding back his anger as he thought about how everyone decided to ship Tommy away while he had a bodyguard after the goal post incident looked at everyone.

"If what Garcia said is true, then this town's actions went a long way towards making Tommy who he is," said Spencer.

"We need to talk to Tina," said Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

"According to his former teacher, Tommy Wheeler enrolled in a Colorado boarding school under the name Thomas Boren. That's his dead mother's maiden name. I tracked down his records. He was at that school for half a year before he landed in juvie, where he resided for the next three. His psych evals during his stay were less than stellar. So how mad do you think he is?" asked Garcia.

"Well, if I was him I'd be pretty mad," said Morgan.

Spencer nodded in agreement.

"Oh, god," sighed Garcia.

"Garcia, the town did turn against him. I mean, that's not an excuse," said Emily.

"No, not Tommy. Hotch. I mean, he did tell me to dig, right? So I dug. And, granted, I'm not supposed to have direct contact with the public or purport myself as an FBI agent. And OK, I'm definitely not supposed to accuse someone of a felony or even a misdemeanor, especially when I don't have any actual evidence," said Garcia before she realized something, "Oh, god. I did just what they did. I-I based everything on a rumor. I got sucked right in. I didn't mean to. I-," said Garcia.

Morgan looked at his wife.

"Garcia, come on, baby. Stick to Tommy," said Morgan.

"Right. Sorry. Ok, uh... He was released from juvie when he was 16. That's when the trail goes cold," said Garcia.

"You couldn't find him?" asked JJ.

"No, I said the trail went cold, I didn't say it disappeared. This is the part I'm actually good at," said Garcia as she typed, "Whatever he did in the interim remains a mystery, much to my chagrin, but at the age of 21, Thomas Boren re-emerged in Franklin, Indiana. That's 300 miles away from royal. Said Mr. Boren purchased copious amounts of gasoline two months ago. It's not unusual to do in Indiana, but Mr. Tommy Wheeler/Boren didn't own a farm," said Garcia.

"The nuisance fires," said Spencer.

"Roger that. And then after his little spending spree, that's when the trail goes cold and I can't find him," said Garcia.

Emily sighed while Morgan's phone rang causing Morgan to answer his phone.

"Yeah, Hotch," said Morgan as he listened to Hotch talk before hanging up, "All right. There's still no sign of Tina. He wants you to bring Rawlings," said Morgan.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was going through Tina's memory box before seeing a flier causing him to look at his brother-in-law.

"Hotch, I think we have something here," said Spencer before showing the flier to Chief Carlson, "What dance is this?" asked Spencer.

"The, uh, spring formal. They hold it every year at the community center," said Chief Carlson.

Spencer looked at the date and realized that he was only 16-years-old at the time.

"May of '98. This was just before Tommy was beaten and forced out of town," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Chief Carlson.

"Is this dance something Tommy and Tina would have gone to?" asked Hotch.

"It's a big event. All the kids go even if they don't have formal dates," said Chief Carlson.

"So they could have gone together?" asked Hotch.

"Absolutely," said Chief Carlson.

Xxxxxxxx 

As they were flying home from Royal, Spencer was holding his wallet as he looked at one of the last pictures of him with his biological parents before looking at the last picture of him with his aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon when Hotch joined him.

"I know that this case caused you to relive painful memories because you can relate to Tina when it comes to the losses you dealt with and relate with Tommy because of the bullying you went through," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"I could have ended up like Tommy after everything I went through as a kid, but I know that I ended up being lucky like Tina because my aunt and uncle were always being supportive of me," said Spencer before shaking his head, "At first I thought about attending college in Las Vegas so I wouldn't take aunt Ethel away from her sister and away from the friends and aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon made, but while I was laying in that hospital bed after the goal post incident uncle Gordon told me that I should pick a college far away from Las Vegas so he, Aunt Ethel, and me could have the fresh start I deserve," said Spencer.

"And your uncle was right because Las Vegas held too many painful memories for you," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at a picture of Diana, Bridget, and Evan together.

"After finding out how everyone is in Royal, I know that Clarissa and I are going to make sure to teach the kids that spreading rumors can do more harm than good," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

A few hours later Spencer was checking on his sleeping kids before he quietly crept into his and Clarissa's bedroom and smiled at the sight of his sleeping wife. After taking a quick shower and slipping on some boxers and his pajama pants, he quietly joined Clarissa in bed just as Clarissa opened her eyes.

"I thought that you were home when I heard the shower running," said Clarissa groggily as she reached over for her glasses and slipped them on.

Spencer pouted at his wife.

"And you didn't think about joining me?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa shook her head.

"I know that other than the few naps that you took since getting called in, I know that you haven't slept at all," said Clarissa before smirking at her husband, "But I'm already planning on asking Aaron to take the kids this Saturday night so we can have a night to ourselves while Lucy gets a night off," said Clarissa.

Spencer smirked.

"I already made plans for Aaron to take the kids this Saturday and Lucy gets a night off because I already made reservations for one of your favorite restaurants in Alexandria as your way to thank you for helping me out when I got called in a few nights ago," said Spencer before yawning.

"Why don't we get some sleep because we're going to be waking up Diana for school in a few hours and you'll be dealing with three excited kids when they find out that your home," said Clarissa just as a knock sounded on the bedroom door, "Come in," called out Clarissa.

A few seconds later the bedroom door opened causing Spencer and Clarissa to find Diana and Bridget together as they rushed into the bedroom and climbed onto the bed and on top of their daddy.

"Your home, daddy," said Diana.

"Dada!" said Bridget.

"Yes daddy's home," said Spencer before looking at his 19-month-old daughter, "Did Diana help you get out of your crib or did you get out of your crib yourself?" asked Spencer.

Bridget giggled while Diana looked at her parents.

"I caught Bridget standing outside of her crib while I got out of the bathroom and I knew that mommy needed to know that Bridget got out of her crib," said Diana.

Evan started whimpering through the baby monitor causing Clarissa to get out of bed.

"I might as well go check on Evan," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her parents.

"Can Bridget, Evan, and I sleep with you two?" asked Diana before focusing on her mommy, "Daddy was gone for a few days and I want to cuddle with daddy before I leave for school," said Diana.

Clarissa shook her head.

"Fine," said Clarissa as she left the bedroom.

"Good work, Diana," said Spencer as he wrapped his arms around Diana and Bridget as he looked at his youngest daughter, "With how many times you've been climbing out of your crib since I left for Indiana, I better put together a big girl bed for you in your big sister's room this weekend," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana and Bridget as they clapped their hands.

Xxxxxxxx 

10 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa got their three excited children back to sleep before they fell asleep themselves.

Xxxxxxxx 

A couple of nights later, Spencer and Clarissa were talking and laughing over an Italian dinner and sparkling grape juice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I chose not to write about Spencer's and Clarissa's date night, but they talked about the kids and anything that didn't deal with work before they finished off their date night in their bed without their kids interrupting them.


	66. The Big Wheel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to have The Big Wheel happen three days after House on Fire because Michelle Watson was killed on March 21st (As shown in the episode) and Garcia is still 25-weeks pregnant with twins. So Bridget's still 19-months-old and Evan's still nine-months-old in this chapter.
> 
> Here's a heads up that all five bedrooms in the Reid family home are big enough to fit two twin sized beds in each room. When it comes to Bridget transitioning to a twin sized bed Spencer and Clarissa agreed that Bridget should be moved to Diana's room while they keep Bridget's crib and the changing table in Bridget's nursery for their next child since they need the guest bedroom for Lucy or any guests they have to stay in.

Spencer and Hotch lifted the mattress onto Bridget's new bed that was four feet away from Diana's brand new bed.

"What do you think, Cricket?" asked Spencer as he lowered one of the two guard rails on Bridget's bed and sat down.

Bridget climbed off her big sister's new bed and walked over to the footstool climbed the few steps before sitting on her new bed.

"I a big girl," said Bridget.

Spencer pouted at the thought of his nearly 20-month-old daughter being a big girl before he lifted up Bridget and threw her over his shoulder causing the toddler to giggle.

"Either way, Bridget, you and Diana will always be daddy's little girls," said Spencer before he settled Bridget on his lap.

Clarissa looked at her youngest daughter.

"Your brand new bed will look prettier after I put on the sheets and comforter that you helped me pick out," said Clarissa as she gestured to the two sets of freshly washed matching sheets and comforters that had elephants on them waiting in a laundry basket to be put on Diana's and Bridget's beds.

"OK, Mama," said Bridget.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter.

"I'll help you make your bed, bumble bee," said Spencer.

30 seconds later Spencer was helping Diana put her new sheets and comforter on Diana's bed while Clarissa made Bridget's bed.

Xxxxxxxx 

After Diana's and Bridget's beds were made and Bridget's clothing was either hung up in Diana's and Bridget's now shared closet or in Bridget's dresser, Hotch's work phone went off causing Hotch to answer a call from JJ.

"Yeah, JJ?" asked Hotch as he listened to JJ talk on the phone before speaking up, "I'm over at Spencer's and Clarissa's house right now, so Reid and I will be there in an hour," said Hotch before hanging up.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"We have a case?" asked Spencer.

Hotch nodded while Clarissa looked at her husband and oldest brother.

"At least we got the parts where I needed my husband's muscles and engineering skills and your muscles done," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his two oldest daughters.

"I'm sorry that I won't be able to go to the zoo this afternoon," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "When I get home, I'll take you two to the library," said Spencer.

"OK daddy," said Diana.

"OK Dada," said Bridget.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over an hour later, JJ played a video for her teammates and after the video was over, she looked at her team.

"Her name's Michelle Watson, a Realtor murdered in Buffalo a week ago," said JJ.

Hotch who was reading a file spoke without looking up from the file.

"Until yesterday they had nothing, no leads, and then they got this," said Hotch.

"Buffalo P.D. received it from an unknown source yesterday," said JJ.

"They able to trace it?" asked Emily.

JJ shook her head as she played another video.

"No. Sent through an encrypted server from Ukraine," said Hotch.

Morgan noticed something with the video.

"There's no sound," said Morgan.

Spencer nodded.

"Yeah, at first glance there doesn't seem to be a single frame to identify who shot it. He even covered up the mirror," said Spencer.

Garcia shook her head.

"I've seen some crazy things sitting at this table, but that... Why send that to the police?" asked Garcia.

"Well, maybe it's a taunt, to show the police how smart he is," said Emily.

Rossi looked at his teammates.

"Catch me if you can," said Rossi.

Morgan watched the next video and noticed the two people.

"The two people in the video. They look directly at the unsub and neither one seems to register that they're being filmed," said Morgan.

"I think it's probably a hidden camera," said Spencer.

"The witnesses were able to give us enough for a sketch," said JJ as a sketch of the unsub was passed around, "White male, early 30s, wearing glasses," said JJ before she showed another video.

Morgan noticed the room.

"It looks like an editing suite," said Morgan.

"So he not only films the murder, he edits it," said Rossi.

Emily pointed at the additional video that was playing during the unsub's video.

"Do we know what this is that's playing on the monitor?" asked Emily.

"Buffalo P.D. is concerned that it might be another filmed killing," said Hotch.

"If it is, then we're not looking at just one murder, but two," said Emily.

"Buffalo is underfunded, undermanned, and they need our help," said Hotch.

"Buffalo's a big gang town," said Morgan.

"Murder in the last year alone was over 700 people," said JJ.

Hotch looked at Garcia.

"Garcia, I need you to go through this frame by frame and put everything on disks," said Garcia.

"Yes, sir. I'm on it," said Garcia as she used the table to help herself stand up.

Before Garcia could waddle away, Hotch looked at Garcia.

"Did your doctor say anything at your last appointment about when your banned from flying?" asked Hotch.

Garcia stopped walking and turned around.

"I'm still good for traveling until my 28th week, sir," said Garcia.

Hotch quickly made his decision.

"Also, put together a go bag. If we get any more of these films, I want you on the ground taking point. Is that OK with you?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, sir. Excellent. Ok. Fast forward... Go bag. I don't have a go bag," said Garcia to herself as she walked away.

Hotch looked at his teammates.

"There's something I want everyone to see," said Hotch.

JJ played a video causing Spencer, Emily, Morgan, and Rossi to watch the unsub write.

"He's writing something," said Emily as everyone realized that the unsub was writing 'HELP ME'.

A minute later Spencer was at his desk calling Clarissa who answered on the second ring.

"You are on speaker with Diana, Bridget, Evan, and me," said Clarissa.

"Do you have to go away, daddy?" asked Diana.

"I'm going to Buffalo, New York," said Spencer before he spent the next few minutes talking to Clarissa and the kids before he headed to the jet.

Xxxxxxxx 

Morgan who was sitting next to his wife while Spencer and Emily sat across from him looked at his teammates.

"A serial killer asking for help. Well that's a new one on me," said Morgan.

"Attempt at sarcasm?" asked Rossi.

Hotch looked at Rossi.

"What if he's sincere?" asked Hotch.

"Then he's deeply ambivalent. He wants to stop, but like an alcoholic, he simply can't," said Rossi.

Morgan looked at a picture of the road.

"When we see him driving, his point of view is elevated. I'd say he's driving a van or an SUV," said Morgan.

"And the film stops where it starts at his home. So we could use the film to trace back, street by street, from the crime scene, right?" asked Emily.

Spencer noticed a clock in a picture.

"It only lasts nine minutes. And in this frame, he clearly looks at a clock, and it's 9:22," said Spencer.

Emily looked at Michelle Watson's autopsy report.

"OK, the autopsy says Michelle Watson's time of death was 4:30 in the afternoon. So, he edited out seven hours," said Emily.

Hotch looked at Garcia.

"Garcia, look for unsolved murders of men in their early 30s who were stabbed, Buffalo and surrounding cities. Go back 10 years," said Hotch.

Garcia nodded.

"Wouldn't VICAP have already picked up on that?" asked Morgan.

Garcia looked at her husband.

"Mm, VICAP only went web-based about a month ago, and Buffalo P.D. recently uploaded the data," said Garcia as she typed something on her laptop.

"They show Watson holding a day planner. They find that at the crime scene?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah, that, her wallet, and all of her jewelry, including a 3-carat diamond ring. So we know he's not financially motivated," said Spencer.

Garcia who was typing spoke up.

"First count-I have 22," said Garcia.

Xxxxxxxx 

Rossi removed one of the photos from the board and looked at Spencer, JJ, Garcia, and Detective Henderson.

"Help me is in direct conflict with the psychology of a psychopath, and it's something I've never seen before," said Rossi.

"Psychopaths don't have the capacity to feel empathy towards others," said Spencer.

"They can mimic it, but they can't feel it," said Rossi.

"Then he didn't mean it?" asked Detective Henderson.

"Or someone or something is showing him who he really is," said Rossi.

Garcia finished typing and looked at Spencer, JJ, Rossi, and Detective Henderson.

"Ok, friends, the video on this film is analog. It's since been digitized, but it is seriously degraded," said Garcia.

"Meaning what?" asked JJ.

"Meaning this kind of degradation only happens over at least a decade and thousands of repeated viewings," said Garcia.

"It's the only way he can get any release," said Rossi.

"Then you're right. He's been doing this for 10 years," said Detective Henderson.

"Uh, more like 20. That woman in this video- She's wearing a sweater I haven't seen since "Flashdance"," smiled Garcia.

Spencer inwardly shook his head as he thought about the time Clarissa convinced him to watch "Flashdance" with her while Rossi looked at Michelle's planner.

"On the day of her death, the 21st, Michelle entered the name Robert at 4 PM," said Rossi.

Spencer took the planner from Rossi and started to look at it.

"Ah, we found no one connected to her with that name and we think it's an alias," said Rossi.

Spencer who quickly read a page spoke up.

"Michelle's highly organized, she's precise, light of hand, so left-handed," said Spencer.

"How can you tell?" asked Detective Henderson.

Spencer pointed at Michelle's handwriting.

"The hardest point is where she starts, the lightest point is where she tails off. In her case, she tails off to the right," said Spencer before he noticed something, "It's weird," mumbled Spencer.

"What?" asked JJ.

"I'm not sure, but the number 29 is circled twice in red ink and it tails off to the left. Whoever wrote that is right-handed," said Spencer.

JJ grabbed the remote and quickly played a video of the unsub writing on the wall.

"That person is right-handed and "help me" is written in red," said JJ.

"The unsub wrote the circled 29," said Rossi.

Garcia thought about it currently being the 28th.

"Guys... Tomorrow's the 29th," said Garcia as she watched the reactions from Spencer, JJ, Rossi, and Detective Henderson.

Xxxxxxxx 

JJ walked into the room as she finished up a phone call.

"Thanks," said JJ as she hung up and looked at Detective Henderson, "Morgan thinks the unsub's glasses are the camera. You need to get a sketch of the unsub out to every camera shop in Buffalo," said JJ.

"If he hunts within a comfort zone, then whichever of these camera shops he visits the most, that's the one he'll live closest to," said Rossi.

Detective Henderson looked at her officer.

"All right. You heard the man," said Detective Henderson.

The uniformed officer took sketches of the unsub and left the room while JJ looked at Spencer, Rossi, Garcia, and Detective Henderson.

"OK, Hotch also wants us to focus on victims found in controlled locations," said JJ.

Garcia started typing.

"Secure areas with little chance of witnesses. And ones where he left the bodies where he killed them," said Rossi.

Spencer grabbed a photo.

"OK, based on that, June '98, Emily Flyn, found in her apartment, stabbed 23 times," said Spencer as he taped a picture of Emily Flyn onto the board.

Rossi picked up another picture.

"Hillary Habner, March 2000, found in her basement, stabbed 18 times," said Rossi as he passed it to Spencer.

As Spencer posted a picture of Hillary onto the board, Detective Henderson picked up a picture and a file.

"Cindy Stagnal, April 2001, stabbed multiple times, found in her office," said Detective Henderson before she passed a photo of Cindy to Spencer.

Spencer posted the picture of Cindy onto the board while JJ looked at a file in her hands.

"And May 1999, Vanessa Bright, 29, stabbed and found in her studio," said JJ as she passed the photo of Vanessa to Spencer.

Spencer looked at JJ, Garcia, Detective Henderson, and Rossi.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it appears as though we've found our timeline," said Spencer as he finished taping the picture of Vanessa onto the board, "It looks like our killer strikes almost exactly every 12 months," said Spencer.

Detective Henderson looked at the pictures of the women.

"Oh, my god. All these women and he got away with it," said Detective Henderson.

"I think we need to inform the media. Buffalo has a serial killer," said JJ.

At that moment Spencer's personal phone chirped causing Spencer to pull out his phone and smile at a picture of Diana, Bridget, and Evan together in front of some elephants.

"What got you smiling?" asked Detective Henderson.

"My wife sent me a picture of the kids at the zoo," said Spencer as he showed Detective Henderson a picture of his kids.

Detective Henderson noticed a little girl who looked like her father despite having blue eyes, a toddler who had nearly black curly hair and her father's brown eyes, and a baby boy who looked exactly like his father.

"Adorable children you got there, and how old are they?" asked Detective Henderson.

"Diana is five-years-old, Bridget will be 20-months-old on the 7th, and Evan is nine-months-old," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Later on that evening Spencer was sitting up in his hotel bed dialing Clarissa's number.

"I was just about to call you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I'm still sorry about having to go into work on a Saturday off," said Spencer.

Clarissa chucked her tongue.

"When it comes to me being on call 24/7 too, I'm not mad at you, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled as he decided to change the topic.

"Did Bridget handle falling asleep in her new bed OK?" asked Spencer.

"She did," said Clarissa.

"That's great," said Spencer before thinking about Diana, "When it comes to Diana having her bedtime 45 minutes after Bridget, did you allow Diana to stay downstairs until she fell asleep and carried her upstairs?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"I did, and after tucking in Diana I woke up Bridget and took her to the bathroom before putting her back to bed," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at the digital alarm clock on the nightstand and noticed that it was 10 PM.

"We both need to get some sleep because I never know if I'll be woken up in the middle of the night and I know that you and Lucy will be taking the kids to church in the morning," said Spencer.

"Damn straight," said Clarissa.

"Please let Reverend Alden know that I'm sorry that I couldn't make it to church," said Spencer.

"Reverend Alden is never upset when you can't make it because he knows that serial killers never take weekends off and he appreciates you for coming to church every Sunday when your home," said Clarissa.

"And knowing Reverend Alden, he'll make sure to pray about keeping me safe so I can come home to you and the kids like he does for other members who are in law enforcement or are currently in the military and stationed overseas," said Spencer before yawning, "I love you, Clarissa," said Spencer.

"I love you too, Spence," said Clarissa before hanging up.

A few minutes later Spencer was fast asleep in his hotel bed.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer was eating breakfast with his teammates when Hotch looked at him.

"Have you found out how Bridget handled her first night out of her crib?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Bridget loved sleeping in her bed," said Spencer.

Hotch thought about the few times his youngest niece told him that she had to go to the bathroom and how she rarely has accidents in her pull-ups.

"Since Bridget is almost completely potty trained, did she wear a diaper or a pull up to bed?" asked Hotch.

"She wore a pull-up and Clarissa told me that she got up to take Bridget to the bathroom only to find Diana and Bridget leaving the bathroom together," said Spencer.

Hotch quickly connected the dots.

"So whenever Diana got up to use the bathroom, she woke up Bridget and took her to the bathroom with her so Bridget could try to use the bathroom too?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Clarissa and I believe that Diana overheard us talking about getting up every couple of hours to take Bridget to the bathroom because Diana said that she wanted to let mommy sleep," said Spencer.

"Aww," cooed JJ and Garcia.

"That's so sweet of Diana," said Emily.

"I won't be surprised if Diana ends up deciding to devote her life helping people just like you and my sister," said Hotch.

"I wouldn't be surprised either because Diana loves to help take care of Bridget and Evan while she'll help her classmates with their schoolwork," said Spencer.

"And her classmates don't mind?" asked Emily.

"They don't mind at all because whenever they're struggling, they're always asking her for help while they make sure to do the work themselves," said Spencer just as Hotch's phone rang alerting them of another victim.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later in Washington DC, Clarissa was standing with Lucy with both Bridget and Evan on her hips when Reverend Alden approached them.

"Good morning Clarissa. Good morning Lucy. Good morning Bridget. Good morning Evan," said Reverend Alden.

"Good morning, Reverend Alden," said Clarissa and Lucy in unison.

Bridget waved at Reverend Alden.

"Hi," said Bridget.

Evan waved at Reverend Alden.

"Hi," said Evan.

Reverend Alden smiled at the two youngest Reid children before looking at Clarissa.

"May I please hold Evan?" asked Reverend Alden.

"Yes," said Clarissa.

Reverend Alden gently took the nine-month-old baby boy from his mother and settled him on his hip.

"Where's Spencer?" asked Reverend Alden.

"He left for Buffalo, New York yesterday, but he asked me to tell you that he's sorry that he couldn't make it," said Clarissa.

"I'll add Spencer onto the list of members that I'll be praying for today," said Reverend Alden.

Clarissa laughed.

"Spence had a feeling that you'll make sure to mention him in your prayers today," said Clarissa.

"I always have a huge respect for the members of this church who took the oath to serve and protect this country while they attend church when they can," said Reverend Alden.

Bridget looked at Reverend Alden.

"I seep in big girl bed now," said Bridget.

Reverend Alden instantly felt sad about how fast Diana, Bridget, and Evan were growing before looking at Clarissa.

"When did Bridget transition from a crib to a toddler bed?" asked Reverend Alden.

"Last night because Spencer and Aaron rearranged Diana's bedroom before putting together the two new twin beds I bought in Diana's room before they got called in," said Clarissa before smiling a bit,

"Whenever Diana got up to use the bathroom during the night, she woke up Bridget and took her to the bathroom with her," said Clarissa.

Reverend Alden smiled.

"Diana is a lot like you and Spencer because she likes to help people just like you and Spencer," said Reverend Alden.

"I know," said Clarissa before smiling at Bridget and Evan, "I can't wait to see how Bridget and Evan as they get older like their big sister," said Clarissa before she took Evan back from Reverend Alden so she and Lucy can get into their usual pew with Bridget and Evan before the service started.

Xxxxxxxx 

At the same time in Buffalo, New York, Spencer was reading a file while Garcia who was standing with JJ and Emily looking at the pictures of the victims as she looked at her two female coworkers.

"He sure does like his blondes. Not a good date, though. Too stabby," said Garcia as she mimicked stabbing with her pen.

"Less so, though, with Michelle Watson and the girl we found this morning," said Emily.

JJ noticed the dates of the murders.

"Every one of these murders happens during a month of Spring," said JJ.

"So, Spring for the unsub is a stressor," said Emily.

Garcia looked at JJ and Emily as she thought about the video she's been studying for nearly a day.

"Hey, do you think my video was done in the Spring?" asked Garcia.

"There's a good chance," said Emily.

Garcia waddled over to the table that contained her laptop.

"OK. Eighties, Spring, Buffalo. Search for homicide, see if I can make a connection," said Garcia as she carefully sat down.

Spencer looked at JJ and Emily.

"All of the victims except for Michelle Watson was killed within a year of each other," said Spencer.

Emily pointed at a photo of Joyce.

"Victim number 10, Joyce Wolcott, stabbed 32 times," said Emily.

"And then Michelle Watson was stabbed just once two years later," said Spencer.

"What's missing from the Michelle Watson murder is any sign of rage or overkill," said Emily.

Spencer quickly realized something.

"Yeah. Instead, on the tape, we see signs of remorse. A complete and sudden emotional change. It's absolutely fascinating," said Spencer.

Garcia looked at Spencer as she waddled towards Emily.

"I love you, Reid, but the stuff you find fascinating is sad," said Garcia as she noticed smiles from JJ and Emily before she showed Emily a picture, "OK. The woman in my video... She looks a lot like the ones on your board, don't you think?" asked Garcia.

"So he's killing her over and over again," said Emily.

"Maybe. I don't know. Not my job," said Garcia quickly.

Spencer who was looking at the file on Joyce spoke up.

"Guys, there was an actual witness in the Joyce Wolcott murder," said Spencer.

"A witness?" asked Emily.

Spencer quickly thought about Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack as he looked at his female teammates.

"A boy. Her son," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Garcia was reading a newspaper article about Joyce Wolcott's murder.

"Neighbors called the police when they heard her son Stan screaming for his mother," said Garcia sadly.

Spencer who was still reading the file spoke up.

"Let's see, they were found in the backyard and she was dead," said Spencer.

"So he saw the whole thing?" asked Emily.

Spencer walked towards JJ and Emily.

"If he did, why didn't the unsub kill the only living witness?" asked Spencer.

"Did they interview him?" asked Emily.

JJ looked at Emily.

"He was traumatized," said JJ.

"Did he see the killer?" asked Emily.

Spencer showed JJ the notes about Stanley being blind.

"He didn't see anything," said Spencer.

Emily looked at Garcia.

"Where is the boy now?" asked Emily.

Garcia who highlighted information from the newspaper article spoke up.

"Single mom, father died in a car accident. He was foster-homed after her death," said Garcia.

"Tell me he's still in Buffalo," said Emily.

Garcia quickly pulled up an address.

"Yes," said Garcia before Emily called Morgan and Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that evening Spencer watched Stanley reunite with his foster mother while hoping that Stanley will end up doing great things with his life after all the tragedy he dealt with.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over eight hours later Spencer woke up to his and Clarissa's alarm clock and as he slipped on his glasses he looked at his wife who already had her own glasses on.

"Hi," said Spencer.

"Welcome home, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Sorry that I didn't tell you that I was coming home," said Spencer.

"Its OK, Spence," said Clarissa before thinking of the date, "Even though today is the 23rd anniversary of the day of your parents' deaths, are you going to be OK?" asked Clarissa.

"I will be because I have my family and my teammates by my side," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "Because of doing my report during the flight home, your brother also gave me today off so I can be with my grandparents today," said Spencer.

"Your right about your grandparents needing you today because they lost their sons and daughter-in-law while you lost your parents and paternal uncle to the same drunk driver," said Clarissa.

"I'm planning on taking Bridget and Evan with me too," said Spencer.

Clarissa got out of bed and grabbed a pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt.

"Since I set my alarm clock for an earlier time and asked Lucy to sleep in the guest bedroom last night, I'm going to go for a run," said Clarissa.

Spencer got out of bed.

"I'll come with," said Spencer as he made his way towards his dresser and grabbed his workout clothes.

Over five minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were running through their neighborhood while enjoying the early Spring breeze on their faces.

Xxxxxxxx 

After Spencer and Clarissa took a shower together and got dressed for the day, Spencer entered Diana and Bridget's bedroom and smiled at the sight of his two daughter's sleeping before he walked over to Diana's bed and started to wake up Diana.

"Its time to wake up for school, Diana," said Spencer.

Diana's eyes shot open as her father slipped on her glasses and a few seconds later Diana was hugging her father.

"I missed you while you were in New York, daddy," said Diana.

"I missed you too, Diana," said Spencer just as he noticed Bridget waking up.

"Daddy," said Bridget.

Spencer made his way over to Bridget's bed and helped his youngest daughter out of bed.

"Did you sleep good, Bridget?" asked Spencer.

Bridget nodded as her messy shoulder length nearly black curly hair bounced.

"I like my big girl bed, daddy," said Bridget.

Spencer smiled as he thought about how much Bridget's language skills have improved since she started occupational therapy.

"You do?" asked Spencer.

"Mama uddle in bed and read to me," said Bridget.

Diana who was already out of her own bed and grabbing the clothes that mommy helped her pick out for school looked at her daddy.

"Bridget liked it that mommy cuddled in bed with her and read to her because you and mommy couldn't cuddle with Bridget in her crib," said Diana.

Spencer smiled as he looked at his youngest daughter.

"Will you want me to cuddle with you and read with you until you fall asleep tonight?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Bridget.

Xxxxxxxx 

After the Reid family and Lucy were gathered around the kitchen island with pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon in front of them, Spencer got up and grabbed some chocolate syrup before walking over to Diana and squirted chocolate syrup onto Diana's pancakes.

"I thought that I don't get chocolate syrup on my pancakes on a school day so I don't deal with a sugar rush at school?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled at his oldest daughter.

"Mommy told me about you waking up Bridget whenever you have to use the bathroom and convinced Bridget to use her potty, so I decided to break the rules and award you for being an awesome big sister," said Spencer.

Diana grinned at her daddy before she used her fork to break off a piece of her pancake and put it into her mouth.


	67. Easter and Conflicted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though Spencer, Clarissa, and the kids are doing occasional Friday evening trips to the synagogue with Spencer's grandparents, aunt, and cousins and celebrating certain Jewish holidays they're still celebrating Christmas and Easter with the kids because Spencer's grandparents understand that Spencer and Clarissa want to be an interfaith family while the kids learn about their heritage.
> 
> I have it that this chapter starts on April 12th of 2009 since its a given that spring break always doesn't happen the week before Easter.
> 
> There is M-rated content in this chapter, so please read at your own risk.
> 
> When it comes to the scene between Spencer and Morgan at the end of Conflicted, I changed the scene to having Spencer talk to his oldest brother-in-law instead of Morgan.

Spencer and Clarissa entered the living room with Diana, Bridget, and Evan causing Diana to grin as she looked at her little sister who was staring at the three filled up Easter baskets with wide eyes.

"The Easter bunny came last night," said Diana as she took her little sister over to the baskets and grabbed Bridget's basket and handed it to her.

Bridget quickly grabbed the stuffed bunny and hugged it causing it to talk.

"Daddy loves you, Bridget," said the Easter bunny with daddy's voice.

Diana grinned at her daddy who was sitting with Evan.

"The Easter bunny recorded your voice just like he did for you three years ago when I found Anne on my bed," said Diana.

"Yep," said Spencer as he popped the P before looking at Bridget, "Do you have a name for your stuffed bunny?" asked Spencer.

"Ack," said Bridget.

Clarissa grinned.

"Are you naming your stuffed bunny Jack the bunny after your cousin Jack?" asked Clarissa.

Bridget nodded seriously as her nearly shoulder length nearly black curly hair bounced.

"Yes," said Bridget.

Diana who was already eating her chocolate bunny looked at her little sister.

"Jack is going to be happy to find out that you named a stuffed animal after him," said Diana before looking at the stuffed bunny that her daddy was showing Evan, "Does Evan's new bunny talk too?" asked Diana.

Spencer grinned as he looked at his son.

"Can you hug the bunny?" asked Spencer.

Evan gave his stuffed bunny a hug causing the baby boy's eyes to go wide as he heard mommy's voice.

"Mommy loves you, Evan," said the bunny with mommy's voice.

Evan smiled and laughed as he hugged the stuffed bunny a second time.

"Mommy loves you, Evan," said the bunny with mommy's voice just as Lucy came into the living room.

"Breakfast is finished," said Lucy before looking at Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget, "Are you three ready to wear the new Easter dresses I made you three?" asked Lucy.

"Yes," said Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget in unison.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"While you three ladies are getting dressed, I'll get Evan and myself dressed in our new Easter clothes," said Spencer.

A minute later the Reid family and Lucy were in the kitchen eating bunny shaped pancakes, scrambled eggs, and breakfast sausage.

Xxxxxxxx 

45 minutes later Lucy was taking a picture of Clarissa, Diana, and Bridget wearing light green knee-length dresses with white sweaters over the dresses while Spencer and Evan wore matching light green dress shirts, new ties, and new dress pants.

Xxxxxxxx 

Diana looked at her 20-month-old sister as she noticed an egg.

"There's an Easter egg right there, Bridget," said Diana quietly.

Bridget grinned as she quickly picked up the egg and placed it in her Easter basket before she hugged her big sister.

"Tank you, Anna," said Bridget.

"Your welcome, Bridget," said Diana.

Bridget looked over where her daddy was sitting with her baby brother before looking at her big sister.

"Dada come back?" asked Bridget.

"Daddy will come back to help us after mommy gets back from the bathroom, Bridget," said Diana.

Xxxxxxxx 

Meanwhile Spencer was sitting with his nearly 10-month-old son who was happily chewing on a teething ring.

"Next year you'll be able to join your big sisters in an Easter egg hunt," said Spencer.

Evan smiled and babbled at his daddy as he excitably watched his two big sisters fill their baskets with eggs just as Clarissa joined them.

"How are two of my most favorite men doing?" asked Clarissa.

"Evan and I are having a great time watching Diana and Bridget participate in the Easter egg hunt together," said Spencer before looking at his wife, "Since your back from the bathroom, I'm going to rejoin our daughters and help them find more eggs," said Spencer.

Clarissa eagerly took her nearly 10-month-old son from her husband before Spencer got up and hurriedly went to join their two daughters on searching for eggs.

Xxxxxxxx 

After Spencer put Diana to bed, he entered the bedroom and closed the door only to find Clarissa standing by their bed wearing a bra and underwear made of candy, while her hair was let down as she wore a bunny ears headband on her head causing him to groan.

"Since we spent all day celebrating Easter with the kids and going over to Ambassador Prentiss's house for dinner, I thought that we should have our own little Easter celebration before we get some sleep to start our work week and Diana goes back to school," said Clarissa.

Spencer quickly locked the bedroom door and made his way over to his wife.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two days later Spencer was sitting at the round table with his teammates while JJ briefed them on their latest case.

"Daniel Keller, 21, a junior at Benjamin Franklin University. He was killed last night while Spring breaking in South Padre Island. C.O.D. is asphyxiation. He was the second victim to be murdered there in the past three nights," said JJ as she showed a picture of another young man, "The first was William Browder, also on spring break, C.O.D. is also asphyxiation. They were both sexually assaulted prior to death," said JJ.

A shocked Emily looked at her teammates.

"Men being raped and murdered on Spring break? Well, that's a twist," said Emily.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law, fiancée, Morgan, and Rossi.

"So far the deaths have been localized to one hotel," said Hotch.

JJ pulled up photos of the hotel.

"The Hudson Street Hotel. Initially, the hotel was filled to capacity but lost 20% occupancy overnight," said JJ.

Morgan looked at his teammates.

"We should get a list of everyone who works there. There's a good chance one of them is the unsub, at the very least has interacted with him," said Morgan.

"Yeah, Garcia's already on that," said JJ as she pulled up another picture, "Both victims were discovered by hotel staff, the last after online checkout indicated the room had been vacated," said JJ.

"So he wanted the bodies discovered, and sooner rather than later," said Emily.

Spencer studied the pictures that were on the monitor.

"Look at the way they're posed," said Spencer as he stood up and walked towards the monitor, "naked, cowering in the fetal position," said Spencer.

"He's sending a message. Something about this is important to him. We just need to figure out what," said Rossi.

Hotch stood up.

"And we need to do it soon. The police suspect the unsub could be another vacationing student, though I'm not willing to rule out local involvement," said Hotch.

Rossi stood up.

"Makes sense. If the killer is a student, they could be halfway across the country by the time we're onto them," said Rossi.

Emily stood up.

"If he's a local, we could lose him as soon as his victim pool dries up," said Emily.

"Either way, we're almost out of time. South Padre Spring break season ends this weekend," said Hotch before leaving the room.

After studying the photos for a minute, Spencer headed to his desk where he sent Clarissa a text message.

I'M GOING TO SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TEXAS. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU AND THE KIDS. ~ SR

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting at the small table across from his brother-in-law and was looking out the window before he closed the shade and stood up and walked towards JJ so he could get a better look at the monitor.

"National media has picked up on the story. We're gonna have to make a statement when we land," said JJ.

"We want to make people aware without obviously causing panic," said Hotch.

"Stress hyper-vigilance, the whole buddy system, yeah, I'm all over it. I just don't think anyone's gonna listen.

"What do you mean?" asked Spencer.

JJ thought about Spencer telling her how he spent his Spring breaks before and after his aunt and uncle died.

"Come on. Drunk college students don't exactly want to hear they shouldn't talk to strangers," said JJ.

Spencer nodded.

"Right," said Spencer softly before he walked away to take a seat by Morgan.

Emily looked at Garcia who was video conferencing through the laptop.

"Was there any DNA left on the scene?" asked Emily.

A grossed out Garcia looked at her husband and teammates.

"Uh, yeah. Too much DNA. This portion of the Garcia Show will be brought to you by the letter "I" for icky," said Garcia as she held up some reports, "The lab has recovered over 100 different trace samples, as multiple guests create a cesspool of DNA. Also, there is no way to determine the exact time of "secretion" or to eliminate anyone actually working at the hotel," said Garcia.

Morgan looked at his wife.

"Were you able to find any connection between the first two victims?" asked Morgan.

Garcia shook her head as she typed.

"No. They grew up in different states, the went to colleges on opposite coasts I did the whole cross-reference credit card thing, couldn't make it connect," said Garcia.

"So the hotel's the only common denominator," said Rossi.

"Yeah. And it should be noted that the first victim, William Browder, wasn't exactly a registered guest," said Garcia.

Morgan realized what his wife was talking about.

"Well, that's a popular thing to do. I mean, youngsters do it all the time. They rent a room, they pack in as many kids as possible to save costs. We could be dealing with hundreds of unregistered guests," said Morgan.

"We need to check every guest, whether they were on the books or not," said Hotch.

"Male raping male," said JJ as she took the seat that Spencer was sitting in earlier, "So are we pressing our unsub or victims could be gay?" asked JJ.

"That's not necessarily true. In male rape, sexual preference typically has less to do with the crime than the power and dominance the attacker feels from the act itself," said Spencer.

"Still, it's a question we should ask the families when we interview them. It could help us determine how the unsub met the victims," said Emily.

"We got a lot of work to do. Emily, JJ, and I will go to the local P.D. and start victimology," said Hotch as he got up and made his way towards his brother-in-law, Morgan, and Rossi and placed a picture of the Hudson Street Hotel in front of them, "The rest of you, there's your new home," joked Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer got out of the back seat of an SUV before he walked into the Hudson Street Hotel with Morgan and Rossi where a woman in a uniform stood with her hands on her hips.

"You must be the FBI," said Julie.

Rossi shook hands with Julie.

"David Rossi," said Rossi before he gestured to Morgan and Spencer,

"These are agents Morgan and Reid," said Rossi while Spencer and Rossi both shook hands with Julie.

"Julie Riley. I'm the manager," said Julie.

Morgan instantly remembered the report he read.

"You were on duty when the latest body was discovered?" asked Morgan.

"That's right," said Julie.

Spencer looked at Julie.

"Did you happen to notice anyone out of the ordinary?" asked Spencer.

"I'm afraid not. You see so many faces during the spring break, pretty soon they all start to blur," said Julie.

"We need to set up interviews with the rest of your staff as soon as possible, also talk to the hotel guests," said Rossi.

"Of course," said Julie as she, Spencer, Morgan, and Rossi started walking.

Morgan noticed a security camera causing him to look at Julie.

"How many cameras do you have on the property?" asked Morgan.

"Not enough," said Julie as she stopped at the front desk, "We have all the main entrances and the garage covered. But the hallways and the service tunnels aren't equipped," said Julie.

"Can you show us the room where the last body was found?" asked Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer, Morgan, and Rossi were donning latex-free gloves as they entered a hotel room when Julie looked at them.

"Um, I'll start rounding up the rest of the staff for you to talk to," said Julie.

"Thanks," said Rossi as he looked in his little black notebook, "No signs of struggle reported. Everything seemed normal when housekeeping arrived," said Rossi.

Spencer crouched down by the footboard.

"Look at this. Scratch marks on the foot-board," said Spencer as he stood up to his full height, "The victims were bound before the struggle began," said Spencer.

"Well, that would make sense. Both victims were in pretty good shape. Probably needed them tied up in order to control them," said Morgan.

"The question is, was it consensual or was it coerced?" asked Rossi as he examined the foot-board.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer stood with his arms crossed while Morgan looked at him and Rossi.

"So if I'm the unsub and it wasn't consensual, how does this work?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"You'd have to have a weapon," said Spencer.

Morgan pulled out his gun and pointed it at the bed as he imagined one of the victims tied up on the bed.

"A gun to the face means he doesn't scream out," said Rossi.

Spencer noticed the width of the foot-board.

"Look at the distance between where each of the arms were tied. There's no way he could have tied his second hand himself," said Spencer.

"Which means the unsub did it for him," said Rossi.

"Which would be risky, because if he knew he was in danger and he saw the opportunity, he would take it," said Morgan.

"Then why not drug him and then tie him up? Eliminate the risk," said Rossi.

"The tox screen came back negative," stated Morgan.

"So it's either consensual or he has a partner," said Spencer.

"He's also learning fast," said Morgan.

"What do you mean?" asked Rossi.

Morgan walked over to the closet and opened it.

"He hides the body in the closet and then indicates that the guest has checked out. Which means when the housekeeper gets here…," said Morgan.

Rossi realized what Morgan was saying.

"Everything looks normal and she starts cleaning, wiping everything down," said Rossi.

"Erasing any fingerprints or DNA which could have been left on the scene," said Morgan.

"We need to talk to whoever cleaned this room. Maybe they saw something that can tell us who was in here with Dan Keller," said Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer and Morgan headed towards a young man who was sitting on the roof of the Hudson Street Hotel listening to music while smoking a cigarette.

"Adam Jackson?" asked Morgan as Adam quickly stood up and looked at Morgan's badge, "Your manager said we could find you up here," said Morgan.

Adam looked at the two agents.

"Uh-I-I get migraines," stuttered Adam.

"You discovered the body last night?" asked Morgan.

Adam avoided making eye contact with Morgan.

"Yeah," said Adam nervously.

"Had you ever seen him before? Or noticed anyone he may have been with?" asked Morgan.

"I've never seen him before in my life. Since I opened the closet, I can't get him out of my head," said Adam as he avoided eye contact before turning away.

Spencer took a breath and walked closer to Adam as he decided to continue the questioning.

"Adam, what about the first victim, William Browder? Have you ever seen him before?" asked Spencer as he stood in front of Adam and made eye contact with him.

Adam looked up at Spencer and made eye contact with the older man.

"Never seen either of them," said Adam.

"Let me ask you this- is there anything you remember about the room before you discovered the body? It might not seem like much, but the smallest detail could really help us a lot," said Spencer.

"It looked pretty normal. I mean until I opened the closet door," said Adam.

"Did anything stand out about the body? Or, uh, for that matter, anyone at the hotel last night?" asked Spencer.

"No, man. You seen one drunk frat guy, you seen 'em all," said Adam.

"Adam, I thought you said you didn't recognize him," said Morgan.

Adam turned and looked at Morgan.

"I didn't. I just-that girl from Corpus Christi across the bridge. I know the type. They walk around like they own the place, you know? They think they can do whatever they want," said Adam as he watched the college students walk on the docks.

Spencer looked at Adam.

"How long have you worked here?" asked Spencer.

"Six months, I guess," said Adam.

Morgan looked at Adam.

"Appreciate your time," said Morgan.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

Spencer started to walk away when he heard Adam address him.

"Can I ask you a question?" asked Adam.

Spencer stopped walking and put his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah," said Spencer.

"You've seen bad stuff, right?" asked Adam.

Spencer nodded as he thought about everything he has seen in his 27 and a half years of life.

"I have, yeah," said Spencer.

"How long before you can close your eyes without it being there?" asked Adam.

Spencer thought about it for a moment as he thought about the nightmares he started having after all the losses he dealt with and what he witnessed as an FBI agent.

"I'm afraid I still don't know," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "But having a wife and three kids to go home to helps balance out the horrors I witness," said Spencer before walking away.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer stood in a hotel room at the Willard Beachside Resort when Detective Reese Evans looked at Spencer, Morgan, and Rossi.

"Your unsubs have changed hotels," said Detective Evans.

"What can you tell us?" asked Rossi.

"The vic's name is Carl Cade, another Spring breaker," said Detective Evans.

Morgan who was examining the foot-board spoke up.

"Any witnesses?" asked Morgan.

"His friends saw him last night leave a party with a brunette in a green dress. Both had been drinking for most of the day, and he only caught a glimpse of the girl before they left the party. And he found the body posed just like the others," said Detective Evans.

Rossi motioned Spencer and Morgan to follow him outside.

"It sounds like our theory about the partners was right," said Spencer as he rested his hands on the balcony's railing.

"Woman lures the victim back, she offers up a little kink, then ties him up," said Morgan.

"Only this time the unsubs ventured outside of their comfort zone. They changed hotels," said Rossi.

Morgan looked at Spencer and Rossi.

"OK, so what's he doing, getting bolder or smarter?" asked Morgan.

"Well, the local police are on alert, the FBI is here. They probably changed pattern to avoid getting caught," said Spencer.

Rossi turned around and looked at the hotel room they were just in.

"Or because they saw us at the other hotel. We need to go back to Hudson Street," said Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting across from Adam in the interrogation room when Adam looked at him.

"Where's Julie?" asked Adam.

"We're trying to find her," said Spencer softly.

Adam looked up at Spencer.

"She's gonna go ballistic," said Adam.

Spencer decided to use a voice that he uses when he scolds Diana.

"You're in a lot of trouble, Adam. But I think you know that, right?" asked Spencer.

"The only thing that I did wrong was leaving work without telling my boss. I-I need to talk to Julie," choked Adam.

Spencer looked towards the window where he knew that his brother-in-law and teammates were watching before he cleared this throat and looked at Adam.

"Adam... Why don't you tell me about the fight you had with the first victim?" asked Spencer.

"I don't remember," said Adam.

Spencer shook his head.

"You don't remember?" asked Spencer.

Adam thought about it for a moment.

"No," said Adam.

Spencer leaned forward a bit and made eye contact with Adam.

"Adam, I really want to help you out, but you' gonna have to do a lot better than that. Please... I just need to talk to Julie!" snapped Adam.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer leaned against the wired wall as he looked at Adam.

"Adam, let's talk about the fight you had with the first victim, William Browder," said Spencer.

"There's nothing to tell. He grabbed Madison, I tried to stop him," said Adam.

Spencer thought of the pictures he saw.

"That guy was pretty big," said Spencer.

"So?" asked Adam.

Spencer started to pace in the interrogation room.

"Even though I passed the hand to hand combat classes at the academy with a passing score, Adam, guys like you and I aren't, uh, we aren't exactly the fighting type," said Spencer.

"Well, Madison's a good person. She didn't deserve to be treated that way," said Adam.

Spencer leaned against a wall.

"You see, now I'm really confused because you just told me that you don't remember the fight, said Spencer.

"I don't. I mean, I-I don't, but I-I do," stuttered Adam.

"You don't, but you do. Can-can you explain to me how that works?" asked Spencer.

"I remember he grabbed at Madison, I tried to stop him, the next thing I knew, Julie was pulling me out of the pool," said Adam.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting down and fiddling with Adam's lighter as he looked at Adam.

"I met my wife eight years, four months, and 16 days ago while and I've been married to my wife for six years, four months, and 16 days," said Spencer before thinking about Julie, "How long have you been friends with Julie?" asked Spencer.

"We've been friends since I was just a kid," said Adam.

"Are you lovers?" asked Spencer.

"No," said Adam.

Spencer thought about how he and Clarissa combined their money.

"Well, then why does she pay for everything you have?" asked Spencer.

"It's not like it's a handout. I mean... I'm working at the hotel so I can pay her back," said Adam.

Spencer thought about the drugs.

"Does she pay for the drugs also?" asked Spencer.

"I-I told you, I get migraines," said Adam.

"So, take a prescription," said Spencer.

Adam walked a bit before looking at Spencer.

"I thought you were different," said Adam.

"What does that mean?" asked Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer was replaying the footage of Adam's altercation with William a few times when JJ, Emily, and Morgan joined him.

"What are you looking at?" asked JJ.

"I'm not sure," said Spencer before noticing the papers in Emily's hand.

"Well, they both passed," said Emily.

Spencer looked at Emily in shock.

"How is that possible?" asked Spencer.

"Not only that, they passed with flying colors," said Emily as she passed the results to Spencer.

Spencer started to read the results while Morgan looked at him.

"The only spike I got on Adam was a control question regarding geometric equations, but... Honestly, I think I just flustered him. Either way, we got nothing," said Morgan.

Spencer looked to where Julie and Adam were filling out paperwork before noticing a look that Adam was giving him causing him to stare Adam down. Julie noticed the stare down between Spencer and Adam and saw the look that Adam was giving Spencer before Spencer notice that Adam was giving the same look that he was being given now on in the video.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer continued to replay the video over and over again as he listened to Morgan talk.

"So... Where are we?" asked Morgan as he sat down.

"Honestly? Nowhere. We just watched our two most viable suspects walk out the door," said Rossi.

"If Adam isn't our unsub, he has all the makings to become one someday," said Emily.

Hotch who was sitting next to his brother-in-law noticed a look that he came to know as his brother-in-law's thinking face over the past eight years looked on his brother-in-law's face.

"Reid?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Tell me the question that he spiked under in the polygraph," said Spencer.

"It was a control question to set the baseline," answered Morgan.

"It was a geometric equation?" asked Spencer.

"Reid, I really think he was just intimidated. He tried, he got it wrong, but he wasn't supposed to know the answer anyway," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law, Emily, JJ, Morgan, and Rossi.

"What if he lied?" asked Spencer as he sat up a bit, "What if-what if he knew the answer to the question but intentionally got it wrong?" asked Spencer.

"Why would he do that?" asked JJ.

"Because he realized that he wouldn't know that answer," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"You're losing me, kid," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"Adam said he wasn't getting any rest. He takes midday naps because he's always exhausted. He has a history of blackouts, reclusive behavior, prolonged repeated abuse suffered at the hands of a dominant male who transferred abuse from his female spouse to his prepubescent child," lectured Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Where are you going with this?" asked Hotch.

Spencer took a deep breath as he worked on keeping flashbacks of Tobias Hankel at bay.

"What if our unsub couple isn't a couple at all?" asked Spencer.

Hotch realized what his brother-in-law was talking about as he started to relive the painful memories of watching his brother-in-law get tortured by Tobias Hankel.

"Dissociative identity disorder," said Hotch.

"You think Adam's a multiple personality?" asked Rossi.

"Well, it fits. Recurrent physical abuse, knowledge he shouldn't have. We've seen this before," said Emily as she thought about Tobias Hankel.

Spencer gestured to the laptop in front of him.

"Look at this. All right?" asked Spencer as he turned the laptop and around and replayed the video, "The first intervention is timid. It's apprehensive, right?" asked Spencer as he paused the video, "But then he gets knocked down…," said Spencer before he zoomed in as he continued playing the video, "There's a moment of calm, and then his entire body language changes. I saw this exact same transformation when Adam left the station, only it wasn't rage, it was, uh, arrogance. Like the alter ego wanted me to know," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law again.

"Why?" asked Hotch.

"I don't know. Power, control. All I know is the person that stared me down over there was not Adam. He's not assertive like that. He doesn't make eye contact," said Spencer.

"So you think the stress of the interrogation blurred the line between Adam and his alter personality?" asked JJ.

"I think the unsub surfaced for just a moment. It knew the answer to the question, realized Adam wouldn't and lied," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was strapping on his Kevlar vest while Detective Evans looked at him.

"So Adam and the woman in the green dress are the same person?" asked Detective Adams.

Spencer continued fastening the Velcro on his vest.

"We profiled the duo accurately, only the dominant personalities and alter are inside of Adam," said Spencer.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"And Adam has no idea he killed all those people," said Emily.

Spencer and Emily started to walk.

"You could argue that Adam didn't kill those people. A separate person inside of him did," said Spencer as he and Emily joined his brother-in-law, JJ, Morgan, and Rossi.

Morgan looked at Hotch.

"I don't even know what we do with this," said Morgan.

"We take him into custody, we let the courts decide," said Hotch as everyone headed towards the SUVs.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer ran towards a crowd while Detective Evans looked at the crowd.

"OK, guys, let's back up! Back up! Come on. Excuse me," demanded Detective Evans.

Morgan moved his way through the crowd.

"Move, move!" shouted Morgan.

Hotch spoke into the mic on his wristwatch.

"We've got a woman down at the back of the hotel. Send medics as soon as possible," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Julie who was laying flat on her back and all bloody while Emily looked at her.

"Julie, can you hear me?" asked Emily.

"Adam…," coughed Julie.

"OK. Look, help is on the way. I need you not to move," ordered Emily.

"It wasn't... Him... Strange," choked Julie.

Hotch looked at Julie.

"Julie, did he say where he was going?" asked Hotch.

Julie coughed a few times.

"He called himself Amanda," coughed Julie.

Spencer looked at his teammates and Detective Evans.

"The alter personality," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Reid, you were right. Where would he go?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked up at the roof where he met Adam.

"Not he. She. Amanda, she panicked. She knew we would connect this to her," said Spencer.

"OK, OK, so she's feeling the pressure. She obviously knows she's running out of time. Where would she go?" asked Morgan.

Spencer instantly flashbacked to the time that the father personality of Tobias Hankel hit him on the head so hard that the chair he was handcuffed to knocked down to the ground causing him to hit his head so hard that he started having a seizure that temporarily killed him. After taking a few deep breaths, he turned to look at his teammates and Detective Evans.

"She's gonna go after the man these victims represent," said Spencer.

Morgan quickly got his wife onto the phone.

"Garcia, please tell me you know the whereabouts of Mark Harrison," said Morgan as he listened to his wife before hanging up the phone.

Emily looked at her teammates.

"Go," said Emily.

Hotch looked around.

"MEDICS!" screamed Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over two hours later, Hotch was looking around for his brother-in-law when he looked at his teammates.

"Do any of you know where Reid is?" asked Hotch.

Morgan thought of the direction that he last saw Spencer go in.

"When it comes to being upset about what happened, I think he went onto the roof of the Hudson Street Hotel to clear his head. I'll go fetch him and let him know that its time to go," said Morgan as he started to head towards the stairs.

Hotch quickly put a hand on Morgan's arm to stop Morgan.

"I'll go fetch him and find out what's bothering my brother-in-law," said Hotch.

"Are you sure? Reid might want to talk to someone else other than his brother-in-law for a change," said Morgan.

Hotch shook his head.

"I already have a feeling about what's bothering him," said Hotch before walking away towards the stairs.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was standing on the roof watching the sunset when he heard his brother-in-law's voice and footsteps.

"It's time to go, Reid," said Hotch.

Spencer stayed silent causing Hotch to speak again.

"Spencer," said Hotch.

Spencer turned around and looked at his brother-in-law.

"We've taken the victim into custody and let the abuser go free. I don't really- I don't see that as much of a win," said Spencer.

"A lot of lives are gonna be saved now that Amanda's off the street. You know that," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Yeah, I just... I wish I could have noticed the signs in time to save Adam," said Spencer.

"You know that my sister will tell you not to do that to yourself. None of us could have noticed. Our profile was right. We just never considered that the team dynamic could be locked inside one person's mind," said Hotch.

Spencer thought about the flashbacks he's been dealing with since his attempt to talk down Amanda.

"I should have," said Spencer.

Hotch decided to get to the point.

"I thought about Tobias Hankel right away when you mentioned that Adam might be having DID and I kept on flashing back to seeing your dead body before you were given CPR," said Hotch.

Spencer sighed in relief as he realized that his brother-in-law didn't forget about Tobias Hankel.

"If the real Tobias didn't give me CPR, I would have never met Bridget or given you a nephew," said Spencer.

Hotch shook his head as he thought about how both Spencer and his sister devoted their lives to helping people while Diana was already working on being the best big sister ever to Bridget and Evan.

"And you think because of Tobias, somehow you owe Adam?" asked Hotch.

"I just-I know that he's still locked in there somewhere," said Spencer.

Hotch rested a hand on his brother-in-law's shoulder.

"Spencer, I told you that we always won't save everyone," said Hotch before smiling a bit, "We should head home because I know that Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan all miss you," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

A few hours later, Clarissa looked at her husband as they got ready for bed.

"Are you OK?" asked Clarissa.

"Even though I hated having to deal with another unsub with DID, I'm going to be OK while I keep in contact with the hospital that Adam's in," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"You know that I had my physical today?" asked Clarissa.

"How did that go?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa smiled as she opened up her nightstand drawer and handed her husband some papers causing Spencer to read lab work results as his eyes went wide when he saw his wife's hormone levels before seeing PREGNANT on his wife's physical summary and noticed the notes about Clarissa feeling tired, dealing with frequent urination, nausea, and tender and swollen breasts causing him to kiss Clarissa.

After breaking out of their kiss, Spencer looked at his wife.

"How far are you?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa smiled as she noticed the sparkle that was lacking in her husband's eyes ended up returning.

"I know that we definitely succeeded during the two weeks we had sex nearly every night, but we won't know how far I am until I have a sonogram in three weeks," said Clarissa before smiling at her husband, "Did the news I just give you cheer you up?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smiled.

"Definitely," said Spencer before he and Clarissa decided to celebrate their good news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The research I did cause me to find out that pregnancy symptoms can happen during weeks two and three while a pregnancy test can be positive during that time, but I read that the baby won't show in an ultrasound or sonogram until five weeks. So I decided that Spencer and Clarissa decided to know sooner because of how personal the case in Conflicted was for Spencer.


	68. A Shade of Gray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that I'm not upsetting anyone about the mention of a baby boom in this chapter, but recent events inspired me to create a baby boom.
> 
> This chapter starts a week after the last chapter!

A pajama-clad Diana looked at her daddy as they played Chutes and Ladders.

"When it comes to summer vacation coming up quickly, is there anything big planned other than attending a family camp during Father's Day weekend?" asked Diana.

Spencer grinned.

"Mommy and I signed you up for a figure skating day camp because you deserve to spend the summer doing something you love without being pressured about being a genius," said Spencer.

Diana grinned at her daddy.

"Thank you, daddy," said Diana.

"Your welcome," said Spencer.

"Next year I want to go to science camp," said Diana.

Spencer grinned.

"Mommy and I will make sure that you attend science camp next year," said Spencer.

"What will Bridget do this summer?" asked Diana.

"Because of Bridget not turning two until the beginning of August, she'll be continuing her occupational therapy and speech therapy while going to a playgroup for toddlers with autism," said Spencer.

"When Bridget turns two, will she do start doing an activity like figure skating to help her make friends?" asked Diana just as she beat her daddy at Chutes and Ladders.

"I doubt that Bridget will want to learn how to figure skate like you and mommy, but eventually we'll know what she'll excel at," said Spencer before looking at the clock and noticing that Diana was getting tired, "We have time for one more game of Chutes and Ladders before you go to bed, young lady," said Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana as she and her daddy started another game of Chutes and Ladders.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning at Children's National, Clarissa gasped and rested a hand on her still flat stomach as she approached a bunch of other nurses and doctors who had their eyes glued to the TV about the missing seven-year-old boy Kyle Murphy in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

"I won't be surprised if Aaron and Spence end up getting called in to help find that missing boy," said Clarissa out loud just as her personal phone in her pocket vibrated causing her to see a text from her husband.

IF YOU'RE WATCHING THE NEWS DURING YOUR BREAK, I THOUGHT THAT I SHOULD LET YOU KNOW THAT I JUST LANDED IN CHERRY HILL, NEW JERSEY TO HELP FIND KYLE MURPHY. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU AND THE KIDS. ~ SR

Nurse Alyssa Carter turned around and looked at the young woman who became a little sister to her.

"I assume that was your husband?" asked Nurse Carter.

Clarissa nodded as she returned her hand to her still flat stomach.

"Spence and Aaron are currently heading to New Jersey," said Clarissa just as Nurse Carter smirked at her, "What?" asked Clarissa.

"Your resting a hand on her stomach, so I assume that you have another bun in the oven," said Nurse Carter causing a few other nurses to turn around.

Clarissa blushed as she decided to tell the truth.

"Because of showing a bunch of symptoms, I had a pregnancy test done during my physical last week. As of right now I'm either three or four-weeks pregnant, but I'll be seeing my gynecologist in two weeks to confirm my fourth pregnancy," said Clarissa as congratulations went around.

After Clarissa was given congratulations hugs from her colleagues, Nurse Carter, Nurse Abigail Miller, Nurse Tanya Willard, Nurse Stephanie Moss all smiled and laughed as they looked at Clarissa.

"I guess we're forming a pregnancy pact because I'm currently eight-weeks pregnant," laughed Nurse Carter.

"I'm 10-weeks pregnant," said Nurse Miller.

"I guess that there's a baby boom here because I'm currently nine-weeks pregnant," laughed Nurse Moss.

The head nurse who was also Diana's godmother Janet Powell shook her head as she looked at Clarissa, Alyssa, Abigail, Tanya, and Stephanie who were all getting hugs from other nurses.

"When it comes finding out that you five young ladies are pregnant, I just wonder if there's something in the water here because there are five other nurses who just started the second trimester of their pregnancies," smiled Nurse Powell causing everyone to smile.

"Knowing Spence he would tell us that it's scientifically impossible for there to be something in the water to help get 10 nurses including me pregnant at the same time," said Clarissa.

"I know," said Nurse Powell as she smiled at Clarissa, Abigail, Abigail, Tanya, and Stephanie, "Congratulations to you and your husbands, ladies. I hope you ladies know that there will be restrictions coming up as you ladies get further along in your pregnancies," said Nurse Powell as she ordered everyone to get back to work.

Before she got back to work, Clarissa quickly sent a text to her husband.

PLEASE STAY SAFE AND I JUST FOUND OUT THAT THERE'S A BABY BOOM GOING ON AT CHILDREN'S NATIONAL BECAUSE THERE ARE 10 NURSES (INCLUDING ME) THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THE FIRST OR SECOND TRIMESTER OF THEIR PREGNANCIES TOO! I LOVE YOU. ~ CR

Xxxxxxxx 

Meanwhile in New Jersey, Spencer was in an SUV with his brother-in-law and JJ when his personal cell phone vibrated causing him to laugh at Clarissa's text message.

"What's so funny?" asked Hotch.

"There's a current baby boom going on at Children's National because there are 10 nurses who are either in the first or second trimester of their pregnancies," said Spencer.

JJ smiled.

"There must be something in the water at Children's National to cause a baby boom like this," said JJ.

Spencer thought about the baby that Clarissa is currently three or four-weeks pregnant with.

"Even though its scientifically impossible, I have to agree," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer thought of his 10-month-old son and Jack as he grimly taped a picture of seven-year-old Kyle Murphy onto the clear evidence board when JJ entered the area that they were given to work in and addressed him and his brother-in-law.

"After the first two abductions, Cherry Hill compiled a list of registered sex offenders in Camden County," said JJ as she placed the stack of papers that contained information on the sex offenders onto the table by Hotch, "There are 439 within a 30-mile radius of where the boys were taken. They have been knocking on doors, conducting interviews. They haven't been able to come up with anything," said JJ as she watched the two brothers-in-law go through the stack of papers.

"They should have called us in earlier," said Hotch as he glanced at his brother-in-law, "There are a lot of these men we can eliminate right away," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded at his brother-in-law.

"Right," said Spencer as he walked to one of the boxes that he and Hotch brought in and pulled a marker out.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"No one new to the area. This unsub knows these neighborhoods. That takes time," said Hotch as he watched his brother-in-law quickly write on the clear board, "Victims are three boys, so cross off anyone who targets females," said Hotch.

JJ quickly pulled the papers on the female sex offenders in the area while Spencer continued to write on the board.

"We can eliminate anyone whose preferential age is over seven or under 11," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at the notepad in front of him.

"These boys look nothing alike, so discount suspects who have a very specific type. If the victims have only brown or blond hair, they're off the list. Our unsub's taste of more broad," said Hotch while JJ removed a bunch of the files.

"It looks like his preference is based more on age instead of physical characteristics," said Spencer as he continued to write on the board.

Hotch looked at JJ.

"Let's make a special pile for more organized offenders, anyone who's been arrested for stalking, uh, breaking and entering, burglary," said Hotch as he looked at his brother-in-law who was nodding along.

Spencer looked at JJ.

"How are we doing so far?" asked Spencer.

JJ removed a bunch of the files as she looked at the two brothers-in-law.

"With these parameters, I can probably cross off half the names," said JJ.

"Good. Let's keep going," said Hotch before he, his brother-in-law, and JJ got back to work.

Xxxxxxxx 

While JJ left to get herself coffee, Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"When it comes to you mentioning that there are 10 nurses currently pregnant at the hospital where my sister works at, I assume that my sister is one of those nurses?" asked Hotch quietly.

Spencer blushed as he realized that his brother-in-law knew him just as good as Clarissa does.

"Clarissa is either three or four-weeks pregnant, but we'll be finding out how long she is in two weeks," said Spencer quietly before looking at his brother-in-law, "Are you mad that I knocked up your sister again so soon?" asked Spencer quietly.

Hotch smiled as he shook his head.

"Not at all because my little sister always dreamed of having four or more children when she was a kid and I'm glad that your willing to fulfill my sister's wish," said Hotch quietly.

Spencer became serious as he thought about Evan's first birthday party happening the day before Evan's 1st birthday.

"Can you please keep the news a secret because Clarissa and I are planning on announcing the pregnancy to everyone during Evan's first birthday party in 54 days," said Spencer.

"Your secret is safe with me, and I hope that Clarissa won't be mad about me knowing," said Hotch quietly.

"Knowing Clarissa, she won't be upset with you knowing because you've been talking about wanting another niece or nephew to spoil in front of us," said Spencer quietly before he and his brother-in-law got back to work.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was laying five files on sex offenders in the area when Emily, Morgan, Rossi, and Detective Lancaster joined them causing Hotch to look at his fiancée, Morgan, Rossi, and Detective Lancaster.

"We've narrowed the list to five men," said Hotch.

"Already?" asked Detective Lancaster.

Spencer taped a picture of one of the sex offenders onto the board.

"Registered sex offender Hugh Rollins, 43, lived in Camden County his whole life, in an out of foster care since he was a toddler, and acquired quite the nice rap sheet," said Spencer as he made eye contact with everyone.

Morgan thought about the babies that his wife being 29-weeks pregnant with twins as he looked at Spencer, JJ, and Hotch.

"What's his connection to the victims?" asked Morgan.

JJ fiddled with the pen in her hand.

"Two years ago he got a steady job installing TVs," said JJ.

"Have any of the families purchased a new TV?" asked Emily.

"The first two did. Garcia found something else," said JJ as she pointed at a photo of Hugh, "Rollins had no cell or bank activity on the days the boys were abducted," said JJ.

"We haven't been able to connect Rollins to Kyle yet," said Hotch.

"So, what, we're gonna wait for more evidence?" asked Morgan.

"No, there isn't time. We have sufficient probable cause," said Hotch.

"Let's go pick him up," said Rossi.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was donning his latex-free gloves as he walked up the stairs in the Murphy family home with Rossi.

"If he came in through the basement, this would have been his second flight of stairs," said Rossi.

"So Kyle's is the first room he comes to," said Spencer as they reached the top of the stairs before entering Kyle's bedroom causing the 27 and a half-year-old genius to look around the destroyed bedroom while thinking about the toys that were in Diana's and Bridget's bedroom and Evan's nursery, "This wasn't a quiet struggle. He probably knocked Kyle unconscious," said Spencer.

Rossi nodded.

"Then carried him back downstairs," said Rossi.

Spencer noticed an open door to another room.

"What's through there?" asked Spencer as he tilted his head towards the room.

"Danny's room," said Rossi.

Spencer made his way to the open door with Rossi following him.

"It's interesting. Another few feet and he would have found Danny," said Spencer as he entered Danny's bedroom and noticed how clean the bedroom was while thinking about Danny being nine-years-old, "Danny's far more age appropriate for Rollins' preference. He's closer to the first two victims than Kyle is," said Spencer,

"If he'd been stalking these families, he would have known that," said Rossi.

Spencer noticed that both the bottom and top bunk of Danny's bunk bed was used.

"It's weird," said Spencer as he walked to Danny's bunk bed.

Rossi thought about how clean Danny's bedroom is.

"What, a neat nine-year-old?" asked Rossi.

"Well, that, and most kids either pick a top or a bottom bunk," said Spencer as he crouched down and looked at the bottom bunk, "Both beds are slept in," said Spencer as he looked up and noticed the same type of glow in the dark stars that were also in Diana's and Bridget's bedroom, "The top bunk blocks the view of the stars, and there's nothing decorative down here," said Spencer as he examined the bottom of the top bunk.

"It's Danny's room. He probably sleeps up top," said Rossi as he crouched down by Spencer.

Spencer moved the top sheet and blanket back and noticed a wet spot on the bottom bunk causing him to think about both Diana and Bridget occasionally wetting the bed because of not waking up to use the bathroom.

"Somebody wet the bed. You know, maybe Danny started in the bottom bunk, wet the bed, and then moved up top?" asked Spencer.

Rossi grabbed a stuffed animal and looked inside the file in his hands before showing Spencer a picture of Kyle with his stuffed dog.

"This is Kyle's," said Rossi.

Spencer exchanged glances with Rossi before he grabbed the pajama bottoms that were on the floor and looked at the size on them.

"It's size 6. Kyle slept in here last night. If he didn't sleep in his room, why was it destroyed?" asked Spencer as he looked at Rossi.

Rossi nodded.

"To make it look like the other crime scenes," said Rossi before looking at Spencer, "Your brother-in-law was right about you being the fresh eyes we needed to look around here and determine if Kyle is one of Huge Rollins's victims," said Rossi.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"Hotch and I were able to narrow down the list of sex offenders in the area to half of them in under a minute before we narrowed it down to five possible suspects," said Spencer.

Rossi whistled.

"Knowing your brother-in-law for nearly eight and a half years has its perks because you and Aaron are showing signs of making a much better working pair than Jason and I were when the Behavioral Science Unit was first formed," said Rossi before he and Spencer decided to head back to the station.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was sitting at the conference table while feeling saddened about not being able to save Kyle when his brother-in-law joined him, Emily, JJ, Morgan, and Morgan.

"I just talked to Rollins. He said he dumped Kyle's body in the river. He's clearly lying. He doesn't have any connection to that boy," said Hotch.

Emily looked at her teammates.

"The disposal of Kyle's body is very different from the other two. He was gently placed on the ground, neatly laid to rest with his hands by his sides. Rollins discarded these two boys like trash," said Emily.

Spencer noticed Rossi gesturing him to speak.

"We think Kyle may not have slept in his room last night," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Where do you think he was?" asked Hotch.

"I think in his brother's room. Danny has bunk beds. Both bunks were slept in, and whoever slept in the bottom one wet the bed and left Kyle's bear," said Spencer.

"So do we think someone destroyed Kyle's room to make it look like he was abducted like the other two victims?" asked Morgan.

Hotch looked around the room and glanced at every officer before looking at his team.

"Who else knows the details of all three cases?" asked Hotch quietly.

Rossi thought about Detective Lancaster's behavior.

"Lancaster," said Rossi quietly.

Hotch looked at Morgan.

"Morgan, call Garcia and see what she can find out about Lancaster that we don't already know," said Hotch before looking at his brother-in-law and fiancée, "Reid and Prentiss, watch the video of the press conference. See if you can find anything," said Hotch quietly.

Rossi looked at Hotch.

"Want me to talk to Rollins again?" asked Rossi quietly.

"Yes," said Hotch before giving his brother-in-law, fiancée, Morgan, and Rossi each a look, "And I don't have to remind anybody where we are. Please be discreet," said Hotch quietly.

A second later Spencer was closing the file in front of him and got up and followed Emily.

Xxxxxxxx 

A disturbed Spencer watched Detective Lancaster and Kyle's and Danny's parents talk about the events that happened with his brother-in-law and Morgan when JJ joined them with Kyle's autopsy report.

"Kyle Murphy's autopsy report," said JJ as she passed the reports to Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan.

Morgan looked at his teammates as he read the report.

"Two postmortem hits to the head," read Morgan.

Hotch looked at the report in his hands.

"First one was shallow. Clearly, he hesitated," said a disturbed Hotch.

An equally disturbed Spencer realized what Detective Lancaster did as he quickly read the report.

"Lancaster had to hit Kyle to make the wounds consistent with Rollins' victims," said Spencer softly.

Hotch looked towards the room that contained Detective Lancaster.

"I'm glad he spared them that part of his story," said Hotch.

A disturbed JJ looked at Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan.

"Look on the second page," said JJ.

Spencer quickly flipped the page and quickly read the report as he became disturbed at the mention of part of the airplane being stuffed into Kyle's throat.

"Prentiss needs to see this," said Hotch grimly.

Xxxxxxxx 

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law during the quick flight home from New Jersey.

"Are you OK?" asked Hotch.

"When it comes to having three kids, a cat, and a dog; I'm just grateful that Diana loves her little siblings and pets and that she never gets mad if her siblings break any of her toys or projects," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled a bit as he thought about his five-year-old niece.

"She reminds me of Clarissa when Clarissa was five-years-old," said Hotch before thinking about Danny Murphy's behavior, "If one of my nieces or nephew accidentally killed one of their siblings, would you turn that child in instead of disrespecting your badge and cover up the accidental killing?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Even though my heart would be broken for losing two children in one day, I would follow the law by turning that child to the authorities instead of doing what the Murphy family and Detective Lancaster did," said Spencer.

"Do you know how that BA in psychology my sister's been working on for nearly two years is coming along?" asked Hotch.

Spencer smiled as he thought about how Clarissa insisted on starting on a BA in psychology online right after she finished her master's in nursing because of his abduction and torture and occasionally having to deal with autistic children like Bridget as her way to keep herself busy while he's on cases.

"Even though she's a mother who works full time, her degree is coming along really well because she was allowed to work on her degree when she didn't tend to children at Washington International School last year," said Spencer.

"And knowing you, you've been editing the papers she had to write while helping her prepare for exams," said Hotch.

Spencer blushed a bit while Hotch smiled a bit.

"Clarissa likes it when you help her with her papers and prepare for her exams and I'm glad that your supportive of Clarissa when it comes to her continuing her education," said Hotch before he and Spencer started to talk about how Diana is going to spend her upcoming summer vacation.

Xxxxx 

Over two hours later, Spencer looked at the clock while thinking about the current temperature outside as he took his dirty plate to the sink.

"I feel like going for a run in the neighborhood," said Spencer before looking at his three children, "What do you guys think about joining daddy for a run through the neighborhood?" asked Spencer.

"I'll ride my bike next to you, daddy," said Diana.

"I go bye-bye wit Dada," said Bridget.

Spencer looked at his 10-month-old son.

"Do you want to go running with daddy?" asked Spencer.

"Aye," said Evan.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Am I welcome to join so we can push either Bridget or Evan in the single jogging strollers?" asked Clarissa.

"Your welcome to join us because I was thinking about stopping at the park too," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana and Bridget.

"Aye!" exclaimed Evan as he clapped his hands.

Lucy looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"While you two change, I'll get the kids dressed appropriately and slathered in sunblock," said Lucy.

"Thank you," said Spencer and Clarissa in unison.

Xxxxxxxx 

10 minutes later, Clarissa looked at her husband who was pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeved t-shirt.

"Because of you wanting to go running after dinner, I assume you just worked a bad case that caused you to want to run off your frustrations?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, and we'll take about the case after the kids are asleep," said Spencer.

10 minutes later Spencer was pushing a jogging stroller that contained a giggling Bridget, Clarissa was pushing a single jogging stroller that contained a laughing Evan, while Diana rode her bicycle ahead of them in their neighborhood.

Xxxxxxxx 

After putting three exhausted children to bed and taking showers themselves, Spencer and Clarissa were sitting up in their bed with their laptops on their laps as Spencer worked on his BA in philosophy and Clarissa worked on her BA in psychology when Clarissa saved everything that she typed for her current paper and looked at her husband as she shut down her laptop.

"You OK?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer stopped typing the paper he was currently on and saved his work before looking at his wife.

"If any our children got angry at one of their siblings for breaking their toy or project and accidentally killed him or her, would you ask your brother or a law enforcement friend to cover up the accidental killing so you wouldn't lose another child?" asked Spencer as he explained everything.

After listening to her husband, a shocked Clarissa rested a hand on her still flat stomach and spoke up.

"Even though I love Diana, Bridget, Evan, and our unborn child equally and the thought of losing two children to an accidental murder breaks my heart, I wouldn't cover up the murder to protect that said child because actions like that have consequences and we would need to protect the other children," said Clarissa.

"Even though losing two children to an accidental murder would break my heart too, I wouldn't cover the murder up too," said Spencer before resting his hand on Clarissa's still flat stomach, "I can't wait to find out when mommy and I created you next week, little one," said Spencer.

Clarissa rested her hand over her husband's hand as she looked at her husband.

"When it comes to Diana looking like you while having my eyes, Bridget looking like me while having your eyes and curls, and Evan looking like you: who are you hoping that this one looks like?" asked Clarissa.

"Would you believe it that I either want a mini-Clarissa or a male version of you running around this time? asked Spencer.

"I do as long as he or she has your curls," said Clarissa as she ran a hand through her husband's growing curly hair.


	69. Roadkill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amplification is next and after Amplification get ready for a bunch of non-episode related chapters which will all deal with family fluff before I do To Hell, And Back, and my AU version of Nameless Faceless before I write more non-episode related chapters which will deal with Spencer's and Hotch's medical leave.
> 
> When it comes to the length of Spencer's hair in this chapter, think about how his hair was cut in If the Shoe Fits. Here's a heads up that Clarissa will never allow Spencer's hair to grow as long as it did in season 5 but Spencer will still be getting that awesome haircut he had in The Internet is Forever and very short hair during the episode JJ.
> 
> This chapter starts a week after the last chapter.

Dr. Larson was studying the monitor and calculated the measurements of Baby Reid before turning to look at Spencer and Clarissa and smiled.

"I want to extend my congratulations to you two because you are definitely pregnant, Clarissa," said Dr. Larson.

Spencer and Clarissa grinned.

"Am I five-weeks pregnant?" asked Clarissa.

"Is Clarissa four-weeks pregnant?" asked Spencer.

Dr. Larson shook his head as he realized that one of his favorite patients made a bet with her husband before he looked at Clarissa.

"If you two made a bet on how far you are, your husband won," said Dr. Larson.

Spencer grinned while Clarissa shook her head.

"I really need to stop making bets with my Las Vegas native husband," grumbled Clarissa.

Spencer smirked at his wife as he already started formulating his plans on what he wanted Clarissa to do before he realized the due date of his fourth child being around the same date that Diana was supposed to be born on.

"Baby Reid has nearly the same due date as Diana, and I bet you that our fourth child will be born on Diana's sixth birthday," grinned Spencer.

Clarissa shook her head.

"I doubt that Baby Reid will be born on Diana's birthday, but I think this time Baby Reid will be born on Christmas," said Clarissa before smirking, "I take it that you want to make another bet and hope that you win again?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smirked.

"Yes," said Spencer.

"And the winner of this bet gets to pick out the name for the baby," said Clarissa.

Spencer smirked.

"You're on," said Spencer as he shook hands with his wife.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that evening, Spencer entered the master bedroom after putting Diana to bed to find Clarissa on her laptop working on her BA in psychology.

"Is Diana finally asleep?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"Yes and I took Bridget to the bathroom too," said Spencer before smirking at his wife, "Are you tired?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa looked up from her laptop.

"No," said Clarissa.

Spencer smirked as he felt his body start to react at the dirty thoughts that he was having.

"Then its time for you to do the punishment I decided for you losing the bet," said Spencer.

Clarissa quickly saved her work on her laptop before shutting it down.

"What are you going to have me to?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer started to shift on his feet again as he watched his wife put her laptop in its case.

"Remember the show I put on for you on your birthday?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded as she thought about the stripping show Spencer put on for her as she noticed the tent that was starting to form in her husband's pants causing her to smirk.

"You want me to return the favor?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smirked.

"Yep," said Spencer as he also explained what else he wanted to do.

A minute later Clarissa was restraining her husband to the headboard of their bed before she went into their walk-in closet and started to put on more layers of clothing before she exited the closet and made sure that their bedroom door was locked before she started her show for her husband.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day Spencer was in his brother-in-law's office passing his brother-in-law a wrapped gift.

"Clarissa told me to give you this as something to help you smile while you work," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law who recently got his hair cut two weeks ago for the family portrait to a length that reached the bottom of his ears while his messy curls were still present.

"I assume that your giving me one of the family portraits that was recently done?" asked Hotch.

"Yep," said Spencer as he popped the P.

Hotch unwrapped the picture frame and started to laugh as he looked at the picture of Spencer and Clarissa kissing each other while Spencer held a laughing Diana upside down, Clarissa held a laughing Bridget upside, and a laughing Evan sitting on the floor between his parents and sisters.

"Now that's hilarious," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"We had fun having that photo taken and I already put a copy of that photo onto my desk," said Spencer before smiling at his brother-in-law as he reached into his messenger bag and passed Hotch an ultrasound photo, "Clarissa finally had a sonogram and you'll see how far along is your sister," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled as he looked at the sonogram photo before seeing that his sister was four weeks along.

"Didn't you and my sister make a bet on how far she is?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"And I won," said Spencer.

"What are you going to make my sister do?" asked Hotch.

Spencer blushed causing Hotch to realize what's most likely going to happen.

"Please don't answer because we're talking about my sister," said Hotch before doing some math, "I assume that my newest niece's or nephew's due date is around the time that Diana was supposed to be due?" asked Hotch.

"Yep," said Spencer before popping the P and grinned, "Other than Clarissa telling me that getting another son or daughter is the only Christmas gift I'm getting from her this year, Clarissa and I already started a bet on when the baby is going to be born," said Spencer.

"What was your answer?" asked Hotch.

"I believe that the baby will be born on Diana's sixth birthday and Clarissa believes that the baby will be born on Christmas," said Spencer.

"So what will the winner of the bet get to do?" asked Hotch.

"Pick the baby's name as soon as the baby is born," said Spencer.

"Do you care about what the gender is?" asked Hotch.

"When it comes to having two daughters and one son, I don't care about what the gender is as long as the baby's healthy, but I wouldn't mind for a little boy who looks like Clarissa," said Spencer.

Hotch gestured to his brother-in-law's shorter hair while thinking about how his nieces and nephew all inherited their father's curls.

"With your curls too?" asked Hotch.

"Clarissa and I are both hoping that the baby inherits my curls," said Spencer.

"I don't care if I'm getting another niece or nephew as long as the baby's healthy too," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that evening, Emily looked at her teammates as she sat down.

"An unsub that kills with his car. I haven't seen that before," said Emily.

JJ pulled a few pictures up on the monitor.

"Neither have the police in Bend, Oregon. Which is why they need our help," said JJ.

Hotch looked at his teammates, brother-in-law, and fiancée.

"Two victims in the last 12 days," said Hotch.

"First was hit while on a morning jog- Maria Delgado, 23. The second was a stranded motorist, Shannon Makely, 43," said JJ.

"And what makes the locals think that they were connected?" asked Morgan.

JJ pulled up a picture of tire marks on the road.

"Well, for one thing, they were both backed over after the initial impact," said JJ.

"No accident there," said Rossi.

"They matched treads at both scenes. Large wheels, all-terrain," said Hotch.

JJ pulled up another picture.

"Wounds also indicate a raised bumper, so they're thinking large SUV or truck," said JJ.

Spencer looked at JJ.

"Do they know the model or make?" asked Spencer.

JJ shook her head.

"Uh, tires aren't factory issue. They could be on a number of different models," said JJ.

"No witnesses to either incident?" asked Emily.

JJ shook her head.

"A hit-and-run is loud, draws attention. Somebody usually sees something," said Rossi.

"Both victims were attacked in secluded areas," said JJ.

"Two tons of metal make a hell of a weapon," said Morgan.

Spencer shifted in his chair.

"Serial killers have been known to become rather attached to their vehicles. Bittaker and Norris even have theirs a nickname," said Spencer.

"Murder Mac," said Rossi.

"Bittaker and Norris were sexual sadists. There's no sign of torture here," said Hotch.

Emily shook her head.

"It sounds like thrill kills. Opportunistic," said Emily.

"Easy targets randomly selected," said Rossi.

Morgan looked at the crime scene photo in his hand.

"With this type of impact, the vehicle shouldn't be hard to pick out of a lineup," said Morgan.

"Yeah, there should be significant front-end damage," said Spencer.

"Somehow I don't think it's gonna be that easy," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at his teammates.

"Wheels up at 8 AM tomorrow morning, so please get a good night's sleep so we can hit the ground running," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Emily set down the crime scene photo she was looking at and looked at her fiance, soon to be brother-in-law, and teammates.

"Well, I think it's safe to assume our unsub is male," said Emily.

"I agree with you, given what we know about aggressive driving and road rage," said Hotch.

"And the fact that men have an unnatural bond with their cars," stated Emily.

JJ held up a finger and nodded.

"That is true," said JJ.

Morgan looked at his two female teammates.

"Wait a minute. I don't know about unnatural," said Morgan.

JJ looked at Morgan.

"I once dated a guy who washed his car more than he washed his hair," said JJ.

"A nice car needs love," said Rossi while Morgan nodded in agreement.

Spencer and Hotch both exchanged amused looks as they watched JJ and Emily glare at Rossi.

"And a woman doesn't?" asked JJ.

"I'm not qualified to answer that," said Rossi causing everyone to laugh.

"I'm just saying, big car-it's phallic," said Emily.

"So he's compensating?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Or overcompensating," said Spencer.

"Impotent?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"Possibly. If the unsub sees himself as physically defective, the car not only gives him the power and control he otherwise lacks, but it also serves as a shield," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law while thinking about how long it took for Spencer not to flinch whenever he squeezed Spencer's arm, shoulder, or hugged him.

"A way to avoid physical contact?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Power and control, female victims- that almost reads like a rape profile," said Emily.

"Vehicular rape," said Rossi.

"Rape and thrill kill are two very different profiles," said Morgan.

"What does the victimology tell us?" asked Hotch.

"Nothing yet. Shannon Makely was a white, married, 43-year-old committees trader, Maria Delgado was a 23-year-old Hispanic grad student, competitive tri-athlete," said JJ.

"So far, gender's our only link. Hopefully, the crime scenes will tell us more," said Hotch.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"When it comes to your classic car in the garage, what does Clarissa think about the care you do it keep it running?" asked Rossi.

"She understands about my need to take care of my Volvo because other than books and pictures, its one of the last pieces of my mother and I might give the car to Diana when she turns 16 and earns her driver's license," said Spencer as he fiddled with the watch on his wrist, "Even though I love the watch Clarissa got me for our third wedding anniversary, she understands that I like to wear the watch that once belonged to my father every day while I wear the watch she got me during our date nights," said Spencer.

"Have you drove Diana around in that car yet?" asked Morgan.

Spencer shook his head.

"I'm not driving her around in my Volvo until she no longer needs to ride around in a booster seat," said Spencer before looking at his brother-in-law, "Clarissa and I are planning on taking the kids down to Manassas after church on the 10th to visit your mother's grave, and Clarissa is wondering if your wanting to come along," said Spencer.

"Because of it being Mother's Day that day, I'll join you, my sister, and the kids," said Hotch before looking at his brother-in-law, "Jack is excited about giving the gift he made to Clarissa," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled at the mention of his nephew.

"Knowing Clarissa, she'll love Jack's gift because she always loves the gifts that the kids and I give her for Mother's Day," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer was working on his geographical profile as he listened to his brother-in-law talk.

"He may have specifically targeted these women," said Hotch.

"That takes thrill kill off the table," said Rossi.

"Because the murders were planned in advance?" asked Detective Quinn.

Spencer turned around from his geographical profile and looked at his brother-in-law, Rossi, and Detective Quinn.

"Yeah. This type of stalking behavior indicates a personal motive. There's a reason he chose these victims," said Spencer.

"So you think he knows them?" asked Detective Quinn.

Spencer nodded.

"Well, he knew their work schedules, jogging routes, drive patterns," said Hotch.

"That would explain how he knew where to strike," said Spencer.

"It explains the Delgado girl. She was on a run. But he couldn't have known Shannon Makely's car was gonna break down out there," said Detective Quinn.

Spencer crossed his arms while Rossi looked at Detective Quinn.

"Did you look at her car?" asked Rossi.

"Guys at impound said the water pump blew. They said it's a common enough problem," said Detective Quinn.

Rossi looked at Hotch.

"Maybe we should take a closer look," said Rossi.

"Why don't you head over there, let me know what you find out," said Hotch.

Rossi got up and walked away while Emily joined them.

"Shannon Makely's husband is here," said Emily.

Spencer looked at his watch and noticed that it was currently after 3 PM causing the 27-year-old genius to look at his brother-in-law.

"Mind if I call home?" asked Spencer.

Hotch looked at his watch and realized that it would be right after 3 PM in Washington DC.

"Going to see how Diana's day at school went?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"I promised her during breakfast that we'll talk after she got home from school," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled a bit as he thought about how devoted Spencer was on Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan while making sure to talk to his grandparents too if there's time.

"Go ahead," said Hotch before he and Emily walked away.

Detective Quinn looked at Spencer.

"How many kids do you have?" asked Detective Quinn.

Spencer pulled out his wallet and showed Detective Quinn the professional portrait of Diana, Bridget, and Evan together.

"I have three kids and Diana is five-years-old, Bridget will be 21-months-old on the seventh, and Evan will be 11-months-old on the 15th," said Spencer as he passed the portrait to Detective Quinn.

Detective Quinn looked at the picture of the happy elementary school student, toddler, and baby boy.

"They're cute and your son looks just like you," said Detective Quinn.

Spencer grinned.

"Thanks and Diana and Bridget both have me wrapped around their fingers while Evan has my wife wrapped around his finger," said Spencer before grinning even more, "Evan ended up being my Father's Day gift last year because he was born on Father's Day," said Spencer just as his personal phone rang causing Spencer to answer without looking at the caller ID, "Hello," said Spencer.

"Hi daddy," said Diana.

Spencer grinned at the upbeat sound of his daughter's voice.

"Did you have a good day at school, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"I did and I glazed the clay pot I sculpted in art class today and it's in the kiln at school," said Diana.

Spencer grinned as he thought about the little projects he did with Diana, Bridget, and Evan for the upcoming Mother's Day holiday.

"Are you going to show me the clay pot you made in art class before Mother's Day?" asked Spencer.

"I will, daddy," said Diana before thinking about the upcoming weekend, "If your home on Saturday or Sunday, can we please go to the International Spy Museum?" asked Diana.

Spencer grinned.

"We sure can," said Spencer.

"Can we invite grandma Lydia, grandpa Evan, Maeve, Jacob, Abigail, and Isaac too?" asked Diana.

"If I'm not home by tomorrow, you can ask them during Shabbat tomorrow," said Spencer.

"OK, daddy," said Diana before she started to talk about what she learned at school and what she did during gym and recess.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was going through some files when Hotch walked over.

"How's it going?" asked Hotch.

"Well, we're down to an older model, black, American made. Sounds like he de-badged the truck so nobody could I.D.," said Morgan.

Detective Quinn looked at Hotch.

"I can start a list from DMV matching what we've got," said Detective Quinn.

"A list like that's gonna kill a lot of trees," said Morgan.

Hotch nodded in agreement.

"He's right. The truck's only gonna get us so far. What we need to do is build on the profile," said Hotch.

Spencer thought about his own Ph. D. in engineering causing him to become mechanically inclined.

"Well, he's mechanically inclined. He certainly knows his way around an engine block," said Spencer.

"And he can pull a dent, too, if he's fixing the body damage to his truck," said Emily.

"Both victims were killed during private office hours. It means he has a flexible work schedule," said Hotch.

"Or he might not be working at all. Stalking someone, getting to know their schedule, it's a pretty serious time commitment," said Spencer.

Detective Quinn nodded.

"8% of the state's out of work," said Detective Quinn.

"And job loss is a classic stressor," said Morgan.

"It's a start," said Hotch before looking at Detective Quinn, "Look for men who are employed as mechanics, body shops, and look for those with criminal records- Reckless driving and assault," instructed Hotch.

Detective Quinn nodded before walking away.

"Two murders in two weeks? It's not much of a cooling-off period," said Emily.

"He's not gonna wait for another opportunity to present itself," said Hotch.

"Now he'll create one," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer looked at the latest crime scene with Emily, Rossi, and Detective Quinn.

"Impact nearly cut him in two. His name is Victor Costella, podiatrist. He works in the building," said Detective Quinn.

Emily thought about the change in victimology.

"Male victim," said Emily.

Spencer looked at Emily, Rossi, and Detective Quinn.

"So much for the vehicular rape theory," said Spencer.

Detective Quinn thought about the report he was given.

"He ran down from the level above to try to get away," said Detective Quinn.

Rossi pointed at the level where the victim's car is.

"Initial collision was up there?" asked Rossi causing Detective Quinn to nod, "Let's see it," said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer was looking at Victor's car and realized that it was the same brand of car that the other victims own.

"This is the victim's car?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah. Why?" asked Detective Quinn.

Spencer pulled out his work phone and dialed his speed number for Garcia.

"Uh, excuse me for a second," said Spencer before walking away, "Garcia, I need you to look into something," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer got off the phone and made his way over to Emily, Rossi, and Detective Quinn.

"Guys, I think I know what connects the victims," said Spencer.

"What connects them?" asked Detective Quinn.

"I only want to explain once, so why don't we head back to the station," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer pointed at the crime scene photos.

"All of the victims drove red two-door Coupes," said Spencer.

"Don't you think that could be a coincidence?" asked Detective Quinn.

"It's statistically significant," said Spencer.

"We haven't been able to find any other common denominators," said JJ.

"If the unsub is targeting people because of their cars, then his initial contact with them would have been on the road," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded with his brother-in-law's reasoning.

"Exactly," said Spencer.

"I spoke to the families about the victims' daily car travel, how they got to work, the gym," said JJ.

Spencer thought about the geographical profile he did.

"There's one road all the victims have in common," said Spencer.

Detective Quinn looked at the geographical profile that Spencer did.

"Route 7," said Detective Quinn grimly.

Hotch looked at Detective Quinn.

"That mean something to you?" asked Hotch.

"Maybe we should take a drive," said Detective Quinn.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Let's go, Reid," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer stood at the edge of the road and looked down at the passing cars as Detective Quinn looked at Spencer and Hotch.

"Anyone living outside Bend who commutes toward Eugene uses Route 7. It's the most dangerous stretch of highway in the state. They call it "suicide 7."," said Detective Quinn.

Spencer noticed the amount of crosses along the road causing him to think about the cross that was placed in the spot where his parents and uncle Daniel was killed in Las Vegas and the cross that was along the road where his aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon were killed on the highway between New York City and New Haven.

"These crosses represent accidents?" asked Spencer.

"Fatalities. The fire chief put them up to remind drivers to be careful," said Detective Quinn.

Spencer looked at the road.

"Two lanes, no dividers. I'm assuming there's a lot of head-on collisions," said Spencer.

"Either that or they go off the side," said Detective Quin.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Reid, you mentioned the possibility of a physical limitation, something that kept the unsub from attacking in the traditional way," said Hotch.

"Yeah, I was thinking about impotence, but we've ruled out sexual motivation," said Spencer.

"What if he'd been involved in a crash?" asked Hotch.

Spencer realized what his brother-in-law was saying as he looked around the area.

"On this road. If the unsub is disabled, it explains why he uses a truck. It gives him power, mobility," said Spencer as he continued to look around his surroundings.

"But what?" asked Hotch.

"The idea that he's avenging his own physical suffering speaks to a victim mentality that's inconsistent with the profile," said Spencer.

"Maybe it's not just about his own suffering," said Hotch just as Spencer's personal phone vibrated causing Spencer to pull out his phone and smile at a picture of Diana, Bridget, and Evan together from Lucy causing Hotch to look at his brother-in-law, "A picture of my nieces and nephew?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded as he showed his brother-in-law the picture he was sent causing Hotch to smile a bit.

"I can't believe that my nephew will be turning one in a month and a half and my youngest niece will be two in August," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Me too," said Spencer.

Detective Quinn looked between Spencer and Hotch.

"Are you two brothers-in-law?" asked Detective Quinn.

Hotch nodded.

"I have a little sister who's 27 like Reid here and they started dating each other when they were 19-years-old," said Hotch.

Detective Quinn looked at Spencer as they headed back to the SUV.

"How long have you been married?" asked Detective Quinn.

Spencer smiled.

"Six years, five months, and one day and I ended up meeting my wife eight years, five months, and one day ago when she found me on a park bench in New Haven in tears because of a drunk driver making me an orphan a second time," said Spencer.

"Then cases like this must be hard for you," said Detective Quinn.

Spencer nodded.

"They are, but luckily my wife understands what its like to lose a loved one in a car accident and we talk about our feelings," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer stood by his brother-in-law while Hotch looked at all the officers in the room.

"As we speak, this profile and a description of the unsub's truck are being released to state and national media," started Hotch.

"In addition to what we already know, we believe the unsub is ex-military, most likely army or marines," said Spencer.

"We also believe he's physically handicapped," said Emily.

"From combat?" asked Officer Feder.

"From an automobile accident," said Hotch.

"An accident that may have occurred along Route 7, where the unsub finds his victims," said Emily.

"And that has something to do with why he's going after red Coupes?" asked Detective Quinn.

"We believe that he holds the driver of a comparable vehicle responsible for his accident," said Spencer.

"And this person is the object of his rage, but unable to confront them, he's taking revenge against a surrogate," said Hotch.

Emily gestured to some boxes.

"These boxes contain accident reports from a strip of Route 7 between Bend and Eugene. There's about five years' worth. We're gonna need everyone you can spare to comb through them," said Emily.

Spencer gestured to the whiteboard behind him.

"We've also compiled a list of local rehabilitation facilities where the unsub may have gone to recover. Use the profile as you canvass these places," said Spencer.

"Remember, we're looking for a white male in his early 40s, former military…," said Hotch as he finished giving the profile.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer sat with his brother-in-law and JJ as they listened to Gill Bonner talk about why he believes that the unsub is out for revenge.

"It was late, and I'd spent all day in Eugene with my mom. She'd been sick. I shouldn't have been driving. But I just wanted to get home to see my little girl," said Gil as he noticed the younger male agent smile at the mention of little girl, "It was darker than usual. I remember the moon was just a sliver. Right outside the cascades, my phone started vibrating. And when I went to reach for it, I knocked it off the far side of the seat, and it fell down by the door, and I thought I could reach," said Gil.

"And you took your eyes off the road?" asked JJ.

"If couldn't have been for more than a few seconds. But when I looked back up, there were lights and this horn was blaring. And I swerved at the last second, and then just... Kept on going... Without a scratch," choked Gil.

"You'd gone into the oncoming lane?" asked Hotch.

Gil nodded.

"What happened to the other vehicle?" asked Spencer gently.

"Well, that's the thing. It was in the rear-view mirror and then it was gone. It vanished," said Gil

"Why didn't you stop?" asked Hotch.

"It didn't seem real," said Gil.

"You're saying you just pretended it didn't happen?" asked JJ.

"I guess if you tell yourself something for long enough... You can make anything true," said Gil.

"Well, you're here now. Tell us about the other vehicle," said Hotch.

"It was the truck you're looking for," said Gil grimly.

"How do you know that?" asked Hotch.

"When I saw the news... It all made sense. It's come back for revenge," said Gil grimly.

"When did the accident occur?" asked JJ.

"December '07. The second Saturday," said Gil.

Spencer who was looking over reports looked at his brother-in-law, JJ, and Gil.

"There are no accidents reported in December of 2007," said Spencer as he thought about Bridget being only four-months-old at the time while Clarissa was pregnant with Evan.

A shocked Gil shook his head.

"No. That's... No," said Gil.

"Maybe you have your dates wrong?" asked Hotch.

"It could have been November," said Gil.

Spencer looked at Gil

"Uh, memories are kind of like puzzle pieces, and it's- It's quite possible that in suppressing these for so long, you've sort of rearranged things," said Spencer.

Gil sniffled a bit.

"How long was your mother sick?" asked Hotch.

"Five months," said Gil as tears started to stream down his face, "She... She died in January. That much I know," said Gil.

Xxxxxxxx 

A half-hour later Spencer was fixing himself some coffee when his personal phone vibrated causing Spencer to quickly pull out his personal phone and smile at the picture of Diana, Bridget, and Evan together in front of the Washington Monument with a text message.

WE ALL MISS YOU, DADDY!

Spencer smiled as Detective Quinn walked over.

"A picture of your kids?" asked Detective Quinn.

Spencer nodded.

"My wife and our live-in nanny took the kids to the Washington Monument," said Spencer as he showed Detective Quinn the photo.

Detective Quinn thought about it currently being Saturday and how Spencer didn't even look upset about working on a Saturday.

"It must be hard for you be working on a weekend," said Detective Quinn.

"Its hard because Clarissa and I always make plans with the kids to visit popular kid friendly tourist attractions in Washington DC, but luckily Clarissa doesn't get upset if I have to work during the weekend because she occasionally gets called in on weekends too," said Spencer.

"What does your wife do?" asked Detective Quinn.

"Clarissa is a pediatric nurse at Children's National," said Spencer.

"A noble profession," said Detective Quinn.

Spencer nodded.

"I agree," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer walked towards his brother-in-law, Rossi, and Detective Quinn as he read the file he received on Ian Coakley.

"September 28, 2007, Ian and Sheila Coakley crashed while driving home from Napa Valley going eastbound on Route 7 around midnight," said Spencer as he sat down at the head of the table between his brother-in-law and Rossi, "It appeared their car was run off the road, flipped numerous times, no witnesses," said Spencer.

"His wife was riding in the passenger seat. She died at the scene," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at the file in front of him.

"Coakley survived. Paramedics indicated spinal cord injury," said Hotch.

"Morgan said he fractured his t6 and t7 vertebrae," said Rossi.

Hotch instantly thought about the shattered ankle that his sister had nearly 10-years ago in the car accident that killed his mother.

"He's paraplegic," said Hotch.

"That's not all. He's a former light-wheel mechanic in the Army National Guard," said Spencer.

"Does it say anything about a red car?" asked Detective Quinn.

Hotch looked at the file in front of him.

"No. It says Coakley suffered memory loss after the accident," said Hotch.

"Short-term retrograde amnesia is common after a serious accident," said Spencer.

"I think it's safe to say he remembers now," said Rossi.

"Do we have an address?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah, Garcia's working on that now," said Spencer just as his phone rang causing him to answer his phone and quickly put it on speaker, "You're on speaker, Garcia," said Spencer as he set his phone down on the table.

"OK. The house Coakley and his wife bought was foreclosed on 10 months after his accident," said Garcia.

"Well, there's gotta be a paper trail, then," said Spencer.

"Yeah, and that trail leads to a land called nowhere. Cashed some insurance checks during a stay at Edelman House, but after he left, zilch," said Garcia.

"Any relatives he could be staying with?" asked Hotch.

"No. I tried that. There's no family in the area. My exquisitely educated guess is he's either squatting or subletting with cash," said Garcia.

"What about his truck?" asked Rossi.

"He owns a '79 Dodge D100. He bought it used 10 years ago," said Garcia.

"He's had to rebuild it several times now. Parts can't be easy to find for a truck that old," said Rossi.

"I smell what you're cooking, agent. Checking auto suppliers in Bend," said Garcia as she found something, "Yeah, Rossi gets a fruit cup with lunch. He's having the parts drop-shipped through Syd's Auto and sent directly to an address in Southwest Bend," said Garcia.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer entered the room where his brother-in-law was packing up and his eyes rested on Hotch's taped up cut.

"You do know that your sister is going to kill you when we get back to Quantico," said Spencer.

Hotch winced as he thought about having to face his four-week pregnant sister while Emily already lectured him about his actions.

"You told her?" asked Hotch.

"She told me that I would be forced to sleep on the couch or she would castrate me if I didn't tell her the truth," said Spencer before softening up a bit, "Finding out that you got into an accident caused her to start crying over the phone because you, Clarissa, and Sean are going to be dealing with the 10 year anniversary of the car accident that killed your mother and nearly killed Clarissa in two weeks," said Spencer.

Hotch rubbed his head and looked at his brother-in-law.

"I'll be apologizing to Clarissa," said Hotch.

"You better because she's planning on waiting for us at headquarters despite the late hour we'll be landing," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law while thinking about all the tragedy Spencer had to deal with.

"I'm sorry if I scared you too because I know that it isn't easy for you to deal with loved ones being in car accidents," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer entered the bullpen with his teammates to find Clarissa standing with her arms crossed tapping her foot before her face lit up at the sight of her husband causing her to run over to her husband and hug and kiss him.

"Welcome back and the kids and I missed you," said Clarissa.

Spencer kissed his wife again.

"I missed you and the kids too," said Spencer before yawning a bit and looked at his wife, "How much time do you need with your brother before we head home to the kids?" asked Spencer.

"Just five minutes," said Clarissa before looking at her brother as her eyes lingered on Hotch's taped up cut, "Let's go talk in your office," said Clarissa as she took her brother's hand and led him towards her brother's office.

A minute later JJ, Emily, Garcia, Morgan, and Rossi were all wincing as they heard Clarissa start yelling at her brother causing Spencer to look at his teammates.

"I don't blame Clarissa for being furious at her brother because the 10-year anniversary of the car accident that killed my late mother-in-law and nearly killed Clarissa is happening in two weeks," sighed Spencer as he ran a hand through his shorter curls, "Plus it doesn't help that I lost my parents, aunt, and uncle to car accidents too, so Hotch and I already talked because Hotch knows that cases that deals with car accidents bring up painful memories for me," said Spencer.

Rossi nodded.

"Even though your calling your godparents 'mom' and 'dad' now and getting along with your newly found grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins from your father's side, I know that despite you and Aaron being brother-in-laws, I know that Aaron stepped up as a father figure after Gideon left because he had to do the same for Clarissa and Sean after their father died," said Rossi just as Clarissa and an appropriately chastised Hotch joined them.

"You ready to go home, Spence?" asked Clarissa as she kissed her husband again.

Spencer nodded.

"Yes ma'am," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her watch and saw that it was still Saturday.

"Then lets get going because I decided that we'll go to the earlier service at church because you promised Diana that you'll take her to the International Spy Museum tomorrow and Diana did invite your grandparents, Maeve, Jacob, Isaac, and Abigail when I took the kids over to your grandparents on Friday for Shabbat," said Clarissa.

"At least grandma and grandpa weren't upset with me about not being able to make it," said Spencer.

Clarissa smiled at her husband.

"They weren't upset with you at all because they were glad that you found time to talk to them on the phone while you took a break so you can listen in over the phone," said Clarissa before Spencer yawned again, "Let's get going because Lucy's waiting up for us," said Clarissa as she looped arms with her husband.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law and Emily.

"I'll see you two for dinner tomorrow," said Spencer before looking at the rest of his teammates, "And I'll see the rest of you on Monday," said Spencer before he and his wife headed to the elevators.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning after church, Spencer and Clarissa were walking in step with Spencer's grandparents, Maeve, and Issac with Evan napping in his stroller while Diana, Abigail, and Isaac happily explored the interactive exhibits at the International Spy Museum.


	70. Mother's Day and Amplification Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts on May 10th of 2009. I decided to change the timeline of Amplification by a day so instead of the first anthrax attack happening on May 8th, it ended up happening on May 9th instead because of May 10th being Mother's Day and I didn't want to have Spencer get called in on Mother's Day.
> 
> Clarissa is six-weeks pregnant in this chapter and I decided that the first part of Amplification deserves to be fluffy while the second part deals with the dramatic part of the episode.

Clarissa woke up to being peppered with kisses by Diana, Bridget, and Evan and as soon as she had her glasses on she grinned at her three beautiful children.

"What's up with being woken up with all these kisses?" asked Clarissa.

"Happy Mother's Day, mommy," said Diana as she kissed her mother's cheek.

"Thank you, Diana," said Clarissa before grinning at her youngest daughter while feeling saddened at the thought of Bridget turning two in less than three months, "Good morning, Bridget," said Clarissa.

"Happy Mommy's Day, mommy," said Bridget sweetly as she kissed her mommy's cheek.

"Thank you, Bridget," said Clarissa before looking at her baby boy while being saddened at the thought of her baby turning a year old in over a month, "Good morning, Evan," said Clarissa as she hugged Evan close to her.

"Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama," said Evan before he gave his mommy a sloppy kiss.

"Thank you, Evan," said Clarissa before looking at Diana, "Where's daddy?" asked Clarissa.

"Right here," said Spencer as he came into the master bedroom with a tray filled with a bowl of oatmeal, a bowl of cut-up fresh fruit, toast with peanut butter spread on it, and a cup of her favorite tea, "Here's your breakfast and while you eat breakfast Lucy and I will get the kids dressed for church," said Spencer.

"You are wonderful, Spence," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband.

"I know, but happy Mother's Day, Clarissa," said Spencer before he placed the tray filled with breakfast on the nightstand before scooping up his youngest child, "Let's go get dressed for church while mommy eats the yummy breakfast you guys helped me make," said Spencer as he watched Diana help her little sister get out of bed before the young father headed to Diana's and Bridget's bedroom where Evan's clothes were already waiting.

Xxxxxxxx 

After going to church, attending the potluck barbecue at their church, and visiting Bridget Hotchner's grave; Spencer looked at Clarissa as they cuddled on the couch while Bridget, Evan, and even Diana were taking an afternoon nap.

"After the kids wake up, I want you to just focus on relaxing today while I focus on the kids and I'll make homemade pizza for dinner," said Spencer.

Clarissa licked her lips.

"With a lot of mushrooms?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smiled as he thought of Clarissa loving mushrooms on her pizza just like him and how Diana and Bridget ended up loving mushrooms just like them.

"With a lot of mushrooms," said Spencer.

"You and the kids really spoiled me today," said Clarissa.

"I know, but I love spoiling you on Mother's Day and your birthday," said Spencer.

Clarissa smirked.

"Just like I love spoiling you on Father's Day and your birthday," said Clarissa.

Spencer rested a hand on Clarissa's six-week pregnant stomach.

"How are you feeling?" asked Spencer.

"I'm feeling pretty great because I didn't get sick at all from the smell of breakfast and lunch today," said Clarissa.

"You still want to wait until June 14th to tell everyone else about the baby?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"I'll be around 11-weeks pregnant that day," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband just as they heard a voice.

"Ewww," giggled Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa broke out of their kiss so Spencer could get off the couch and grab Diana and start peppering the five-year-old girl with kisses while Clarissa laughed until tears fell down her face.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer woke up to his alarm going off at 5:15 AM and less than a minute later Spencer was pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt just as Clarissa shot out of bed and ran into the bathroom where she started to vomit into the toilet causing Spencer to hold back his wife's hair. After Clarissa was done throwing up, she was at the sink brushing her teeth and she finished she looked at her husband.

"Stupid morning sickness," grumbled Clarissa.

"At least we know that the baby is healthy," said Spencer.

"I know," said Clarissa before taking in the sight of her husband wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, "Going to fit in a run again?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded as his ear length curly hair bounced.

"I am, but are you up to go running?" asked Spencer.

"I am because I want to take advantage of Lucy sleeping in the guest bedroom so we could squeeze in a morning run," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were exiting their house as they started to run through their neighborhood.

Xxxxxxxx 

45 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa exited the master bathroom dressed in the clothes that they were going to wear for work when Spencer's work phone rang causing Spencer to quickly make his way to his phone and answered it.

"Dr. Spencer Reid," answered Spencer.

"We have a case and no go bag is needed, but please get to Quantico ASAP," said JJ before hanging up.

Spencer sighed and looked at Clarissa.

"I have to leave for work now," said Spencer.

"Its OK, Spence," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband, "Please stay safe," said Clarissa.

"I'll try," said Spencer before thinking about Diana, Bridget, and Evan who were all still asleep in their beds or crib, "I should probably go give the kids each a kiss," said Spencer.

"I shall go make you coffee and fix you some toast with some peanut butter," said Clarissa as she quickly left the master bedroom.

Less than a minute later Spencer was in Evan's nursery giving his still sleeping nearly 11-month-old son a quick diaper change before kissing him.

"Daddy loves you, tadpole," said Spencer before he placed his sleeping son back in his crib before heading to Diana's and Bridget's bedroom and smiled at the sight of his two sleeping daughters and gave them each a kiss and told them he loved them.

A minute later Spencer entered the kitchen to find Clarissa pouring coffee into a to go mug and a piece of toast with peanut butter already spread on it.

"I already added sugar and opened the garage and started your car," said Clarissa as she grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl and passed it to her husband.

"Thank you," said Spencer as he gave his wife one last kiss, "I love you," said Spencer.

"Love you too," said Clarissa as she watched her husband grab his coffee and breakfast before rushing into the garage where his car was already started.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over an hour later, Spencer quickly exited the elevator with Morgan and Emily trailing behind them as he turned his head and looked at them.

"Case must be local. JJ said not to bring a go bag," said Spencer.

Morgan instantly noticed men and women wearing army fatigues.

"What's the army doing here?" asked Morgan.

"What the hell is going on?" asked Emily as she, Spencer, and Morgan all stopped walking.

A minute later Spencer entered the conference room to see a female doctor getting pills set into small cups while JJ was putting cups of water aside looked at him, Emily, and Morgan.

"Guys, this is Dr. Linda Kimura, Chief of Special Pathogens with the CDC," said JJ as Hotch and Emily entered the room.

Spencer gave his brother-in-law a questioning glance while Emily looked at Dr. Kimura.

"Hello," said Emily.

"Hello. I'm sorry to meet under these circumstances," said Dr. Kimura.

"What circumstances?" asked Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law, fiancée, and teammates.

"We need to get started," said Hotch.

JJ looked at her teammates.

"Last night, 25 people checked into emergency rooms in and around Annapolis," said JJ as she watched Spencer quickly go through the file in front of him, "They were all at the same park after 2 PM. yesterday. Within 10 hours, the first victim died. It's now just past 7 AM. The next day, we have 12 dead," said JJ.

Morgan who was reading a file looked at everyone.

"Lung failure and black lesions. Anthrax?" asked Morgan.

Spencer thought about the medical knowledge he gained from his godfather and Clarissa.

"Anthrax doesn't kill this fast," said Spencer.

"This strain does," said Dr. Kimura.

"What are we doing about potential mass targets- Airports, malls, trains?" asked Emily.

Hotch who was thinking about Jack, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan looked at his teammates.

"There's a media blackout," said Hotch.

A shocked Emily looked at her fiance.

"We're not telling the public?" asked Emily.

Morgan who was grateful about his mother and sisters being in Chicago while his 32-week pregnant wife was in her bat cave looked at Emily.

"We'd have a mass exodus," said Morgan.

"The psychology of group panic would cause more deaths than this last attack," said Rossi.

The chemist in Spencer looked at his teammates.

"Yeah, and if it does get out, whoever did this might go underground or destroy their samples," said Spencer as he shifted the photos in his hands.

"Or if they wanted attention and didn't get it, they might attack again. Doesn't the public have the right to know that?" asked Emily.

"If there is another attack, there's no way we'll be able to keep it quiet. Our best chance of protecting the public is by building a profile as quickly as we can," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Dr. Kimura.

"What do we know about this strain?" asked Spencer.

"The spores are weaponized, reduced to a respiral ideal that attacks deep in the lungs. Odorless and invisible," said Dr. Kimura.

"A sophisticated strain. Only a scientist would know how to do that," said Rossi.

Morgan who was looking at a picture of the lesions on one of the victims looked at his teammates and Dr. Kimura.

"These lesions are doubling in size in a matter of hours," said Morgan.

"It's not the lesions I'm worried about. It's the lungs. We don't know how to combat the toxins once they're inside. And the reality is, we may lose them all," said Dr. Kimura.

"The remaining survivors have been moved to a special wing at Walter Reed Hospital. Our offices will become a small command center," said JJ.

"We'll be working with military scientists from Fort Detrick," said Hotch.

Rossi looked at Hotch.

"General Whitworth is coming here?" asked Rossi.

Hotch nodded.

"He's in charge of site containment and spore analysis. Determining what strain this is will help inform who's responsible," said Hotch.

"My team is in charge of treating all victims," said Dr. Kimura.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Reid, go with Dr. Kimura to the hospital. Interview the victims," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded at his brother-in-law while Hotch looked at Emily and Morgan.

"Morgan and Prentiss, there's a hazmat team that will accompany you to the crime scene," said Hotch before gesturing to all the medication on the table, "There's Cipro. Everybody needs to take it before we go," said Hotch.

Dr. Kimura picked up the tray so everyone could take a small cup of Cipro.

"We don't know if it's effective against this strain, but it's something," said Dr. Kimura.

Spencer looked down at the Cipro in his hand while Emily looked at everyone.

"This is really happening?" asked Emily.

"We knew this could happen. We've done our homework. We've prepared for this. This is it," said Hotch as he dumped the small cup of Cipro into his mouth.

Rossi held up his small cup of Cipro in a toast to lighten up everyone's mood.

"Jin Dan. May you live 100 years," said Rossi as he took the Cipro.

Spencer nervously took the Cipro before drinking the cup of water.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer entered JJ's office and looked at JJ.

"Do you have those files I've been looking for?" asked Spencer.

JJ focused on the e-mail she was reading from the Director.

"Did you see this memo from the Director?" asked JJ as Spencer adjusted himself so he could see the e-mail, "Office phones and emails are being monitored," said JJ.

"Yeah, they're trying to protect the media blackout. Files?" asked Spencer.

"Uh, yeah, right here," said JJ as she pushed the files over to Spencer.

Spencer grabbed the files.

"Thanks. I want to see what kind of medical treatment the victims received before I head to the hospital," said Spencer as he started to quickly look through them.

JJ looked at Spencer and thought about hearing that Spencer's godmother worked the Amerithrax case.

"Why do you think the suspect in 2001 stopped sending the letters?" asked JJ.

"Even though my godmother worked the case, I have no idea, but if he hadn't, it would have been much worse," said Spencer as he continued to read the files.

JJ rubbed her forehead.

"The worst part was not knowing when it was gonna be over. Feeling safe opening mail again," said JJ.

Spencer thought about what his godmother told him.

"Five people died. Many more exposed and sickened, including a baby who was admitted to the hospital after lesions appeared on his skin," said Spencer as he thought about his nearly 11-month-old son.

A shocked JJ looked at Spencer.

"How did he contract it?" asked JJ.

"I have no idea. must have come into close contact with a tainted letter or crossed paths with the unsub himself," said Spencer.

JJ thought about her nearly six-month-old son.

"How old was the baby?" asked JJ.

"Seven months," said Spencer.

"Did he survive?" asked JJ.

Spencer quickly closed the file in his hand and looked at JJ.

"I gotta run. Kimura's waiting and when it comes to being married to a nurse I know not to keep a medical professional waiting. I'll call you from the hospital," said Spencer as he hurried out of JJ's office.

"SPENCE!" called out JJ causing Spencer to quickly return to JJ's office, "Did the baby survive?" asked JJ.

Spencer literally started to beat himself up as he realized how well he's able to show that cases that dealt with children being killed don't affect him too much because of having to keep little Diana a secret from his teammates for over three years.

"Yeah, but, I mean, that was a curable strain. This thing's entirely different," said Spencer before looking at JJ, "I'm currently thinking about Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack right now like your currently thinking about Henry, but you need to remember that Henry's safe with his father right now while I keep on telling myself that Diana's safe at school and Bridget and Evan are safe at home with Lucy," said Spencer before hurrying away.

Less than a minute later Spencer was at his desk and gave the Fort Detrick employee who was borrowing his desk an apologetic look.

"Sorry but I have to do this before joining Dr. Kimura," said Spencer as he picked up the latest picture of Diana, Bridget, and Evan together and kissed their faces while not caring about Fort Detrick employees who paused to look at him, "Daddy loves you guys. Even though I gave you guys kisses before I left the house, I'll give you guys real hugs and kisses when I get home," said Spencer as he set down the photo.

"Those are some cute kids you got there and how old are they?" asked the man who took over his desk.

"Diana's five, Bridget is 21-months-old, and Evan will be 11-months-old on the 15th. They're the reason why I took the oath to serve and protect this country," said Spencer before hurrying away towards the elevators where Dr. Kimura was waiting for him.

Xxxxxxxx 

As they headed towards Walter Reed Hospital, Dr. Kimura looked at Spencer who was looking at a picture of a little girl, a toddler, and a baby boy who were with Spencer and a young woman with nearly black hair and sparkling blue eyes.

"Are those your wife and children with you?" asked Dr. Kimura.

Spencer nodded.

"Diana is five, Bridget is 21-months-old, and Evan will be 11-months-old on the 15th," said Spencer.

Dr. Kimura looked at Spencer.

"When it comes to your last name being Reid, are you related to Nurse Clarissa Reid from Children's National?" asked Dr. Kimura.

Spencer grinned.

"Clarissa has been my wife for nearly six and a half years," said Spencer before reaching into his messenger bag and found Diana's inhaler and hugged it close to him before seeing the questioning look in Dr. Kimura's eyes, "Diana has asthma and Clarissa insisted that I carry one of Diana's inhalers with me everywhere I go just in case Diana has an asthma attack when she's out and about with me," said Spencer.

"Smart move," said Dr. Kimura.

Spencer nodded.

"Diana's asthma attacks are more frequent at night, but she hasn't had one since the middle of February. Diana's pulmonologist at Children's National still insists on us having Diana's inhalers on hand," said Spencer.

"Diana's pulmonologist is right because kids can outgrow their asthma and still have an asthma attack years later," said Dr. Kimura.

"I know and I'm nervous about how the latest H1N1 epidemic is going to affect Diana and Clarissa because there have been some cases already confirmed in Washington DC," said Spencer.

"I can understand your worry about your oldest daughter, but are you worried about your wife being a pediatric nurse during the first H1N1 epidemic in over 40 years?" asked Dr. Kimura.

"I understand that my wife can be exposed to diseases when she treats sick children at Children's National, but right now Clarissa is currently six-weeks pregnant with our fourth child," said Spencer.

"Congratulations on your upcoming edition and I hope you and your family are spared from H1N1," said Dr. Kimura.

"Thank you and Clarissa and I are planning on telling the kids and everyone else during Evan's 1st birthday party on June 14th with an I'M A BIG BROTHER onesie," said Spencer.

"Now that will be adorable and I just wonder how you and your wife handle working jobs that require you two to be on call 24/7 while juggling parenthood," said Dr. Kimura.

"We have a live-in nanny so we don't have to rely on family to come over at odd hours," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Spencer slowly followed Dr. Kimura into a hospital room causing Spencer to see a teenage girl who looked like one of the teenage girls from his church when Dr. Kimura looked at the young teenage girl.

"Hi, Abby. You feeling any better?" asked Dr. Kimura gently.

Abby shook her head as she took in the sight of a slightly older man who had a gun on his hip while sporting a gold wedding band on his left ring finger.

"OK," said Dr. Kimura before gesturing to Spencer, "This is Agent Reid from the FBI. If you can, will you talk with him?" asked Dr. Kimura gently.

Abby nodded.

"Abby, I'd like to try to do a memory recall exercise with you to take you back to the park, if that's OK," said Spencer as he used the soft and gentle voice that he saved for Diana, Bridget, Evan, Jack, and Henry.

Abby nodded.

"I need you to close your eyes," said Spencer gently.

Abby closed her eyes while Spencer thought of the report he read about Abby.

"Yesterday afternoon, you rode your bicycle to the park. How did the sun feel on your skin, the breeze through your hair? Can you describe for me what you heard and the people that you saw?" asked Spencer gently.

"It was warm, windy. There were guys...football. Kids... I see free... Me seen fee me. Free knee," said Abby before she started to freak out a bit, "S...sin knee," said Abby.

"All right, Abby. That's OK. You just rest now, OK?" asked Dr. Kimura softly.

"Me mock fee key me free," said Abby.

"Shh, shh, shh. You just rest. Ok? thank you," said Dr. Kimura as she gestured Spencer to follow her.

As soon as they were out of Abby's hospital room, Spencer looked at Dr. Kimura.

"What's causing her aphasia?" asked Spencer softly.

Dr. Kimura turned around and looked at Spencer.

"The poison is infecting the parietal lobe, impairing her speech. Some of the other patients displayed the same symptoms shortly before they died," said Dr. Kimura.

"None of the drug combinations are working?" asked Spencer.

"The only thing that's helping them right now is the morphine," said Dr. Kimura.

Spencer grimaced causing Dr. Kimura to look at Spencer.

"Your allergic to morphine?" asked Dr. Kimura.

Spencer shook his head.

"I was given morphine after I had my appendix removed nearly eight years ago, but over two years and three months ago I was injected with Dilaudid with LSD in it over six times against my will by a serial killer who held me hostage for over two days," said Spencer quietly before he decided to continue, "Luckily I avoided developing an addiction because I didn't want to hurt three-year-old Diana at the time or put Clarissa who was pregnant with Bridget at the time under any more unnecessary stress because she had to help me with the PTSD I had to deal with, but I'm really wary about taking narcotics unless its medically necessary," said Spencer quietly.

"That's understandable because Dilaudid can be really addictive and I'm glad that you were strong enough to avoid getting addicted because I can tell that you love your wife and kids so much," said Dr. Kimura.

"They give me the strength to make sure I always survive and go home to them," said Spencer as he thought about the first and only time since the Hankel case that he was given narcotics, "Last August I chose to go undercover and I suffered from internal bleeding after being hit in my abdomen with a machine gun twice by Benjamin Cyrus before a coworker and some SWAT agents came into the chapel and killed Cyrus and a bunch of his men. When I woke up in the hospital and realized that I was being given morphine, Clarissa told me that the morphine was medically necessary because of all the stress I was under," said Spencer.

Dr. Kimura instantly recognized the name.

"Your wife is right that it was medically necessary and I remember watching you receive three medals on National TV for going undercover inside Benjamin Cyrus's ranch," said Dr. Kimura.

Spencer blushed a bit.

"So you saw the moment of my oldest daughter kissing my forehead after she placed the medals around my neck?" asked Spencer.

"I did and I thought the moment of your daughter kissing your forehead on live TV was adorable," said Dr. Kimura.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer stood outside of a cubicle and sadly watched a man who was over a decade older than him flatline and a few seconds later a slightly upset Dr. Kimura joined him in the hallway.

"38-year-old high school history teacher. Leaves two kids behind," said Dr. Kimura.

Spencer thought about all the times he had to comfort Clarissa when a patient of hers dies.

"17 out of 25 dead," said Spencer.

Dr. Kimura grabbed a pen.

"This strain is duplicating every 30 to 45 minutes," said Dr. Kimura while Spencer's mind started to race, "It's poisoning the lungs, causing massive hemorrhaging and organ failure," said Dr. Kimura.

The scientist in Spencer quickly realized something.

"Extreme bacterial amplification. Whoever created this had to at some point go to the trouble of testing it," said Spencer.

"What do you mean?" asked Dr. Kimura.

"Think about the way scientists work their way up to human testing. They start with rodents, then advance to larger mammals, and then at some point, they do a very small trial run with people. There's no way this was his first human test run," said Spencer.

"We would have heard about a previous anthrax attack," said Dr. Kimura

"Not if it presented itself as something else," said Spencer.

"I'll quickly make some calls," said Dr. Kimura.

Xxxxxxxx 

Over an hour later Spencer's work phone rang causing the 27-year-old genius to see that it was the landline from the conference room in the BAU causing him to quickly answer his phone.

"Hello?" asked Spencer.

"Uh, Reid, you have me, Rossi, and Hotch," said JJ.

"Kimura made some calls. It turns out that three days ago, two people in two separate Baltimore ERs and one person in a Philadelphia ER slipped into comas and died suddenly. Now, the C.O.D. on all of them was meningitis. Doctors didn't test for anthrax because the illnesses presented themselves as meningitis, But I think it can be caused by anthrax," said Spencer.

"Did they show symptoms that we're seeing now- the lesions?" asked Rossi.

"They wouldn't have if the bodily functions expired as quickly as they did," said Spencer.

"How quickly?" asked Hotch.

"All dead within three hours of being admitted," said Spencer as he heard JJ sigh.

"But the first patient died yesterday at 10 hours," said Hotch.

"Here's the thing- if they inhaled a higher concentration of the strain, it would cause a quicker death. Organ failure without exterior physical symptoms," said Spencer.

"What are their names?" asked Hotch.

Spencer quickly gave the names before he hung up.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer and Dr. Kimura were returning back to the ward after eating lunch when they saw a gurney with a covered body be pushed past them.

"It feels like the plagues of Egypt," said Dr. Kimura.

Spencer thought about one of the Bible lessons he was given.

"10 scourges created by God. Plague six was unhealable boils believed by biblical scholars to be caused by anthrax," said Spencer as they stopped outside of Abby's hospital room to see Abby with a tube down her throat.

Dr. Kimura looked at Spencer.

"Never missed Sunday school, did you?" asked Dr. Kimura.

"My family is religious so I go to church as often as I can," said Spencer before looking towards Abby, "How is she doing?" asked Spencer.

"She's a fighter. She's held on this long because she's young and strong. But she's started to bleed into her lungs," said Dr. Kimura.

"One of four left," said Spencer grimly.

"We're running into another problem. When the next of kin have questions, what do we tell them about cause of death?" asked Dr. Kimura.

"That's a really tough question to answer," said Spencer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Part 2 will be up as soon as possible. Luckily everyone in my family survived the 2009 H1N1 epidemic even though my father had to cancel visitation because of coming down with H1N1. Here's a heads up that none of Spencer's family in this story will be affected by H1N1.


	71. Amplification Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if Hotch is a bit OOC in this chapter, but Hotch and Spencer are brothers-in-laws in this universe.

Spencer stood next to Morgan outside of Dr. Nichols's house as Morgan listened to someone speak to him in his earpiece.

"All right, keep me posted," said Morgan before looking at Spencer, "This guy just had people over for a charity event last month," said Morgan.

"We should probably take a look around anyway," said Spencer as he started to walk only to brush his hand against a thorn from a nearby rose bush, "Ow," whispered Spencer as he continued to follow Morgan.

A minute later Morgan's cell phone rang causing the older agent to answer his phone.

"Yeah, princess, what's up?" asked Morgan.

Spencer continued walking towards the lab and 30 seconds later Spencer ended up freezing at the sight of Dr. Nichols's dead body and a broken vial of anthrax powder on the floor while the air conditioner ran full blast causing him to get scared at the thought of never going home to Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan while getting to hold Baby Reid in 34 weeks. A few seconds later Spencer heard Morgan calling for him.

"Reid!" called out Morgan.

Spencer quickly ran to the door and started to close it before the older agent could get in.

"Morgan, get-get back! Get back! Get out of here!" shouted Spencer.

"What are you doing? What's wrong?" demanded Morgan.

"Believe me, get back," said Spencer as he moved his hair away from his eyes before locking the door.

"Reid, open the door!" shouted Morgan.

Spencer looked into Morgan's eyes.

"I'm sorry," said Spencer softly before turning his head and gestured to the broken vial of anthrax, the air conditioner running at full blast, and Dr. Nichols's dead body.

Xxxxxxxx 

As Hotch headed to Dr. Nichols's house with General Whitworth, Hotch who was thinking about his brother-in-law currently being locked in a lab filled with anthrax looked at General Whitworth.

"Reid's married to my 27-year-old sister and they have three kids under the age of six together," said Hotch.

"Damn," said General Whitworth before Hotch started to tell him about Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

Hotch and General Whitworth briskly walked towards Morgan.

"Morgan, how's Reid?" asked Hotch.

"There's white powder in the room and the air was blasting," said Morgan.

General Whitman looked at one of his men.

"Get a decon team suited up. Secure a gray zone outside that door. Clean him up and get him in the ambulance fast," ordered General Whitworth.

Morgan looked at Hotch.

"I should have been right there with him," sighed Morgan.

"Morgan, there's no time for second-guessing. What do we know?" asked Hotch.

"Nichols is dead. Blunt force trauma to his head. Reid thinks he's been dead two or three days," said Morgan.

"Well, then he couldn't have been responsible for the attack," said General Whitworth.

Morgan looked at Hotch.

"Reid took Cipro today, so he's gotta be ok, right?" asked Morgan.

Hotch sighed as he looked towards the lab that his brother-in-law was currently locked in.

"I don't know. It was precautionary," said Hotch.

"It's not helping patients at the hospital," said General Whitworth.

"Yeah, but the didn't take it until after they were exposed. Reid took it before," said Morgan.

"Yeah, but we've never tested this strain," said General Whitworth just as Hotch's cell phone rang, "on a Cipro-ready subject. We just don't know," said General Whitworth.

Hotch looked at his phone and saw that it was his brother-in-law calling him.

"Reid," said Hotch as he looked towards the door and saw his brother-in-law standing by the door with a scared look in his eyes.

"Hotch, I never messed up like this before," choked Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law again.

"Reid, we need to get you out and to the hospital," said Hotch.

"No. I'm staying right here," said Spencer firmly.

Hotch inwardly shook his head as he realized that his brother-in-law decided to become stubborn.

"No, you're not, Reid," said Morgan.

"I'm already exposed. It's not gonna do me any good to stop working the case," said Spencer as he decided to look around the lab again.

General Whitworth looked at Hotch who was shaking his head at his phone as he thought about Hotch telling him about what Spencer is like as an agent.

"He's already infected. Now, if Nichols created the strain, he may have also created the cure," said General Whitworth.

"My best chance is to stay here, see if there's a cure, try to figure out who killed Dr. Nichols," said Spencer firmly as he continued to look around the lab.

Morgan looked at Hotch who was trying to keep his emotions at bay.

"Come on, Hotch, say something to your brother-in-law," said Morgan.

Hotch sighed as he thought about the decision he's about to make would possibly cause Clarissa to kill him if she ever found out.

"He's right. His best chance is inside," said Hotch before he addressed his brother-in-law, "We're gonna get a suit and mask into you right away," said Hotch.

"Don't bother. it's not gonna do me any good. I'm already infected," said Spencer as he grabbed a clipboard and looked at the notes that were on it.

Hotch took a breath.

"You better get out of there alive because I don't want my sister to kick my ass if you die," said Hotch firmly.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was looking around the lab when his brother-in-law addressed him.

"Reid, what do you see in there?" asked Hotch.

"I see cages filled with dead animals. I see signs of a struggle, probably before Dr. Nichols was murdered. Equipment's missing. There's a large desk. Clutter all over the surface," said Spencer as he jogged towards a smaller desk and started going through the papers, "But in the corner, there's a smaller desk. It's organized, functional," said Spencer.

"Two different workspaces?" asked Morgan.

Spencer studied the handwriting for a second.

"Two sets of handwriting," said Spencer as he quickly read the notes, "I'm looking at instructions on how to boil lab-grade broth, sterilize lab equipment, and transfer spores," said Spencer as he paced in Nichols's lab.

"Nichols would know all that," said General Whitworth.

"He has a partner, maybe even a protégé. Go back to the B.A.U., try to figure out who this partner is," instructed Spencer.

Morgan looked at Hotch.

"Hotch, why don't you go? I'll stay with Reid," said Morgan.

Hotch quickly hung up on his brother-in-law and looked at Morgan.

"Funnel all the information you get to me," said Hotch before hurrying to an SUV with General Whitworth.

A few minutes later General Whitworth looked at Hotch as they headed back to the B.A.U.

"Your brother-in-law sure is stubborn," said General Whitworth.

Hotch smiled a bit.

"Usually he isn't stubborn because my sister and their two daughters have him wrapped around their fingers," said Hotch.

"With how Reid was on the phone about staying in that lab, I believe that he has you wrapped around his finger," said General Whitworth.

Hotch snorted as he thought about all the times that Spencer got him to cave in and soften up over the past eight years and five months.

"He has those big brown eyes that can manipulate everyone he meets," said Hotch.

"Your brother-in-law seems dangerous when it comes to being a genius and manipulating everyone he meets with his eyes," said General Whitworth.

Hotch nodded in agreement.

"Even though Reid is shy and reserved and my sister is outgoing, a free spirit, and can glare like me; their five-year-old daughter is already a force to be reckoned with," said Hotch.

"What do you mean?" asked General Whitworth.

"My oldest niece Diana has an IQ of 168, an eidetic memory, reads fast like her father, has her mother's personality, and can glare like my siblings and me," said Hotch before smiling a bit, "I can't wait to find out what career Diana will end up doing because as of right now she's most likely going to graduate high school at 15-years-old if she doesn't skip anymore grades," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Meanwhile, in Dr. Nichols's lab, Spencer who knew that he was already showing signs of having a fever while having pain in his lungs pulled out his phone and got Garcia on the phone.

"Hey, Reid," said Garcia sadly.

A surprised Spencer decided to bring some humor into the situation.

"Gee, wow, no, uh... No witty Garcia greeting for me?" asked Spencer.

Garcia sighed.

"I can't be my sparkly self when you are where you are," said Garcia.

Spencer thought about the messages he wanted to make for Clarissa and the kids while knowing that he didn't have enough time to record messages for his godparents, aunt Elena, his grandparents, and aunt Mary.

"Garcia, do you think you can do something for me?" asked Spencer.

"Anything," said Garcia.

"I, uh... I know I can't call Clarissa or the kids without, uh-," said Spencer as he cleared his throat, "Without alerting everyone at Children's National, everyone at Diana's school, or freak out Lucy," said Spencer.

"What do you need?" asked Garcia.

"I, uh... I need you to record a message for Clarissa and the kids in case anything happens to me," said Spencer sadly.

Garcia clucked her tongue.

"Oh, nothing's going to happen to you. You're gonna...brilliantly find out who did this and we're gonna treat this strain because Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Jack, your godparents, and your newly found grandparents can't lose you yet," said Garcia.

"I hope you're right, but if you're not, I just- I really want to make sure that they hear my voice," said Spencer sadly.

Garcia sighed as she thought about how Spencer can manipulate anyone with his voice too as she made a mental note to ask Spencer to not teach the twins that she's 32-weeks pregnant with to manipulate everyone to get what they want.

"OK. just, uh, give me a second," said Garcia as she pulled up a program, "Are you ready?" asked Garcia.

"Ready," said Spencer as he took a deep breath as he allowed tears to fall down his face, "Hi, Clarissa. This is Spencer. I just, um..," sighed Spencer before he decided to continue, "I just...really want you to know that I love you and," choked Spencer as he cleared his throat, "I need you to know that I'm sorry that I didn't keep my promise to come home to you and the kids and I enjoyed every single moment that we had together during the past eight years, five months, and 11 days. You have my permission to move on because the kids need a father and hopefully I'll see you again someday when it's your time," choked Spencer.

After a few seconds of silence, Garcia spoke up.

"Want to do a message for the kids now?" asked Garcia.

"Yes please," said Spencer.

"Go ahead," said Garcia.

Spencer allowed more tears to fall down his face.

"Diana, Bridget, and Evan if you guys are listening to this, then you guys know that I joined your grandparents in Heaven," choked Spencer as choked a bit, "I really enjoyed being your daddy and I'm sorry that I can't help mommy guide you guys into adulthood. Daddy will always love you guys and I'll see you guys again when the time is right," choked Spencer before he stopped talking.

A few seconds later Garcia spoke up.

"Reid?" asked Garcia.

"Prep the victim for transfer," said Dr. Kimura.

Spencer instantly realized that Dr. Kimura arrived.

"I gotta go,' said Spencer before hanging up.

A second later Spencer was setting down the clipboard when Dr. Kimura approached him.

"Dr. Reid," said Dr. Kimura.

"Even though I'm a happily married man, I have to admit that you look nice," said Spencer.

Dr. Kimura laughed.

"I haven't been in this outfit for a while," said Dr. Kimura.

Spencer let out a few breaths as he thought about if he was feeling like Diana did before and after an asthma attack.

"How are-how are the patients doing?" asked Spencer.

"Let's worry about you," said Dr. Kimura.

Spencer thought about the pain that he was already feeling in his lungs.

"I actually-I feel fine," lied Spencer.

"OK, if you feel any pain, I could give you something," said Dr. Kimura

"No, I-I'd rather not take any pain medication," said Spencer.

Dr. Kimura shook her head as she thought back to the conversation they had at the hospital before she became serious while Agent Hotchner warned her over the phone that Spencer can be stubborn when he wants to be.

"OK. Tell me how I can help," said Dr. Kimura.

"I think the cure for this strain is in here somewhere," said Spencer.

Dr. Kimura pointed to one of the tables.

"Well, shall I start here?" asked Dr. Kimura.

Spencer thought about the profile that was made on Dr. Nichols.

"Dr. Nichols is a former military scientist, which means he's most likely secretive and most likely a little paranoid. He would have protected the cure and probably would have hidden it from his partners. So look for something innocuous, something you would not suspect," instructed Spencer just as his cell phone rang.

"All right," said Dr. Kimura as she started to search the lab.

Spencer quickly answered his phone as he coughed a few times.

"Hello," said Spencer.

"How's it going in there, kid?" asked Morgan.

Spencer thought about the times he was in the hospital for appendicitis, after Hankel, and Benjamin Cyrus.

"I've seen better days," said Spencer.

"Well, you got me and Garcia," said Morgan.

"Hey, Reid," said Garcia sadly.

Spencer coughed a few times.

"Reid, stick with me. Listen, Prentiss and Rossi don't think the partner was a coworker. Can you tell us anything else about him?" asked Morgan.

"I...I've already been through everything," said Spencer.

Morgan sighed at the dejected sound in Spencer's voice.

"Come on, now, kid, I know you're not thinking straight, but the Reid I know wouldn't stop looking because he always fights to get home to Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan," said Morgan firmly.

Spencer sighed as he thought about Diana, Bridget, Evan, and the baby that Clarissa is six-weeks pregnant with needing him causing him to head back to one of the desks.

"All right, all right," said Spencer as he started to look around the desk, "I see a, uh, a framed photograph of Dr. Nichols teaching. I see a... I see a binder with syllabi," said Spencer as he opened up the binder, "Course assignments going all the way back to the 1970s," said Spencer.

"All right. so he kept a scrapbook of himself as a professor. That tells us that he values himself as an educator," said Morgan.

Spencer quickly thought of something.

"A teacher," said Spencer as he hurried towards the smaller desk, "I saw something earlier. I didn't- I didn't make a connection to it or to the partner, but he has a study on anthrax," said Spencer as he looked through a bunch of papers, "He has an annotated bibliography, table of contents. It's formatted like a thesis and has writing in the margins in red ink, like the way a teacher grades a paper. Now, Nichols wouldn't have let just anyone in here, but he may have opened his lab for educational purposes, as a teacher," said Spencer.

"So the partner must have appealed to him as a student. Nichols is helping him with his thesis," said Morgan.

"I-I can look up local Ph.D. students," said Garcia.

"Yeah, check the sciences. Biochemistry, microbiology," said Morgan.

Garcia started to type.

"Uh... Cross-checking with names of former employees or customers with grievances at the bookstore," said Garcia as her computer beeped, "Nothing, my doves," said Garcia.

Spencer coughed a few times as he looked at the papers in his hands.

"Listen to this," said Spencer before he started to read out loud, ""this country is woefully unprepared. "every household should have a two-month supply of Cipro. Hospitals are in need of a bio-safety level 4 decon wings."," read Spencer.

Morgan quickly recognized what Spencer read.

"That's verbatim to what we heard from Nichols. The partner's adopted Nichols' views as his own," said Morgan.

Spencer found something else on the papers in front of him.

"The chapters are on setting up triage and mobile emergency rooms. I don't think this paper was written by a science student. It's about city preparedness and response," said Spencer.

"So, Garcia, check with students in the social studies- Public policy, urban planning," said Morgan.

Garcia did some typing before she found a name.

"Hot to trot. There's a Chad Brown, School of Public Policy at U. of. M. Matches a Chad Brown, a former employee at The Book Front," said Garcia.

"That's gotta be him," said Morgan.

"Totally. He's been in the doctoral program on and off for five years. Nix on a steady job. Was slapped with a restraining order from his former girlfriend and has been arrested and released twice at protest rallies in D.C. I'll tell Hotch," said Garcia before hanging up.

"Kid, you did real good. Now get the hell out of there," said Morgan.

"Bye," coughed Spencer as he hung up just as Dr. Kimura approached him.

Spencer looked at the asthma inhaler in Dr. Kimura's hand.

"Dr. Reid. You said the cure would be hidden somewhere we wouldn't suspect. What about Nichols's inhaler?" asked Dr. Kimura.

Spencer nodded.

"Did my conversation with you about Diana inspire you about the inhaler?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Dr. Kimura.

Xxxxxxxx 

Less than 10 minutes later, Spencer coughed a few times as he allowed himself to be hosed down as he listened to Morgan talk on the phone.

"OK. Yeah, they're hosing him down now. All right," said Morgan as he hung up and looked at Spencer, "They're checking out Brown's house," said Morgan.

"Go help Hotch." sniffled Spencer.

"Hotch has plenty of people helping him," said Morgan.

"My brother-in-law needs you more than I do," said Spencer.

"Reid, I'm gonna see you off to the hospital," said Morgan firmly.

Spencer thought about the next step he will be going through in a decontamination shower.

"I'm about to get naked so they can scrub me down. Is that something you really want to see?" asked Spencer.

Morgan quickly realized that Spencer had a good point.

"I'll check on you later," said Morgan before looking at Dr. Kimura, "Take good care of him, please," said Morgan

Dr. Kimura handed a bagged inhaler to one of her men.

"Get this to the lab," said Dr. Kimura before looking at Spencer, "I hope you're right about this," said Dr. Kimura.

Spencer started to untie his tie.

"So do I," said Spencer.

Dr. Kimura instantly noticed a cut and a lesion on Spencer's hand.

"Dr. Reid, did you cut yourself?" asked Dr. Kimura.

Spencer looked at the cut that already had a lesion that caused him to quickly flashed back to the time his hand brushed against a throne on a rose bush before looking at Dr. Kimura.

"I was always so clumsy as a child that I was dubbed 'crash' by my mom before my parents died when I was four and Clarissa jokingly calls me 'crash' during my clumsy moments," said Spencer before looking at his wedding band and the watch that was already on a nearby table with his two cell phones, "Will my wedding band and watch be saved?" asked Spencer as he coughed again.

"I'll make sure that your wedding band gets saved, but how important is your watch?" asked Dr. Kimura.

"It belonged to my dad," said Spencer before coughing again.

"I'll make sure that your watch and cell phones also get saved, so please finish up getting undressed because we need to get you to the hospital ASAP," said Dr. Kimura.

Xxxxxxxx 

A short while later Spencer was dressed in scrubs and was laying on a gurney as he was being rushed to Walter Reed Hospital when Dr. Kimura who was listening to his heartbeat looked at him.

"How are you feeling, Dr. Reid?" asked Dr. Kimura.

Spencer coughed a few times.

"My throat's a little dry. But other than that, I feel…," said Spencer as he started to freak out as he realized that the aphasia was already kicking in, "Flee... Feel fin. I feel-I fleel fin. I-," said Spencer as he gave Dr. Kimura a panicked look.

"Dr. Reid, OK," soothed Dr. Kimura before looking at the ambulance driver, "Driver, faster," ordered Dr. Kimura.

"Clarissa," coughed Spencer just as he started to cough up blood.

Xxxxxxxx 

Nearly an hour later Clarissa rushed into her husband's hospital room and gasped when she saw an Asian doctor injecting something into her husband's IV. port while noticing a breathing tube down her husband's throat and as soon as Dr. Kimura turned around Clarissa gasped when she recognized Dr. Kimura.

"What the hell is going on with Spence, Dr. Kimura?" asked Clarissa.

Dr. Kimura turned around and looked at the 27-year-old woman who was still in her Children's National hospital scrubs while realizing that Clarissa quickly connected the dots and realized that the CDC was involved.

"Please don't lie to me because I know that my brother was lying to me over the phone," said Clarissa.

Dr. Kimura sighed as she thought about remembering that Clarissa has a spitfire personality from the few times she met Clarissa.

"Dr. Reid got infected with anthrax and I just gave him the cure. Please don't tell anyone about what happened to your husband because the FBI and Fort Detrick don't want a mass panic to start," said Dr. Kimura.

Clarissa nodded.

"When it comes to having to follow HIPPA laws as a pediatric nurse, my lips are sealed, Dr. Kimura," said Clarissa before resting a hand on her still flat stomach causing Dr. Kimura to smile at her.

"Congratulations on the upcoming new addition," said Dr. Kimura.

Clarissa gave a watery smile.

"I'm only six weeks pregnant and I'm glad that Spence will survive so he can meet our fourth child in 34-weeks," said Clarissa as she removed her glasses and wiped the tears that were falling down her face.

Dr. Kimura led Clarissa to a chair and helped her sit down before looking at the young woman.

"Dr. Reid might not wake up until tomorrow and if you do end up staying the night please take care of yourself and the baby," said Dr. Kimura.

"I promise," said Clarissa.

Xxxxxxxx 

Hotch was doing his paperwork just as his cell phone rang causing him to see that it was Clarissa.

"How's Spencer doing?" asked Hotch.

"He's responding well to the cure and he should be waking up in the morning," said Clarissa.

"That's great," said Hotch.

"I know and even though I'm upset at Spencer for being stupid, I know that he's a hero right now too," said Clarissa.

"He is, and when I leave the BAU do you want me to head over to your house and help Lucy out with the kids?" asked Hotch.

"Yes please and I already called Diana's school and told them that Diana won't be coming to school tomorrow," said Clarissa.

"Good to know and I'll help Lucy bring the kids over when Spencer is up for visitors," said Hotch.

Clarissa yawned.

"I'll let you go so you can get some sleep and we'll talk in the morning, Clarissa," said Hotch.

"I love you, Aaron," said Clarissa.

"I love you too, Clarissa," said Hotch before hanging up and dialed Haley's number on the land-line.

A few seconds later Haley answered the phone.

"Aaron?" asked Haley.

"Hey, it's me. I know it's late, but, uh, is Jack still awake?" asked Hotch.

"He is," said Haley.

"Do you mind if I speak to him?" asked Hotch.

"You can talk to him," said Haley.

"Thanks," said Hotch.

A few seconds later Hotch smiled when he heard his three-year-old son's voice.

"Hi daddy," said Jack.

"Hey, buddy. What are you doing up so late?" asked Hotch.

"I want to say goodnight to you, daddy," said Jack.

Hotch smiled.

"Oh, yeah?" asked Hotch before listening to Jack again, "Right," said Hotch.

"Are you with uncle Spence right now?" asked Jack.

Hotch took a breath.

"Uncle Spencer is currently in the hospital and he'll be there for a few days, Jack," said Hotch.

"Did uncle Spencer get a bad owie like last year?" asked Jack.

"He got very sick and collapsed at work and Auntie Clarissa is currently at the hospital with him," said Hotch.

"I will make a get well soon card for uncle Spencer too," said Jack.

Hotch smiled.

"That's a great idea, Jack," said Hotch before he listened to Jack talk more about his day before he hung up.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer woke up in a hospital bed only to see Morgan eating Jell-O.

"You're eating Jell-O?" asked Spencer.

Morgan smiled as he thought about Clarissa telling him that Jell-O is always one of the first things that Spencer asks for after waking up in the hospital.

"Hmm. Hey, kid," said Morgan before looking in the direction where Dr. Kimura was talking to a nurse, "Hey, doc. Look who's back," said Morgan.

Dr. Kimura smiled as she realized that Spencer was awake while Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Is there any more Jell-O?" asked Spencer as he tried to sit up in bed.

"Hey. Not so fast," said Dr. Kimura.

"What happened?" asked Spencer.

"You're gonna be all right, kid. And we got Brown. It's over," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about the teenage girl.

"How's Abby?" asked Spencer.

"She's on the mend. So are the three others. You were right about where to look for his cure," said Dr. Kimura.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Why was Dr. Nichols making anthrax in the first place?" asked Spencer.

"He was a brain scientist downgraded to working on the flu. Brown comes along asking for help on his thesis…," said Morgan.

"Would have been more than happy to share his knowledge," said Spencer.

"There was no indication that Nichols had any idea what Brown was planning," said Morgan.

"His strain and its cure are getting locked up in containment at Fort Detrick, with all the other bio-agents people don't know about," said Dr. Kimura.

Morgan chuckled.

"Hmm. really. What else do they have locked up in there?" asked Morgan.

"As someone who holds a Ph.D. in chemistry, I'm curious to find out but I don't want to know," said Spencer just as he saw Clarissa coming towards his room.

"Spence," said Clarissa as she hurried towards her husband and lightly kissed him on the lips, "I'm glad that you're on the mend, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Me too," said Spencer before squinting a bit, "Where are my glasses?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa quickly reached into her husband's messenger bag and grabbed Spencer's glasses.

"Right here, Spence," said Clarissa as she slipped the glasses on the bridge of her husband's nose before noticing the opened up Jell-O in front of Morgan and gave Morgan her 'Hotchner' glare, "Didn't I order you to leave Spence's Jell-O alone, Derek?" asked Clarissa.

"You did but I was hungry," said Morgan.

Clarissa glared at Morgan again.

"Go home to Penelope," said Clarissa firmly.

"Yes ma'am," said Morgan as he got up and said goodbye to Spencer before leaving the room.

Dr. Kimura who finished examining Spencer looked at Spencer.

"I'll see about getting you some Jell-O and some breakfast while you two talk," said Dr. Kimura as she left Spencer's cubicle.

A few seconds later Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I hope you're aware that you are in my doghouse for a while," said Clarissa.

"I know and I'm sorry," said Spencer before looking at his wife's flat stomach, "Is the baby OK?" asked Spencer softly.

Clarissa nodded.

"Baby Reid is OK," said Clarissa.

"Do you know how long I need to be here for?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa smirked as she shook her head.

"I should have known that would be one of the questions you ask because of your dislike of being in the hospital," said Clarissa.

"I hate the bright lighting because the lights and intercoms cause me to go into sensory overload," said Spencer before looking into his wife's eyes, "Did Dr. Kimura say anything about how long I need to be here?" asked Spencer.

"Your being kept under observation until Friday morning and I'm off of work for the next week," said Clarissa.

Spencer thought about his grandma turning 79 on Friday.

"Am I allowed to still go to grandma Lydia's birthday dinner on Friday?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"As long as you take it easy," said Clarissa just as Dr. Kimura and a nurse came into the room with a tray filled with breakfast, juice, and some Jell-O.

"After you eat your breakfast you'll go down for x-rays to make sure that your lungs are doing great," said Dr. Kimura.

Spencer nodded before thinking about Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack.

"After lunch, can my kids and nephew visit me? I really need to hug and kiss my children and nephew," said Spencer.

Dr. Kimura shook her head.

"They can visit you as long as they don't apply too much pressure to your chest and you don't overexcite yourself," said Dr. Kimura before looking at Clarissa, "Does your husband always use his eyes to get what he wants?" asked Dr. Kimura.

Clarissa nodded.

"He does and it doesn't help that he taught our five-year-old daughter and 21-month-old daughter how to use their eyes to get what they want," said Clarissa before smirking at her husband, "I hope you realize how much trouble you're going to be in when both girls become teenagers," teased Clarissa.

Spencer slightly smirked.

"When it comes to Evan having you wrapped around his finger, your going to be in a lot of trouble too," teased Spencer before he decided to focus on eating his breakfast.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer grinned as he watched Diana, Bridget, and Jack run into his hospital room while Hotch carried nearly 11-month-old Evan on his hip.

"Daddy!" cried Diana.

"Dada," cried Bridget.

"Uncle Spencer," said Jack.

"Dada," said Evan.

After Clarissa and Hotch both helped Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack gently hug and kiss their daddy and uncle, Diana who was sitting on the foot end of her daddy's hospital bed with Bridget looked at her daddy.

"What did you get sick with, daddy?" asked Diana.

"Fungal pneumonia," said Spencer.

"Which isn't contagious," said Diana.

Clarissa who had Evan on her lap nodded.

"If daddy or uncle Spencer was contagious, none of you would be allowed to visit," said Clarissa.

Diana reached into her messenger bag and pulled out a homemade card.

"I made you a get well soon card, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer smiled as he opened up the card and he grinned at the picture of him, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan that Diana drew while Bridget and Evan both scribbled on the card as their signatures while Diana wrote their names.

"I love it, bumble bee," said Spencer.

Jack who was sitting on his daddy's lap looked at his favorite uncle.

"I make you a card too, uncle Spence," said Jack as Hotch reached into his suit jacket and pulled out the card Jack made.

Spencer accepted the card from his brother-in-law and smiled at the card that contained Hotch's writing about wishing him to get well done soon so he can do more magic tricks and read to him again.

"Daddy write what I said," said Jack.

"I love it, buddy," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her mommy.

"Do you have Evan's baby brother or sister in your tummy right now?" asked Diana before she decided to continue, "You are acting the same way you did when you had Bridget and then Evan in your tummy and I saw on the calendar in the kitchen that you have a doctor appointment with Dr. Larson in two weeks," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances before Clarissa looked at her oldest daughter.

"Daddy and I were wanting to wait a few more weeks before telling you and Bridget, but I will be giving birth to your new little brother or sister in 34 weeks," said Clarissa.

"Yay!" cheered Diana.

"Yay!" cheered Bridget.

Evan who was unaware of what was going on clapped his hands.

"Aye!" exclaimed Evan.

A minute later Spencer was listening to Diana telling him about what she did in school the day before until Evan fell asleep causing Hotch to take Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm leaving this chapter here for now, but the next couple of chapters won't deal with episodes at all because they'll be dealing with Spencer's time off when it comes to Father's Day, the Morgan twins being born, and Evan's first birthday.


	72. Hospital Stay and Family Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts the day after the last chapter and Clarissa is at home sleeping in the beginning of the chapter.

Spencer was sitting up in his hospital bed reading a book when there was a knock on his open door causing him to gasp at the sight of his godmother.

"I assume that you know the truth about what happened to me?" asked Spencer.

Alex approached her godson.

"Even though I'm not on the best terms with your section chief because of the aftermath of the Amerithrax case, Erin decided to let me know about what happened to you," said Alex as she gave her godson a gentle hug, "You need to be more careful because I already had to bury one of my sons because of an illness and James and I won't survive if we lost you too," said Alex.

Spencer gave his godmother a guilty look.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," said Spencer.

Alex gave her godson another hug.

"Apology accepted because I know that the FBI and Fort Detrick are calling you a hero right now because of the four remaining victims are going to survive because of you," said Alex giving her godson a serious look, "When you are cleared to go back to work, I really hope that you stay safe in the field because I do want more grandchildren from you," said Alex.

Spencer blushed a bit causing Alex to use her old profiling skills on Spencer.

"Did you get my daughter-in-law pregnant again?" asked Alex.

Spencer's face turned redder.

"Aaron, the kids, and Jack already know that Clarissa is six-weeks pregnant so please keep the news about becoming a grandmother again a secret because we're telling everyone during Evan's birthday party next month," said Spencer.

Alex gave her godson another hug.

"Congratulations," said Alex.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

"What are you hoping for this time?" asked Alex.

"When it comes to having two girls and one boy I don't care what the gender is as long as the baby's healthy," said Spencer.

"I don't care either, Spencer," said Alex before thinking about her oldest granddaughter, "Does Diana have a preference on the gender?" asked Alex.

"Diana wants another little brother because she stated that because of her having her own little sister to play with that Evan deserves a little brother of his own to play with," said Spencer.

Alex laughed.

"Smart girl," said Alex.

Spencer nodded.

"I just hope that Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Baby Reid all get along and never fight like Clarissa and Sean did when they were children," said Spencer.

"I understand because I had two brothers growing up until Danny died," said Alex before Spencer started to tell his godmother/adopted mother about Diana, Bridget, and Evan.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two hours later Spencer woke up to find his oldest brother-in-law sitting by his hospital bed and as soon as he had his glasses on and took a sip of water he looked at his brother-in-law.

"I really hope that you're not going to call me out about staying in that lab because Clarissa and my godmother both lectured me already," said Spencer.

Hotch shook his head.

"I'm not going to lecture you because you made a mistake and you're going to be OK," said Hotch before smiling a bit, "You really impressed General Whitworth yesterday," said Hotch.

"With my stubbornness?" asked Spencer.

Hotch chuckled.

"He did say that you were stubborn, but you impressed him by insisting on staying in that lab to find the cure and figure out who the unsub is," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"I wouldn't be me if I followed your orders on going to the hospital right away instead of staying in that lab," said Spencer.

Hotch nodded in agreement.

"I would be disappointed in you if you stopped showing the fighter spirit I admire you for," said Hotch before smiling a bit, "And I'm hoping that my nieces, nephew, and unborn niece or nephew all have your fighter spirit when they become adults," said Hotch.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two days later Spencer who was dressed in khakis, a white dress shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, and a black sweater vest looked at the wheelchair before looking at his wife who was giving him her 'Hotchner glare' while her arms were crossed and her left foot tapping on the ground.

"The sooner you get into that wheelchair will allow you to get home faster to our children," said Clarissa.

Spencer reluctantly got off his bed and got settled into the wheelchair while Clarissa smirked at Dr. Kimura and Nurse Leslie.

"Using the kids against Spence always get him to cooperate," said Clarissa before she picked up her husband's bags and slung them over her shoulders before grabbing her husband's hand before a Nurse Leslie pushed Spencer's wheelchair.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer smiled as he entered the house with Clarissa and took in the sight of both Bridget and Evan sitting on the floor building a tower of blocks together while being unaware that he came home.

"I'm glad to see my Irish twins getting along great," said Spencer.

Bridget and Evan both turned their heads and grinned when they saw their daddy standing in the living room.

"Daddy!" exclaimed Bridget.

"Dada!" exclaimed Evan.

Bridget quickly got onto her feet and sprinted towards her daddy and hugged his legs.

"I missed you, Cricket," said Spencer as he ran a hand through his 21-month-old daughter's hair as he watched his 11-month-old son scramble onto his feet and do a toddling run towards him.

As soon as Evan reached his parents, Clarissa quickly scooped up her son.

"Are you having fun with Bridget and Lucy, Baby Boy?" asked Clarissa as she kissed her son's head.

Evan nodded as his growing brown curly hair bounced.

"Es," said Evan.

Bridget looked up at her daddy.

"Dada up," said Bridget.

Spencer sighed.

"Daddy isn't supposed to carry you or Diana for two weeks, Cricket," said Spencer before smiling at his youngest daughter, "But what do you say about going to mommy's and my bed so we can cuddle," said Spencer.

Bridget looked at her Irish twin who was falling asleep.

"Evan too?" asked Bridget.

Clarissa smiled at her curly black haired and brown eyed mini-me.

"Evan too because mommy is taking a nap too," said Clarissa.

Lucy put down the book that she was reading.

"What shall I make you guys for lunch in a couple of hours?" asked Lucy.

Bridget looked at her nanny.

"Illed eese anwich, pwease," said Bridget.

Spencer quickly translated what Bridget said and looked at Lucy.

"Bridget wants you to make grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch," said Spencer.

"Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup it is," said Lucy.

Two minutes later Bridget and Evan were between their parents in bed when Bridget looked at her daddy.

"Pwease read to me, daddy," said Bridget.

Spencer smiled at his 21-month-old daughter while feeling saddened at the thought of Bridget turning two in less than three months.

"Only because you said please," said Spencer as he grabbed one of his books off his nightstand and started to read out loud.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that afternoon Spencer and Clarissa were standing outside of Clarissa's SUV as they waited for school to be let out for the day when Spencer looked at his wife.

"Did you tell Diana that I was being released from the hospital today?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa smirked.

"I decided to take a page out of your book and surprise her," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled as he shook his head.

"I should punish you for deciding to surprise Diana when I get the all clear," said Spencer as he waggled his eyebrows at his wife.

Clarissa blushed.

"Then I should be punishing you every time you decide to surprise the kids and me when you get home from a case," said Clarissa just as they heard the school bell rang and smiled at her husband, "It should be a couple of minutes before Diana is outside because I told her that I'll be picking her up from school today," said Clarissa.

"Are you going to be OK with going back to work on Monday?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"Lucy will keep an eye on you and knowing your grandparents they'll be glad to stop by and help out since they come and visit Bridget and Evan while we're both working and Diana's at school," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked through the window of the back seat and smiled at the sight of Bridget and Evan both napping in their car seats causing him to think about how Clarissa allowed him to push Bridget and Evan on their swings and help out in the garden after they ate lunch before looking at his wife who had a bit of sunburn on her nose.

"All the fresh hair you, Bridget, Evan, and I had this afternoon did us some good," said Spencer.

Clarissa nodded as she looked at her husband who had a bit of sunburn on his face.

"I'm glad that spending a couple of hours in the sun helped the pale skin you displayed the past few days ago away," said Clarissa.

Spencer turned his head towards the school and his face broke into a grin as he took in the sight of his oldest daughter who was wearing an overall dress, a purple t-shirt, mismatched socks, and purple converse sneakers while her mid-back length curly brown hair was pulled into two fishtail braids with purple ribbons at the end of the braids.

"Diana sure loves purple," said Spencer.

Clarissa smiled at her husband.

"She loves purple because its one of your favorite colors," said Clarissa just as she saw a look on Diana's face, "It seems like Diana saw you," said Clarissa.

"Daddy!" cried Diana as she took off running towards her daddy.

A few seconds later Spencer was kneeling down and hugging Diana who was hugging him tightly.

"When did you get out of the hospital, daddy?" asked Diana.

"I got released this morning," said Spencer.

Diana broke out of her hug and looked at her smiling mother.

"Did you know that daddy was being released today?" asked Diana.

Clarissa nodded as she watched her husband help Diana take off her backpack.

"I knew that daddy was getting released this morning after I dropped you off at school," said Clarissa.

Spencer opened up the backseat door of the mini-van and looked at Diana.

"Let's get you into your booster seat because we're going to straight to Aunt Mary's house from here because we're going to be celebrating grandma Lydia's birthday and Shabbat," said Spencer.

Diana gave her daddy a skeptical look.

"Are you up to going to Aunt Mary's house for grandma Lydia's birthday dinner and Shabbat?" asked Diana.

"My doctor gave me the all clear to celebrate grandma Lydia's birthday and Shabbat as long as I take it easy," said Spencer as he helped Diana get into the backseat of Clarissa's mini-van and helped Diana get buckled up into her car seat just as Bridget and Evan both woke up.

Diana grinned at the sight of her little brother and sister both grinning at her.

"Hi, Bridget. Hi Evan," said Diana.

"Hi Anna," said Bridget.

"Hi Na," said Evan.

Diana grinned as she thought about Evan calling her Na because of not being able to call her Diana.

"I was just at school and I'll show you two what I learned today tomorrow," said Diana.

"Yay!" cheered Bridget as she clapped her hands.

"Aye!" cheered Evan as he clapped his hands.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter.

"Are you making sure that Bridget and Evan end up with high I.Q.'s like you and me?" asked Spencer.

"Everyone says that learning from an early age is good and I want Bridget and Evan to know as much as possible before they start preschool," said Diana.  
Clarissa shook her head.

"At this rate, I'll be dealing with five geniuses living under my roof," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"Don't call yourself dumb because you are really smart like the kids and me too," chided Spencer.

Clarissa shook her head as she looked at her three children.

"Are you guys ready to go over to your great-grandparents' house?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Diana, Bridget, and Evan all at once before Diana started to sing the song "Over the River, and Through the Wood" out loud causing Spencer and Clarissa to shake their heads before Clarissa started to drive.

Xxxxxxxx 

Nearly a half-hour later, Spencer looked at Diana and Bridget as Clarissa pulled over their mini-van in front of the house that his aunt, uncle, and grandparents live in.

"Please remember that we're still keeping the news about Evan becoming a big brother until Evan's birthday party next month," said Spencer firmly.

Diana who was properly buckled into her booster seat nodded.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer looked at his 21-month-old daughter who looked a lot like Clarissa despite having his big brown eyes and curly hair.

"Are you going to help mommy, Diana, and I keep the secret about mommy having another baby in her tummy?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Bridget.

A minute later Spencer and Clarissa were smiling as they watched Diana, Bridget, and Evan happily greet their great-grandparents and when their children were greeting their great-aunt Mary, great-uncle Joe, their second cousins Maeve and Jacob, and their third cousins Isaac and Abigail, Spencer took the time to pull his grandmother into a gentle hug.

"Happy birthday, grandma," said Spencer as he kissed his grandmother's cheek.

"Thank you, Spencer," said Lydia as she looked into her grandson's eyes that matched her husband's eyes, "How are you feeling, Spencer?" asked Lydia.

"I'm regaining my strength every day and I'm glad to no longer be in the hospital," said Spencer.

Clarissa gave her husband a firm look.

"You promised your doctor and me that you would take it easy this evening, so please go sit down, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer gave his wife a cheeky grin.

"I'll obey my favorite nurse," said Spencer.

Clarissa lightly slapped her husband on the arm.

"Go sit down, Spence," said Clarissa firmly.

Spencer gave his wife another cheeky grin.

"Yes, ma'am," said Spencer as he made his way over to the couch and sat down as he chuckled at the "Hotchner" glare that Clarissa was giving him.

Lydia and Evan shook their heads.

"You two are so adorable together," said Lydia.

Spencer grinned at his grandmother.

"I know that my adorableness is a reason why Clarissa said yes to marrying me," said Spencer.

Clarissa gave her 'Hotchner' glare to her husband.

"Do you really want to sleep on the couch tonight?" asked Clarissa.

"No," said Spencer just as Abigail and Isaac ran over to him.

"Can you please do magic tricks for us?" asked Abigail.

Spencer nodded.

"Yes," said Spencer as he reached into his messenger bag and pulled out a deck of cards just as Diana, Bridget, and Evan joined him, Isaac, and Abigail and shuffled his cards before fanning them out, "Pick a card. Any card, Abigail," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

After eating dinner, Lydia was sitting in front of a birthday cake that had two candles that spelled out '79' as she listened to her husband, daughter, son-in-law, three grandchildren, and the three oldest of her five great-grandchildren sing "Happy Birthday" to her in either English or Hebrew before she blew out the candles.


	73. Family Time, Morgan Twins & Evan Turns 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts two weeks after the last chapter and Spencer is still on medical leave because of Dr. Kimura telling Spencer to take a month off from work and Diana is now on summer vacation.
> 
> Clarissa is eight-weeks pregnant in the beginning of this chapter.

Spencer exited the movie theater while he held Diana's hand and looked at his oldest daughter who was munching on the container of popcorn he bought for them to share.

"What did you think of "Up", Diana?" asked Spencer.

Diana grinned up at her daddy.

"I loved it," said Diana as she started to excitably tell her daddy about her favorite moments in the movie.

When Diana was finished telling her daddy her favorite moments, she looked up at her daddy.

"Carl is a lot like you because he is shy like you and Ellie is a lot like mommy because she's outgoing like mommy," said Diana.

Spencer smiled down at his daughter.

"I had the same thoughts about Carl and Ellie being a lot like your mommy and me," said Spencer just as his personal phone rang causing him to see that it was his grandpa calling, "Is everything OK, grandpa?" asked Spencer.

"Your grandma, aunt, uncle, and I all have the stomach flu so I don't want you, Clarissa, or my great-grandchildren to come over for Shabbat tonight because none of us want to get you guys sick," said Evan.

"OK and I hope that you guys feel better soon and let me know if you need anything," said Spencer before hanging up.

Diana looked at her daddy as they reached Clarissa's mini-van.

"Is grandpa Evan OK?" asked Diana.

Spencer unlocked the doors for the minivan he borrowed so he didn't have to use his Volvo to drive the children around or borrow Lucy's car.

"Your great-grandparents, great-aunt Mary, and great-uncle Joe all have the stomach flu so grandpa told me that we should stay home tonight instead of going to their house for Shabbat," said Spencer.

Diana climbed into the backseat of the minivan and climbed into her booster seat as she thought of the time she caught the stomach flu from school and passed it on to her parents and Bridget.

"Getting the stomach flu is no fun," said Diana.

Spencer nodded as he securely buckled his oldest daughter in.

"I second that but everyone should be feeling a bit better by next week," said Spencer.

"I'll pray for them before I go to bed tonight," said Diana before becoming up with an idea, "Daddy?" asked Diana.

"Yes, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"Can we have a backyard camp out tonight?" asked Diana.

Spencer quickly thought about the weather report he read in the newspaper.

"We can because its suppose to be nice outside tonight," said Spencer as he closed the backseat door of the minivan before making his way to the driver's seat and climbed in and buckled his seat belt, "Our backyard camp out can be our surprise for mommy tonight," said Spencer as he started his wife's minivan.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer was putting side dishes onto the dining room table, Diana was setting the table, and Lucy was putting Bridget and Evan into either their booster seat or high chair when a hospital scrub-clad Clarissa came into the kitchen.

"Dinner should be done in five minutes," said Spencer.

"What about going to your grandparents' house for Shabbat, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Grandma, grandpa, aunt Mary, and uncle Joe all have the stomach flu right now and they told us to not come over," said Spencer.

Clarissa thought about the times she had the stomach flu.

"Having the stomach flu is no fun," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"I second that," said Spencer.

"Do you want to go to the synagogue tonight?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head.

"Diana already asked if we could have a family movie night tonight," said Spencer just as the oven timer went off, "I'm going to get dinner out of the oven," said Spencer as he headed towards the kitchen.

Five minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, and Lucy were eating the chicken Parmesan that Spencer made for dinner while Bridget and Evan ate cut up pieces of spaghetti and chicken when Clarissa looked at her oldest daughter who has been on summer vacation for a week.

"What did you, daddy, and your siblings do today?" asked Clarissa.

"After you left for work, daddy took Bridget, Evan, and me to the zoo. After eating lunch, daddy took me to the movies to see "Up" because it just came into theaters today," said Diana.

Clarissa smiled as she thought about Diana wanting to see "Up" ever since she saw the preview for the movie while she and Spencer already took Diana to see "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" together a week ago.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" asked Clarissa.

Diana nodded as the curly pigtails her daddy pulled her hair into bounced.

"I loved it and Bridget and Evan need to see "Up" too," said Diana.

Clarissa smiled.

"Daddy and I will by the DVD when "Up" is released on DVD," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"When "Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" is playing in theaters on July 1st, can you please take me to see that movie?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled.

"Its a date, Diana," said Spencer before looking at Clarissa, "And I'll go see whatever movie that's coming to theaters during the next couple of weeks," said Spencer.

Clarissa smirked as she thought about the time dragged her husband to the movies to see "Twilight" and how her husband wasn't happy with her until she put on a stripping show for her husband later on that night.

"Even if it's a chick flick or a romantic comedy?" asked Clarissa.

"I can never say no on going to see a chick flick or romantic comedy with you because I'm spending time with you," said Spencer.

Clarissa titled her head.

"I want to see "The Proposal" and "My Sister's Keeper" with you," said Clarissa.

"Deal and we'll have to see "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" when its released to theaters on July 15th," said Spencer.

"I definitely want to see that movie too," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her parents.

"When are you two going to allow me to see the "Harry Potter" movies when we all read the books?" asked Diana.

Spencer thought about watching the first five "Harry Potter" movies with Clarissa.

"Harry Potter and the Scorcher Stone" shouldn't be too intense for you to watch, but "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" would be a bit too intense for you to watch," said Spencer.

Diana nodded as she thought about how her parents are careful about what movies she can watch or not because of her age and how her former second-grade classmates told her that the second "Harry Potter" movie was a bit intense for them.

"Can we watch "Harry Potter and the Scorcher Stone" soon?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other.

"We already have the DVD and we'll watch it after the dishwasher is loaded," said Clarissa.

"OK," beamed Diana before looking at her daddy, "Can we show mommy the surprise we arranged in the backyard after dinner?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled.

"We'll show mommy after dinner," said Spencer.

"Now what are you two up to?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer and Diana exchanged glances before giving Clarissa innocent looks.

"Nothing," said Spencer and Diana in unison.

Clarissa shook her head as she looked at Lucy who was smirking.

"Did Spence and Diana do any science experiments that caused a huge mess?" asked Clarissa.

Lucy softly chuckled as she thought about the messes Spencer and Diana created the past week.

"Even though they did a bunch of experiments together this week and cleaned up all their messes, they didn't do any science experiments today," said Lucy.

Xxxxxxxx 

After Diana helped her parents load the dishwasher, Diana looked at her mommy.

"Please come outside with mommy and me," said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana were outside only for Clarissa to see their tent set up.

"I take it that you two decided that we would have a family camp out in the backyard tonight?" asked Clarissa.

Diana nodded.

"It was a beautiful spring day today and daddy said that it's not going to rain tonight," said Diana.

Clarissa smiled at her husband and oldest daughter.

"Then I love the idea of you two, Bridget, Evan, and me sleeping in our tent tonight," said Clarissa before looking at her husband and oldest daughter, "We might as well all get our showers taken before we settle down to watch "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"," said Clarissa.

Xxxxxxxx 

A half hour later the growing Reid family were in their pajamas and were cuddling on the couch together while Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana watched "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" before the growing family headed out to their backyard to sleep in their tent.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next day Spencer and Clarissa left either Bridget's or Evan's bedroom and met in the hallway when Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I can't believe that Evan will be one in over two weeks and that Bridget will be turning two in about three months," said Clarissa sadly.

Spencer sighed as he thought about his little Cricket that gave him the strength to not get addicted to Dilaudid and accept help after the Hankel case and his little tadpole that he delivered himself on Father's Day.

"I'm sad about how fast our Irish twins are growing too, Clarissa," said Spencer before resting a hand on his wife's nearly nine-week pregnant stomach, "At least we'll be holding our fourth baby in about 31 weeks," said Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"Having another baby coming soon softens up the blow about how big Diana, Bridget, and Evan, are getting, but speaking about babies let's go see what our oldest baby is doing before Lucy gets home from grocery shopping," said Clarissa.

A minute later Spencer and Clarissa were in their backyard where they found a laughing Diana running through the sprinkler fully clothed causing them to laugh.

"I can't believe that Diana can get into trouble like you do when she's left alone," said Clarissa.

Spencer gave his wife a mock-glare as they sat down in the patio chairs.

"You are so going to get it later for that comment," said Spencer.

Clarissa smirked.

"Promises. Promises," purred Clarissa before thinking about one of her most favorite moments of Diana getting into trouble when left alone, "My favorite memory of Diana getting into trouble was when she decided to dig a hole in front of her slide and fill it with water and go down the slide multiple times when I was pregnant with Bridget," said Clarissa.

Spencer chuckled at the memory of finding a three-year-old Diana covered head to toe in mud.

"I really had to hold back my laughter because I didn't want to encourage Diana, but after I settled her down for her nap Lucy and I were laughing," said Spencer before smiling at the sound of Diana's laughter, "I just love hearing Diana, Bridget, and Evan laugh," said Spencer.

"Me too, Spence," said Clarissa as she rubbed her nearly nine-week baby bump, "If I wasn't pregnant, I would join Diana," said Clarissa.

Spencer sighed as he thought about how Dr. Kimura told him not to run or go swimming for a month and how he didn't have any problem joining his daughter in her childish antics so he can briefly be a kid.

"I would join Diana if I could, but hopefully Dr. Kimura will clear me for running and swimming during my follow up on June 8th because I'm really looking forward to attending Camp Faith during Father's Day weekend," said Spencer.

Clarissa smiled.

"I'm looking forward to attending Camp Faith too, but it sucks that I won't be able to go horseback riding with you, Diana, and Bridget," said Clarissa.

"Maybe Reverend Alden might ask you to help out in the first aid station when I do activities that your not allowed to do right now," said Spencer.

"I'll ask him, but I'll most likely spend a lot of time with Bridget and Evan," said Clarissa just as she saw a soaking wet Diana coming towards them with the hose out of the corner of her eye causing her to give her daughter a stern look, "Don't you dare spray us with the hose right now, Diana. Your daddy and I have Bridget's and Evan's baby monitors on the table by us, our cell phones are right here too, and your daddy has to be careful around water while his lungs recover," said Clarissa sternly.

Diana put down the hose and gave her parents an apologetic look as water dripped off her pigtails.

"Sorry, mommy. Sorry daddy," said Diana.

"Apology accepted, but I think that its time for you to get out of your wet clothes and clean up from running around the sprinkler," said Spencer before looking at his watch, "Lucy should be back with groceries and Bridget and Evan will be waking up from their naps within the next hour and mommy and I decided that we'll be making homemade pizza for dinner tonight," said Spencer.

"Am I going to be in trouble for running through the sprinkler without your permission?" asked Diana.

Clarissa shook her head.

"You're not in trouble because daddy and I would have joined you if we were both in the condition to join you," said Clarissa.

A minute later Spencer was heading into the bathroom to get a warm shower started for Diana while Clarissa dried Diana off and stripped her out of her clothes before helping Diana step into the shower.

Xxxxxxxx 

Nine days later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and a sleeping Evan entered Garcia's hospital room and Clarissa gasped at the sight of Morgan and Garcia each holding one of their children who both looked like their father.

"They're gorgeous," said Clarissa as she locked the breaks on Evan's stroller.

"Thank you," smiled Garcia.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"I can never forget the time that you said that you would stick to practicing when Aaron and Haley brought my one-week-old nephew for his first visit to the BAU over three years and six months ago," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Diana, Bridget, and Evan.

"Seeing you with your kids warmed me up to the idea of fatherhood," said Morgan.

Garcia looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"And seeing you two together caused us to admit our feelings for each other," said Garcia.

Diana who was sitting on the couch in Garcia's hospital room with Bridget looked at Morgan and Garcia.

"What are the twins name?" asked Diana.

"Our daughter's name is Barbara Francine Morgan because we agreed to name our daughter after our mothers," said Garcia.

"Beautiful name," said Clarissa.

"What about your son?" asked Spencer.

"Hank after my pops and Spencer for the best little brother anybody could ever ask for," said Morgan.

Spencer felt his eyes water a bit.

"I'm honored," said Spencer.

"We also want you to be the twins godfather because we want you to teach them everything they need to know about life and chess," said Morgan.

Diana gave her Hotchner glare to Morgan.

"I can teach Hank and Barbara how to play chess too," said Diana.

Morgan softly chuckled.

"I know," said Morgan.

Diana looked at her daddy.

"After we leave, can we please go to the park to play chess?" asked Diana.

"After dinner, we'll go to the park to play chess," said Spencer firmly.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

Bridget's stomach growled causing her to look at her mommy.

"I hungy," said Bridget.

"We'll be leaving in a couple of minutes and go out for pizza," said Clarissa.

"OK mama," said Bridget.

Morgan who was holding Barbara looked at Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana.

"Do you guys each want a turn to hold Hank and Barbara before you guys go get dinner?" asked Morgan.

Clarissa nodded.

"Yes please," said Clarissa as she took Hank from Garcia and smiled down at the baby boy in her arms, "You look so much like your daddy, Hank," said Clarissa.

"We know," said Garcia before tilting her head and studied Clarissa for a moment, "Your glowing," said Garcia.

Spencer who was holding Barbara nodded at Clarissa who looked at Morgan and Garcia.

"That's because I'm 10-weeks pregnant," said Clarissa.

Garcia smiled as she thought about how adorable Spencer's and Clarissa's children turned out.

"Congratulations," said Garcia.

Morgan looked between Spencer and Clarissa.

"What happened with you two waiting until Evan turned two and Bridget turning three to try for baby number four?" asked Morgan.

Diana looked at Morgan and Garcia.

"I asked mommy and daddy to do a magic trick that would make Evan become a big brother," said Diana.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Diana really has you wrapped around her finger," said Morgan.

Spencer smiled at his five-year-old daughter who was beaming at him.

"I know and I bet that Barbara already has you wrapped around her finger," said Spencer.

"She does," said Morgan.

"Does the rest of the team know about the baby?" asked Garcia.

"Only Aaron knows, but I have a feeling that Rossi has an inkling," said Spencer as he switched babies with Clarissa.

"We're planning on telling everyone else during Evan's birthday party on Sunday so please don't tell anyone," said Clarissa.

"We won't," said Morgan and Garcia in unison.

Garcia looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Since there's no way for Derek and me to attend Evan's birthday party because of me recovering from my C-section and Hank and Barbara only being six days old on the day of the party, can you please make sure to take a lot of pictures and make a video of Evan enjoying his birthday cake?" asked Garcia.

"Other than Spence, Lucy, and I are planning on cooking a bunch of meals and storing them into your freezer by the time you're discharged, we'll make sure to take a lot of pictures and make a video while we bring you guys and Fran some leftover birthday cake to enjoy," said Clarissa.

"Thank you," said Garcia.

A few seconds later Diana was taking a turn to hold Hank and Barbara each for a minute before Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and a still sleeping Evan left Garcia's hospital room.

Xxxxxxxx 

Six days later Spencer and Clarissa walked towards Reverend Alden with Evan on his father's hip.

"Good morning, Reverend Alden," said Spencer.

"Hi!" said Evan.

Reverend Alden turned around and instantly looked at Evan and noticed Evan's onesie that said TOMORROW IS MY 1ST BIRTHDAY AND I'M A BIG BROTHER!

"I see that I'm getting a new member in my church," said Reverend Alden.

Spencer and Clarissa blushed.

"Diana begged us to give her another sibling and we couldn't say no," said Clarissa.

Reverend Alden looked at Clarissa.

"How far along are you?" asked Reverend Alden.

"This week I'll be 11-weeks pregnant," said Clarissa.

"Do you mind if I share the news during this morning's announcements prior to my sermon?" asked Reverend Alden.

"You have my blessing because we're sharing the news to our friends and family during Evan's birthday party today," said Clarissa.

"Are you going to be up to attending Camp Faith this Friday?" asked Reverend Alden.

"My doctor cleared me to go camping this Friday and I'll still have a lot of fun despite being pregnant again," smiled Clarissa before she, Spencer, Bridget, Evan, and Lucy went to take their seats.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that day after lunch, Spencer and Clarissa watched their son who was peacefully asleep in his crib before they left Evan's nursery.

"I can't believe that Evan will be a year old tomorrow," said Clarissa as tears fell down her face.

Spencer reached out and wiped the tears that were falling down her face.

"Me too, but at least we'll be holding our brand new son or daughter by Christmas if he or she ends up being a lot like Diana, Bridget, and Evan and end up being born at 38-weeks like Diana and Bridget or 36-weeks like Evan," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband's watch.

"We should probably finish up getting everything ready in the backyard for Evan's party because our guests will be arriving soon," said Clarissa.

Spencer grinned.

"At least I was given the all clear to go swimming by Dr. Kimura last week," said Spencer.

"I'm glad too, but please take it easy, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Yes, ma'am," said Spencer as he gave his wife one last kiss before he and Clarissa started to get everything ready for their son's birthday party.

Xxxxxxxx 

An hour later a swim trunk and FBI t-shirt clad Spencer carried his son who was wearing a onesie over his swim diaper out to the backyard and as soon as he placed his son on the ground Evan looked at everyone who dressed up appropriately for the pool party.

"Hi," said Evan as he waved at everyone.

Everyone took in the sight of Evan's onesie before Lydia looked at her grandson and granddaughter-in-law.

"I had a feeling that Evan and I were getting another great-grandchild to spoil because of how you two were acting the past couple of weeks," said Lydia.

Spencer looked at his grandparents and thought about how they spoiled Diana, Bridget, and Evan since he tracked them down and got to know them.

"Are you two excited about getting another great-grandchild to spoil?" asked Spencer.

Evan and Lydia nodded as they gave their 29-year-old granddaughter a look.

"Since Maeve has yet to settle down and give us some great-grandchildren to spoil, we're happy about you giving us another great-grandchild to spoil, Spencer," said Evan as he hugged his grandson while Hotch hugged his baby sister.

"Congratulations again, Clarissa," said Hotch.

Clarissa kissed her oldest brother's cheek.

"Thank you, Aaron," smiled Clarissa.

Rossi looked at Hotch.

"There must be something in the water or coffee at the BAU because Reid delivered little Evan himself last June. JJ gave birth to Henry last November. Penelope just gave birth to Hank and Barbara six days ago, and now Reid's becoming a father again," said Rossi.

Clarissa burst out laughing as tears fell down her face.

"There's something in the water or coffee at Children's National too because there are nine other nurses at Children's National who are all pregnant too," said Clarissa.

Diana who was already wearing her swimsuit looked at her parents.

"Because of Evan finally being awake, can I please go swimming now?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa shook their heads and a few seconds later Spencer was pulling off his FBI t-shirt while blushing at Clarissa's loud wolf whistle before he got Evan out of his onesie and put his flotation device on before getting into the pool with Diana, Bridget, and Evan.

Xxxxxxxx 

Two hours later Evan was sitting in his highchair on the patio deck when Spencer brought a small chocolate cake with a single candle in it. After lighting the camera, Spencer and Clarissa took their places on either side of Evan before nodding at Diana who was going to start singing "Happy Birthday" and Jacob who offered to film Evan's first cake smash.

"We're ready," said Spencer.

Diana started to sing the first few words of "Happy Birthday" before everyone else started to join in and after everyone was done singing Spencer and Clarissa locked eyes with each other and smiled before they blew out the lone birthday candle before everyone including little Evan clapped their hands.

"Aye!" cheered Evan.

Clarissa looked at her son and dipped her finger into the cake and licked the icing off her finger causing Evan to study the cake for a moment before he started to dig into his cake while getting chocolate flavored icing and cake all over himself causing a laughing Clarissa to look at her smiling husband.

"Now we have two children who inherited your sweet tooth," laughed Clarissa.

Spencer smiled as he shook his head as he rested his hand on Clarissa's nearly 11-week pregnant stomach.

"I can't wait to see how Baby Reid turns out when it comes to sweets," said Spencer as he knelt down and rested his hand on Clarissa's stomach, "Daddy loves you and your going to grow up in a household full of love, Baby Reid," said Spencer before kissing the small baby bump that was already present.

Clarissa wiped the tears that were falling down her face.

"I love you so much, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled up at his wife.

"I love you too, Clarissa," said Spencer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I decided to end this chapter here but the next one will deal with the Reid family and Lucy going camping with their church.


	74. Father's Day Weekend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally caught up with posting what I already have for this story on Fanfiction onto this website. Its going to be awhile before I update because I had exploratory laparoscopy surgery done nearly two weeks ago and I'll be needing another surgery within the next couple of weeks (Hopefully soon because I want the pain I'm going through to end!).

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law as he closed the trunk of his and Clarissa's minivan.

"Thank you for helping me load up the van for tomorrow," said Spencer.

"I wanted to make sure that you, my sister, nieces, and nephew were all prepared for tomorrow," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"You did save me a couple of trips out here," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at the young man who had made his baby sister happy for over eight and a half years.

"Are you excited about going camping tomorrow?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Its been three years since the last time I went camping and I'm glad that Dr. Kimura cleared me for this trip because I didn't want to break the promise that Clarissa and I made to Diana," said Spencer.

Hotch thought about his nearly 12-week pregnant sister.

"Even though my sister has restrictions to keep my newest niece or nephew safe?" asked Hotch.

Clarissa who was wearing denim shorts and a red t-shirt that showed off her already developing baby bump walked over to them with two bottles of water.

"Even though I'm sad about not being able to do all of the activities that are available, I'm looking forward to spending quality with Evan while Spence has fun with girls," said Clarissa.

Hotch accepted the bottle of water from his baby sister while feeling saddened at the thought of his baby sister turning 28 in about six months.

"Is Lucy going with you guys?" asked Hotch.

"Lucy's not coming because she wants to use our weekend getaway to thoroughly clean the house without the kids, Spence, and me getting in the way and prepare next week's meals ahead of time," said Clarissa just as Diana ran over to them.

"Daddy? Uncle Aaron?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at his five-year-old blue-eyed mini-me who was wearing overall shorts, a purple t-shirt, mismatched socks, and purple converse sneakers.

"Yes, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, Diana?" asked Hotch.

"Can you two please kick my soccer ball around with me before I have to take a shower and get into my nightgown?" asked Diana.

Spencer grinned at his oldest daughter.

"You want to be prepared for the soccer games you might participate in?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as her pigtails nodded.

"Yes," said Diana.

"When it comes to there being a possibility of me being roped into playing a game, I'll brush up on my soccer skills with you," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her favorite uncle.

"Will you play soccer with daddy and me, uncle Aaron?" asked Diana.

Hotch smiled at his oldest niece.

"Yes," said Hotch.

Clarissa looked at her watch before looking at her oldest daughter.

"You can play for a half-hour because we're all having an early bedtime tonight and we're hitting the road at 8 A.M. tomorrow morning," said Clarissa.

Diana grinned at her mother.

"Yes, ma'am," said Diana before she ran into the house.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Do you think that you could create a powder or beverage to keep Jack, Diana, Bridget, and Evan from growing up so quickly?" asked Hotch.

Spencer shook his head.

"I wish that I could use my Ph.D. in chemistry to create something to stop the kids from growing up so quickly, but its scientifically impossible," said Spencer.

Clarissa gave her husband and oldest brother each a light shove.

"Go play soccer with Diana," said Clarissa.

A minute later Spencer, Diana, and Hotch were in the background kicking Diana's soccer ball around.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Diana just finished helping her parents settle into the cabin that was their home until Sunday afternoon looked at watch before looking at her parents.

"What are we going to do from now until lunchtime?" asked Diana.

Clarissa looked over where Bridget and Evan were both asleep in their double stroller before yawning a bit and looked at her husband and oldest daughter.

"I'm tired from our road trip, but you two can do whatever you two decide on doing and we'll talk about what you two did at lunchtime," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at Diana.

"What do you want to do, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"Can we please go swimming?" asked Diana.

Spencer nodded.

"We can go swimming, but you will be required to wear the life vest that mommy and I packed for you," said Spencer firmly.

Diana thought about the statistics she read about children drowning more in open water than swimming pools.

"Yes, sir," said Diana.

A few minutes later a swim trunk and F.B.I. t-shirt clad Spencer and a bathing suit and life vest clad Diana were heading to the ranch's lake where a few other families from their church were already getting ready to go swimming in too.

Xxxx 

Later on that evening Spencer and Clarissa laughed as they took in the sight of Bridget who had marshmallow on her face from the small pieces of S'mores that she was given.

"Did you like your S'more, Bridget?" asked Clarissa.

Bridget nodded as she rubbed her tummy.

"Yummy yummy in my tummy," said Bridget.

Diana who had already eaten two S'mores grinned at her little sister.

"S'mores are very yummy, Bridget," said Diana.

Spencer who was already eating his third S'more looked at his wife who was already eating her fourth S'more as she rubbed her already showing baby bump.

"I take it that the baby loves S'mores?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"Baby Reid really loves S'mores," said Clarissa before she took a bite of her S'more.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Clarissa stood in the stables with Evan on her hip as she used her free hand to hold up her digital camera as she looked at her husband who was sitting behind Bridget on a horse while Diana sat on a pony on her own.

"Say cheese," said Clarissa.

"Cheese," said Spencer, Diana, and Bridget in unison while Clarissa took a picture of Spencer, Diana, and Bridget on their horses.

Clarissa pocketed her camera and smiled at her husband and two daughters.

"You three have fun and Evan and I will see you guys soon," said Clarissa before walking away.

Spencer looked at his 22-month-old daughter who had a helmet on her head as he tightened his grip on his youngest daughter and the reins of the horse they were riding together.

"What do you say to Buttercup, Cricket?" asked Spencer.

"Giddy up," said Bridget.

Spencer gave Buttercup a kick causing Buttercup to start walking while Diana got her pony to start walking.

Xxxxxx 

45 minutes later Clarissa blew a raspberry on her one-year-old son's stomach causing Evan to squeal with laughter as drool dribbled down his face.

"You like that, Evan?" asked Clarissa as she used her son's bib to wipe up the drool.

Evan nodded.

"Mama," smiled Evan.

Clarissa took in the sight of her toddler son who looked exactly like his father when it came to having his father's big brown eyes, curly brown hair, his nose, and chin.

"You look so much like your daddy, little man," said Clarissa.

Evan started to look around for his daddy.

"Dada?" asked Evan.

"Daddy went horseback riding with Diana and Bridget, but they will be back soon," said Clarissa just as she grinned when she saw her husband who was carrying Bridget on his hip while he held Diana's hand with his free hand, "Daddy's back with your sisters now," said Clarissa.

Evan turned his head and grinned at the sight of his daddy and big sisters.

"Dada! Na! Et!" exclaimed Evan.

Spencer smiled as he reached over for Evan so he could have both Bridget and Evan on his hips.

"I see that you had a great time with mommy, tadpole," said Spencer.

Clarissa smiled at her husband.

"Did you guys have fun horseback riding?" asked Clarissa.

Bridget nodded as her nearly shoulder-length black curls bounced.

"I like iding Buttercup," said Bridget.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter.

"Do you want to tell mommy about what you made the horse you rode on do?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as she made eye contact with her mother.

"I made my horse Peanut jump over a log, mommy," said Diana.

"You did?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes and it was awesome," grinned Diana as she started to tell her mother about what she saw while she and Bridget went horseback riding with her daddy.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that evening, Spencer twirled Clarissa on the makeshift dance floor before pulling Clarissa back into his arms as he thought about the 15 teenagers that they gotten to know over the past five years that were in charge of entertaining the kids while the parents had a dance around the campfire.

"Even though Diana, Bridget, and Evan are well behaved for 98% of the time, do you think that any of them are giving any of the volunteer babysitters a hard time?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa chuckled as she thought about Diana and the movie that the kids were going to watch.

"Unless Diana is sitting with Courtney and Isabel and watching "Bedtime Stories" with all the other children, Diana might be asking her babysitters to tell and show her what they learned in school," said Clarissa.

Spencer chucked.

"If she's pestering her babysitters to show her what they learned in school, that's my girl," grinned Spencer.  
Clarissa lightly slapped her husband's shoulder before she thought about Bridget.

"Bridget might already be wearing her noise canceling headphones and is playing with her blocks," said Clarissa before thinking about two of the teenage boys that volunteered to help out with the little kids, "unless if she's clinging to Albert or Simon because of Simon looking like you and Albert looking like Aaron," said Clarissa.

Spencer chuckled as he thought about Bridget's most favorite things are her noise canceling headphones and her blocks and how she became attached to Albert and Simon from church because of them looking like him and Hotch.

"Are you sure that you don't want to become a profiler?" asked Spencer.

"I prefer being a pediatric nurse at Children's National while I take care of you and the kids whenever you, Diana, Bridget, and Evan are sick and injured," said Clarissa before she thought about her nearly one-year-old baby boy, "Evan might be getting spoiled with cuddles from all the teenage girls because I'm not by him right now," said Clarissa.

Spencer gave his wife a cheeky grin.

"When it comes to all the girls that fight over who gets to hold him right now, Evan is going to be a heartbreaker when he's ready to start dating," said Spencer.

"When it comes to you stating that Diana and Bridget aren't allowed to date until they turn 30, Evan's not allowed to date until he turns 30 too, Spence," said Clarissa firmly.

Spencer rested his hand on his wife's nearly 12-week pregnant baby bump.

"What do you think that you're carrying this time?" asked Spencer.

"I believe that I'm pregnant with our second son, but I hope that its OK if I don't want to know the gender until after I go into labor," said Clarissa.

"I'm OK with waiting because we already have two daughters and one son, but can we wait with finalizing the baby's name until we see what he or she looks like?" asked Spencer.

"With the bet we made on the dates for the baby's birth, I'm OK with waiting until after the baby's born to finalize a name," said Clarissa before giving her husband a firm look, "When it comes to you and Diana begging me to get pregnant with our fourth child, I hope you understand that this baby is your only Christmas gift from me this year," said Clarissa.

Spencer smirked.

"Even though you told me that Diana was going to be my only Christmas gift from you in 2003, I know that I'm still getting more presents from you because you still gave me a few more Christmas gifts when Diana was four-days-old," said Spencer before he twirled his wife again.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer woke up to being peppered with kisses by Diana, Bridget, and Evan and as soon as he had his glasses on he quickly wrapped his arms around Diana and Bridget while Evan plopped himself on top of him. Spencer who remembered what holiday it was pretended to look confused at his children.

"What's up with the wake-up call?" asked Spencer.

"Is your eidetic memory taking a day off today, daddy?" asked Diana.

"Maybe or maybe not," answered Spencer.

Diana tilted her head and saw the sparkle of mischief in her daddy's eyes.

"I know you know that its Father's Day today, daddy," said Diana as she gave her daddy a kiss on the cheek, "Happy Father's Day, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer smiled at his five-year-old blue-eyed mini-me while feeling saddened at the thought of Diana starting the third grade in August while she's going to be celebrating her sixth birthday in December.

"Thank you, Diana," said Spencer.

"Happy Daddy's Day, daddy," said Bridget as she gave her daddy a kiss on the cheek.

Spencer smiled at his 22-month-old daughter while feeling proud of Bridget's language developing more before he felt sad at the thought of Bridget turning two in less than two months.

"Thank you, Bridget," said Spencer.

Evan looked at his daddy.

"Dada. Dada. Dada. Dada," said Evan as he gave his daddy a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

Spencer smiled at his one-year-old son.

"Thank you, Evan," said Spencer just as he noticed a smirking Clarissa leaning against the doorway of their cabin's bedroom, "Hi," said Spencer.

Clarissa made her way over to her husband and kissed him.

"Happy Father's Day, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Thank you," said Spencer just as his stomach growled causing Evan's eyes to go wide before the one-year-old toddler started to laugh, "I can't believe that he still laughs whenever someone's stomach growls," said Spencer.

Clarissa softly chuckled as she scooped up her baby boy and settled Evan onto her hip before looking at her husband who still had his arms wrapped around their daughters.

"You might as well let Diana and Bridget go so you can respond to nature calling and get dressed so we can head to the mess hall for breakfast and church," said Clarissa before looking at Diana and Bridget, "Let's give daddy some privacy so he can get dressed," said Clarissa.

A minute later Spencer was grabbing the jeans and polo shirt that Clarissa laid out for him before he headed to the cabin's bathroom to get ready for the day.

Xxxxxxxx 

Later on that evening, Spencer entered the master bedroom after putting Diana to bed only to find Clarissa wearing lingerie that he never saw before causing him to gulp.

"Your Father's Day present for me?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"You deserved to be spoiled rotten today because you spoiled me last month, but why are you in here before "Madagascar 2" would be over?" asked Clarissa.

"Diana fell asleep during the middle of the movie, so I carried her up to bed and decided to see what you were doing during your two hours to yourself," said Spencer.

"I'm not surprised that Diana's already asleep because of our weekend getaway tuckering the kids out," said Clarissa as she walked over to their bedroom door and locked it before she pulled her husband into a steamy kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I decided to end this chapter here and I promise you guys that as soon as I'm feeling up to writing again that I'll make sure that chapter 75 is longer.


	75. Summer of 2009

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for making you guys wait three weeks for this chapter, but other than having writer's block the surgery I was suppose to have ended up becoming exploratory laparoscopic surgery instead because of my doctor finding a bunch of problems after she inserted a camera through my belly button (Which is finally healed enough for me to sit with my laptop on my lap without feeling any pain or discomfort). I ended up seeing an oncologist (I don't have cancer, but she wanted to send me to a specialist who can help me better than herself) who has put me on two different medications to help with another medical condition I was diagnosed with during the attempted surgery and is planning to do surgery in the beginning of February (Yes that means another hiatus for medical reasons, but I'll post as many chapters as possible between now and February 4th) because I have a higher risk of losing part of my small intestines if she did the surgery she wants to do now.
> 
> This chapter two days after the last chapter so Clarissa is 12-weeks pregnant in the beginning of this chapter and this is the last chapter that deals with family fluff because the next chapter deals with the start of the drama of season 5.

June

xxxxx

Spencer looked at Bridget as he, Clarissa, Diana, Evan, and Lucy ate the scrambled eggs, strawberry pancakes, and bacon that Lucy made for breakfast.

"What are you going to do with Evan and Lucy while Diana is at day camp and mommy and I are at work?" asked Spencer.

Bridget looked at Lucy.

"We read?" asked Bridget.

Lucy nodded.

"I'll be glad to read to you and your brother today," said Lucy

Diana grinned at her little sister.

"After I get home I'll read to you today too, Bridget," said Diana.

Clarissa who was wiping maple syrup off Evan's face looked at her son.

"Are you going to love reading like daddy, Diana, Bridget, and me?" asked Clarissa.

Evan turned his head and pointed at a book on the kitchen island.

"Wead book," said Evan as he made the sign for book.

Spencer grinned at his son.

"That's my boy," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting at his desk doing paperwork when he glanced at the photo that Reverend Alden took of him, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan together when they were at family camp a few days ago when Emily looked up from her own desk and smiled at him.

"First day back after six weeks of medical leave and you're already missing the kids?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded.

"I enjoyed every moment I had with Clarissa and the kids despite Clarissa having to go back to work the Monday after I got out of the hospital," said Spencer.

"How did the kids handle you coming back to work today?" asked Emily.

Before Spencer could answer, he heard some familiar voices.

"Daddy," said Diana.

"Dada," said Bridget.

"Dada," said Evan.

Spencer turned his chair around and smiled when he saw Diana, Bridget, and Evan with Lucy who were all wearing visitor badges made their way towards him before he noticed the lunch box that Clarissa bought for him.

"I thought that I forgot something when I was taking the train here," said Spencer.

"I thought that having an eidetic memory means that you remember everything, daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer shook his head.

"My eidetic memory isn't that perfect because I remember everything I read and see, but sometimes I can forget simple things like hearing names because I once thought that Penelope's last name was Gomez instead of Garcia causing Morgan to start calling Garcia 'Baby Girl'," said Spencer.

Diana laughed.

"That really happened, daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer nodded just as Hotch walked over with a fresh cup of coffee for himself.

"I was there when your daddy got Garcia's name wrong, Diana," said Hotch.

Diana turned around and grinned when she saw her favorite uncle.

"Hi uncle Aaron," said Diana as she hugged her uncle.

Hotch took in the sight of his oldest niece who had her mid-back length curly brown hair pulled into two buns while she wore a pair of overall shorts, a pink t-shirt, and purple converse sneakers with mismatched socks.

"How was day camp today, Diana?" asked Hotch.

Diana grinned up at her uncle.

"I did a total of 20 jumps and spins on the ice," said Diana.

Hotch who was now holding his nephew on his hip smiled at his oldest niece.

"That's great," said Hotch.

Diana looked at her daddy who now had Bridget on his hip.

"Can I please tell uncle Aaron about what you taught me while you were on sick leave?" asked Diana.

"Go ahead, bumble bee," said Spencer.

Diana grinned at her uncle Aaron.

"Daddy taught me how to do physics magic," said Diana.

Hotch gave his brother-in-law a warning look to warn him not to teach Jack how to do physics magic before smiling at his niece.

"He did?" asked Hotch.

Spencer chuckled.

"That's because I couldn't say no to Diana's puppy dog eyes and pout when she begged me to teach her," said Spencer.

Emily laughed as she looked at Diana.

"Did you ever hear about the first time I witnessed your daddy doing physics magic here?" asked Emily.

Diana giggled while Spencer blushed.

"Daddy told me about the film canister hitting you right in the middle of your forehead and instead of being angry you asked daddy to show you before he got in trouble with uncle Aaron," said Diana.

"Speaking of trouble, we should let your daddy get back to work before he, Auntie Emily, and uncle Aaron get in trouble with their boss for not working," said Lucy.

Diana looked at the clock in the bullpen before looking at her nanny.

"Since its almost lunchtime, can we please get McDonald's for lunch?" asked Diana.

Lucy looked at Spencer who nodded his consent.

"We can have McDonald's for lunch because you asked nicely," said Lucy.

Daddy hugged her daddy.

"If you don't get a case, hopefully, I'll see you at dinnertime, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer who still had Bridget on his hip and crouched down and gave Diana a kiss on the forehead.

"I hope so too, bumble bee, but if I get a case please be a good girl for mommy and Lucy and listen to them if they ask you to do anything," said Spencer.

"Yes sir," said Diana as she gave her father a salute causing Spencer, Hotch, Emily, and Lucy to smile or laugh at Diana's antics before Spencer looked at Bridget.

"Will you be a good girl for mommy and Lucy if I end up going bye-bye?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, Dada," said Bridget before looking into the eyes that matched her own, "I kiss you like Ana?" asked Bridget.

Spencer grinned at his youngest daughter while feeling saddened at the thought of Bridget turning two in less than two months.

"I was expecting a kiss from you before you left, Bridget," said Spencer.

Bridget gave her daddy a sloppy kiss on the cheek causing Spencer to give Bridget a kiss on the cheek before setting her down so Bridget climbed into the double stroller so Lucy could strap her in while Spencer took his son from his brother-in-law.

"Daddy has to get back to work, tadpole. So are you going to be a good boy for mommy, Lucy, and your sisters?" asked Spencer.

Evan nodded while his growing brown curly hair bounced.

"Es, Dada," said Evan.

"Can I have a kiss, tadpole?" asked Spencer.

Evan gave his daddy a sloppy kiss on the cheek while Spencer gave Evan a kiss before he reluctantly placed Evan into his stroller before he looked at his three babies.

"You three munchkins have a fun afternoon with Lucy," said Spencer.

"We'll have fun and I'll send you a lot of pictures of the Bambini to you and Clarissa," said Lucy before looking at her three charges, "Say goodbye to daddy," said Lucy.

Diana blew a kiss at her daddy that Spencer pretended to catch.

"Bye daddy," said Diana.

Bridget mimicked her big sister's action by blowing a kiss at her daddy that Spencer caught.

"Bye Dada," said Bridget.

Evan waved at his daddy as he kicked his legs in his stroller.

"Buh, Dada," said Evan.

A few seconds later Lucy was pushing Evan's stroller while Diana helped her nanny push her siblings' stroller. After the elevator door closed on Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Lucy; Emily looked at Spencer.

"I can't believe how adorable my nieces and nephew are," said Emily.

Spencer smiled.

"With how adorable Diana, Bridget, and Evan are, that's one of the many reasons why Clarissa and I agreed to have another baby sooner than planned because the kids' cuteness helps us smile and laugh after a stressful day at work while we're both sad about our children growing way too fast," said Spencer.

"Since you already have two daughters and one son, do you have a preference for the gender?" asked Emily.

"I don't have a preference this time as long as the baby is born healthy and looks like Clarissa," said Spencer.

Emily gestured to Spencer's curly brown hair.

"What about the baby having your natural curls like Diana, Bridget, and Evan do?" asked Emily.

"Because of Diana, Bridget, and Evan all inheriting my curls, I wouldn't mind if the baby has my curls," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

July

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer who was pulling on a red polo shirt and khaki shorts looked at Clarissa who was wearing denim shorts and a red tank top as she stood in front of the mirror sideways so she can see how far her nearly 14-week baby bump has grown.

"How are you feeling this morning?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa turned and smiled at her husband.

"I'm glad that the morning sickness has ended and I'll definitely have to pull out the clothing I wore during the summer I was pregnant with Diana soon because my tank top and shorts are a bit snug right now," said Clarissa.

"You're always beautiful to me when your pregnant, Clarissa," said Spencer.

Clarissa smirked as she thought about the times that she didn't look her best.

"Am I still beautiful after I first wake up in the morning with a messy bedhead and morning breath, whenever I'm sick, whenever I take care of you or the kids when you guys are sick, or all sticky from our lovemaking sessions?" asked Clarissa.

"You are still very beautiful to me," said Spencer.

Clarissa walked over to her husband and kissed him.

"And you're always very handsome and sexy to me," said Clarissa as she Spencer groaned as he felt his body start to react to his wicked wife's way with him just as Evan started whimpering through the baby monitor causing Clarissa to groan.

"We might as well start getting the kids ready for the really long day we're going to have today, but you belong to me after we get the kids and home to bed after the fireworks tonight," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer smiled as he allowed Morgan, Garcia, and Fran into his house.

"I'm glad that you guys and my godchildren were able to come to Clarissa's and my 4th of July barbecue," said Spencer.  
Garcia gave a tired smile.

"Even though the past three weeks have been rough with adjusting to having Hank and Barbara in our lives and me recovering from my C-section; Derek, Fran, and I agreed that we needed to accept your invitation to get out of the house," said Garcia.

Spencer smiled down at three-week-old Hank and Barbara who were fast asleep in their car seats.

"I ended up setting Evan's bassinet in the guest bedroom for Hank and Barbara to sleep more comfortably in and feel free to use the guest bedroom to take a nap or feed the twins privately in," said Spencer.

"Thank you, Boy Wonder," said Garcia.

Spencer smiled as he led the Morgan family over to the couch before he removed his namesake from his car seat.

"Clarissa and I have dealt with being new parents three times already, so you should expect a lot of advice from Clarissa and me today," said Spencer before smiling down at Hank his arms.

Fran looked at Spencer.

"Why did you invite me over for your Independence Day barbecue?" asked Fran.

Clarissa walked over with Evan on her hip and smiled at the sight of her husband holding Hank.

"I thought that you would appreciate helping Lucy, Emily, and me with preparing side dishes because Penelope is recovering from her C-section and I'll most likely be napping when Bridget and Evan nap today," said Clarissa.

Fran smiled as she noticed the slight baby bump that Clarissa was already sporting.

"How are you feeling today?" asked Fran.

Clarissa smiled.

"I'm pleased to say that I'm no longer dealing with morning sickness," said Clarissa.

"That's great and how much longer until your newest bundle of joy is born?" asked Fran.

Clarissa smiled as she rested her free hand on her stomach.

"About 26 more weeks and Spence and Aaron have already started painting Bridget's old nursery white while I finish up narrowing down what color I want the nursery to be painted in," smiled Clarissa.

"You're not going to find out the gender this time?" asked Garcia.

"We already have two daughters and one son and Spence and I decided to make a bet on the date this baby will be born because Baby Reid has the same due date as Diana," said Clarissa.

"What does the winner of the bet get to do?" asked Fran.

"The winner of the bet gets to pick out the first name of the baby while the loser gets to pick out the middle name of the baby," said Clarissa just as Diana and Bridget came into the house through the patio door and ran to their father.

"Can we please change into our swimsuits now?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances and nodded before Clarissa looked at her husband.

"How about you get Evan changed into his swim diaper and get into your swim trunks while I get the girls and myself into our bathing suits," said Clarissa just as Hank and Barbara started crying at the same time causing Garcia to look at Clarissa.

"Reid told me that I'm allowed to use the guest bedroom to feed the twins, so I'm going to go in there now and feed Hank and Barbara," said Garcia.

"I'll let all the guests know to give you some privacy," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at Garcia.

"Can I please help you feed Hank and Barbara the next time they're hungry?" asked Diana.

Garcia smiled at the five-year-old little girl who was wearing denim shorts, a red t-shirt with an American flag on them, mismatched socks that had American flags on them, red converse sneakers, while her long curly brown hair was pulled into pigtails with red, white, and blue ribbons causing her to imagine how cute Barbara would look when she's five-years-old.

"I'll be glad to have you be my little helper today," said Garcia.

Bridget looked at Garcia.

"Me too?" asked Bridget.

Garcia smiled at the nearly 23-month-old toddler who was dressed up in the same type of clothing as her big sister.

"You can be my little helper too, Bridget," said Garcia.

10 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were getting into their swimming pool with Diana, Bridget, Evan, Hotch, and Jack while Lucy and Fran worked on preparing side dishes and Gideon who came to meet Hank and Barbara manned the grill.

xxxxxxx

Later on that night Spencer was sitting on a blanket with Diana and a noise-canceling headphone-clad Bridget on his lap while Clarissa sat next to him with Evan on her lap as they watched the fireworks from the roof of Emily's brownstone.

xxxxxxxxxx

August

xxxxxxx

Spencer and Clarissa stood by Bridget's bed with Evan on Spencer's hip and Diana standing next to them as they watched the two-year-old girl wake up and rub her eyes before grinning at them.

"Hi, mommy. Hi daddy. Hi Diana. Hi Evan," said Bridget.

"Happy birthday, Bridget," chorused Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana.

"I two now?" asked Bridget.

"Yes you are, Cricket," said Spencer as he wiped a tear that was starting to fall down his face.

Bridget instantly noticed the tears that were falling down her mommy's and daddy's faces.

"Why are you two crying?" asked Bridget.

Diana looked at her big sister.

"Mommy and daddy are both sad about you turning two because they're always sad when you, Evan, and I turn another year or month older because someday we'll be too big for mommy and daddy to carry around," said Diana before looking at her parents as she rested a hand on her mommy's 18-week baby bump, "Don't be too sad about me being five, Bridget being two, and Evan being nearly 14-months-old because you two will be holding my new brother or sister in about 22 weeks," said Diana.

Bridget looked at her mommy.

"Mommy?" asked Bridget.

"Yes, Bridget?" asked Clarissa.

"Can I pwease say hi to my new broter or sister?" asked Bridget sweetly.

Clarissa smiled.

"Yes you may," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Bridget was resting her little hand on her mommy's growing baby bump.

"Hi, baby. I Ridget and I wuv you like I wuv daddy, mommy, Diana, and Evan," said Bridget as she caused her parents to start tearing up before she felt some pressure touching her hand causing her eyes to go wide as she looked at her parents, "What was tat?" asked Bridget.

Clarissa wiped the tears that were falling down her face.

"Your new little brother or sister loved your speech so much, that he or she decided to say hi by kicking your hand," said Clarissa.

Bridget tilted her head.

"It's not nice to kick," said Bridget firmly.

Spencer nodded in agreement.

"Kicking people isn't nice, but your new little brother or sister is exploring its surroundings in your mommy's tummy," said Spencer.

"OK," said Bridget just as her stomach growled, "I hungry," said Bridget.

"Then let's have you go to the bathroom and get dressed so you can eat the special birthday breakfast that Lucy made for you," said Spencer.

"Strawberry ancakes?" asked Bridget.

"Yes," said Clarissa before rubbing her growing baby bump, "I think that I'll add whipped cream and pickles to my pancakes," said Clarissa.

Spencer and Diana exchanged glances as they wrinkled their noses.

"Gross," said Spencer and Diana in unison.

10 minutes later the growing Reid family were sitting around the kitchen island eating their pancakes while Clarissa added whipped cream and pickles to her own pancakes.

xxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer was fixing himself some coffee when his oldest brother-in-law joined him.

"I can't believe that Bridget's finally two-years-old," sighed Spencer.

Hotch nodded as he thought about all the interactions he had with his youngest niece.

"Me too, Reid," said Hotch.

Spencer thought about his only nephew.

"Is Haley letting Jack come to Bridget's birthday party today this evening?" asked Spencer.  
Hotch nodded.

"Jack's coming to Bridget's birthday party because I have Jack tonight through Sunday," said Hotch.  
Spencer grinned.

"At least Jack will finally get to feel the baby kick," said Spencer.

Hotch gave a rare smile to his brother-in-law.

"My newest niece or nephew finally kicked?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"When Bridget was saying hi to her new brother or sister, the baby kicked," said Spencer.

"I'll definitely need to feel my sister's growing baby bump this evening," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening, a swimsuit-clad Bridget was sitting on her swim trunk and F.B.I. t-shirt clad daddy's lap as Clarissa placed a birthday cake that had two birthday candles on it before Clarissa looked at her soaking wet oldest daughter.

"Can you please start singing "Happy Birthday"?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, mommy," said Diana as she started to sing "Happy Birthday" causing everyone else to sing along.

After everyone was done singing "Happy Birthday", Spencer looked at Bridget.

"Please make a wish and blow out the candles," said Spencer.

"OK, daddy," said Bridget as she blew out the two birthday candles in two blows causing everyone to cheer and clap.

xxxxxxxx

10 days later Diana looked up at her daddy who was holding her hand.

"I'm ready to go meet my new teacher and classmates," said Diana.

A minute later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana approached the door of Diana's third-grade classroom causing the five and a half-year-old girl to gasp when she realized that she was in front of Mrs. O' Conner's classroom.

"Why are we standing by my former second-grade teacher's classroom?" asked Diana.

Spencer grinned at Diana.

"Because of how well skipping to the second grade went for you last year, its been decided that Mrs. O' Conner would get to teach third grade this year," said Spencer.

Diana thought about her former classmates who have siblings her age.

"What about Mackenzie, Tommy, Patrick, Ana, and Tammy?" asked Diana.

"Why don't you go in there and find out," said Clarissa.

Diana opened up the door to her classroom and she grinned when she recognized all of her former classmates from the previous school year and a few faces she never saw before.

"You guys are in the same class as me again?" asked Diana.

Eight-year-old Mackenzie nodded.

"Your mommy, daddy, and all our parents filled out a petition requesting that all of us end up in the same class again because of us wanting to have Mrs. O' Conner be our teacher again," said Mackenzie.

Mrs. O' Conner smiled at Diana.

"And you'll be carpooling with Aria and me again too," said Mrs. O' Conner.

Spencer looked at Mrs. O' Conner.

"When Clarissa and I leave to head to work, I'll drop off Diana's booster seat in the school's office," said Spencer.

"Thank you, Dr. Reid," said Mrs. O' Conner before gesturing to two boys and two girls, "These students are Charlotte, William, Savannah, and Rodger and I already warned them about Diana being a five-year-old child prodigy," said Mrs. O' Conner.

Rodger tilted his head at Spencer.

"Don't you work for the F.B.I.?" asked Rodger.

Spencer nodded.

"I work for the B.A.U. down in Quantico, Virginia," said Spencer.

Rodger grinned.

"I saw you receive three medals on national TV nearly a year ago," said Rodger before looking at Diana, "And our former president asked you to give your daddy his medals," said Rodger.

Diana nodded.

"Our former president asked me to give my daddy his medals because daddy saved a lot of kids from a really bad man," said Diana.

Rodger looked at Spencer.

"Can you please tell me what its like to work for the F.B.I. because I really want to be an F.B.I. agent someday," said Rodger.

Spencer blushed while Clarissa laughed and nudged her husband.

"You won't be able to talk about being an F.B.I. agent today because we have my 20-week check up in a half hour, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I know, but I'm already planning on speaking during career day next month," said Spencer causing a bunch of Diana's classmates to cheer.

Mackenzie looked at Clarissa.

"Has the baby started to kick yet, Nurse Reid?" asked Mackenzie.

Clarissa grinned.

"The baby has been kicking today, so why don't you all come up and feel the baby kick," said Clarissa before looking at Diana's classmates who didn't have siblings Diana's age, "I'm 20-weeks pregnant with my fourth child," said Clarissa.

Tammy got up from her desk and walked over to Clarissa and rested her hand on her baby bump.

"You haven't found out if Diana, Bridget, and Evan will be getting a new brother or sister yet?" asked Tammy as she grinned when she felt a kick, "The baby kicked," said Tammy.

"I know," said Clarissa before looking at her daughter's classmates, "Because of already having two daughters and one son, my husband and I agreed that we'll wait until the baby's born to find out the gender. So after you guys have winter break this school year, Diana will come to school and tell you guys if she got a new little brother or new little sister," said Clarissa.

Savannah who was now taking a turn to feel the baby kick looked at Clarissa.

"Are you the school nurse here because of being called Nurse Reid?" asked Savannah.

"I'm a nurse at Children's National, but last year from January to May and September to December I ended up subbing for Nurse Shelly who gave birth to twins and decided to take a year off," said Clarissa.

Savannah grinned.

"My mom just became a nurse at St. Sebastian's Hospital and I want to become a nurse like my mom someday," said Savannah.

Clarissa grinned.

"That's great and hopefully I'll meet your mom sometime," said Clarissa before looking at Diana who was setting up her desk, "Daddy and I have to get going to my doctor appointment, so do you want to give my baby bump a kiss goodbye?" asked Clarissa.

Diana nodded as she walked over to her parents and kissed her mommy's baby bump.

"I love you, Baby Reid," said Diana as she gave her mommy's baby bump another kiss before grinning up at her parents, "The baby kicked," said Diana.

"Your little brother or sister loves the sound of your voice," said Clarissa as she hugged her oldest daughter, "Please have a good day at school and I'll see you when I get home from work," said Clarissa.

"I will and I love you, mommy," said Diana.

Two seconds later Spencer was hugging Diana.

"I love you, Diana," said Spencer.

"I love you daddy and if you get a case please stay safe," said Diana.

"I promise, Diana," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was dropping off Diana's booster seat in the school's office before he and Clarissa headed to Georgetown University Hospital in separate vehicles.

 

xxxxxxxx

A half-hour later, Spencer and Clarissa were tearing up as they heard their fourth child's heartbeat while refusing to find out the gender.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: When I was in the third grade, there were two third grade teachers (There were three teachers teaching each grade at my school) who would switch back and fourth from teaching the third grade and fourth grade every school year and they would get all the same students. So I thought for Diana's safety and sake, Diana's teacher would switch from teaching the second grade to the third grade and have all the same students for the 2009-2010 school year because all of Diana's classmates from the second grade treated Diana with respect and never bullied her.
> 
> I'm not really looking forward to writing about the drama that happens in the first half of season 5, but don't forget that making Spencer and Clarissa become parents again will help soften up the blow of the season 5 drama.


	76. A Long Lost Niece & To Hell Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to say that the episodes To Hell And Back will be dealt with in two chapters for this story because of the surprise that I include in the beginning of this chapter because of wanting Diana's new classmate Savannah from chapter 75 be a reoccurring character in this story.
> 
> There is a bit of M-rated content in this chapter.

Spencer and Clarissa were walking through the grocery store with Diana walking between them while Bridget and Evan were sitting in the cart when a blonde-haired and blue-eyed little girl who looked around eight-years-old ran came into the same aisle with her mother who had red hair and green eyes causing Diana to grin when she recognized the girl.

"Hi, Savannah," said Diana as she waved at her new classmate.

Savannah grinned as she recognized her new classmate and her parents.

"Hi, Diana. Hi Dr. Reid. Hi Mrs. Reid," said Savannah before noticing the two toddlers sitting in the carts that Spencer and Clarissa were pushing, "Are these your siblings, Diana?" asked Savannah.

Diana nodded as she gestured to Bridget and Evan.

"These are my little brother and sister Bridget and Evan. Bridget's two and Evan's 14-months-old," said Diana.

Bridget waved shyly at Savannah.

"Hi, Avannah," said Bridget.

Evan mimicked his big sister's actions.

"Hi," said Evan.

Clarissa gasped as she recognized Mary.

"Mary?" asked Clarissa.

Mary instantly recognized Clarissa.

"Clarissa Hotchner?" asked Mary.

Clarissa nodded as she held up her left hand and smiled.

"I'm Clarissa Reid now," said Clarissa before looking at her husband, "Mary and Sean were high school sweethearts, but they broke up few days before I met you," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded as he smiled at Mary.

"I'm Dr. Spencer Reid," said Spencer.

"Pleased to meet you," said Mary before looking at Diana, Bridget, and Evan before looking at the little sister of her ex-boyfriend, "Beautiful children you got here and do know what you're having?" asked Mary.

"Even though I'm almost 21-weeks pregnant, we don't know what we're having because we chose to be surprised this time," said Clarissa.

Spencer glanced over where Diana and Savannah were talking in animated voices as their hands flew in wild gestures before noticing that Savannah had the same blonde hair as Sean and the same blue eyes as Clarissa, Diana, and Sean causing him to realize why Savannah looked so familiar when they met as he looked at Mary.

"Does Sean have a child that we don't know about?" asked Spencer quietly.

Clarissa gasped as she looked at Mary who looked at Spencer in shock.

"Savannah did mention that you are a genius and a profiler who works for the F.B.I., so I'm not surprised that you were the one to figure it out first," said Mary before looking at the little sister of her ex-boyfriend, "Savannah is Sean's daughter and your niece, but I rather not explain why I never told you here because Savannah has never met her father," said Mary quietly.

"Why don't you come over for dinner tonight and explain everything," said Clarissa.

Mary nodded.

"Will Aaron be there too?" asked Mary.

"He's already coming over for dinner tonight so he can spend time with his nieces and nephew," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxx

A few hours later Diana, Bridget, and Savannah were running around in the backyard with Lucy supervising them as she pushed Evan in his baby swing when Mary who was drinking a glass of wine looked at Spencer, Clarissa, and Hotch who were all drinking glasses of wine or apple juice.

"Sean doesn't know that he's a father because when I first told him that I was pregnant, he wrote me a check and told me to get an abortion because he wasn't ready to become a father," said Mary.

Clarissa's hands quickly flew onto her nearly 21-week baby bump as anger started to show in her blue eyes.

"I'm going to castrate Sean for saying something like that," sneered Clarissa.

Spencer rubbed Clarissa's back.

"Please stay calm for yours and the baby's health, Clarissa," said Spencer.

Hotch who was feeling grateful about Sean being in New York City at the moment looked at his brother's ex-girlfriend.

"So that's why you left in the middle of the night without leaving a note?" asked Hotch.

Mary nodded.

"I was so furious at Sean for telling me to terminate the pregnancy, so I knew that I had to leave him in order to keep the baby," said Mary.

"What did you do with the money Sean gave you?" asked Clarissa.

"I used it to start a college fund for Savannah because my parents have been helping me with Savannah," said Mary before wiping a lone tear that was falling down her face, "Ever since Sean, I never dated another man because I couldn't handle my heart being broken again," said Mary.

Clarissa rested a hand on Mary's hand.

"And that's OK, but what does Savannah know about her father?" asked Clarissa.

"I told her that her father and I broke up as soon as I found out that I was pregnant," said Mary before taking a deep breath and looked at Spencer, Clarissa, and Hotch, "I'm so sorry about keeping Savannah away from you three and her cousins, but as soon as I broke up with Sean I needed to get away from Washington D.C. and focus on Savannah and myself without you guys coddling me over Sean breaking my heart," said Mary.

"You are forgiven because Sean rarely does anything with Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Aaron's son Jack unless any of us are with him and the kids, but I'm hoping that you'll let us get to know Savannah while we help you out any way we can," said Clarissa as Hotch nodded in agreement.

"I can allow you guys to get to know Savannah because Savannah has gotten suspicious about Diana having the same blue eyes as her," said Mary before looking at Clarissa's baby bump, "Does Sean know that he's getting a new niece or nephew?" asked Mary.

Clarissa shook her head.

"Sean moved up to New York City over three years ago and we haven't seen or heard from Sean since Christmas and I'm already planning on castrating him for not coming down to celebrate Evan turning one and Bridget turning two," said Clarissa.

"I haven't heard from him either," said Hotch before looking at Mary, "I have a feeling that being a single mother is hard on you," said Hotch.

Mary nodded as she remembered about Hotch being a prosecutor before joining the F.B.I.

"It is, but if you're going to suggest about dragging Sean to a judge and tell the judge that Sean needs to take responsibility for his actions please don't," said Mary.

Hotch shook his head.

"Even though you kept the baby, Sean should have been paying child support to you," said Hotch.

"I know, but I don't want Sean to do anything for Savannah because he made his bed when he gave me money to get an abortion and I rather deal with Savannah, my job, and myself than deal with my ex," said Mary just as Diana and Savannah ran into the house and Diana looked at her parents.

"Are Savannah and I cousins through Uncle Sean?" asked Diana.

Spencer, Clarissa, Hotch, and Mary exchanged shocked looks before Diana looked at her parents, uncle Aaron, and Mary.

"Savannah has the same blue eyes as mommy, uncle Sean, and me while she has uncle Sean's blonde hair," said Diana.

Mary sighed as she looked at her daughter and Diana.

"I was hoping that we could explain everything at a later date, but yes you two are cousins," said Mary.

Savannah quickly ran towards the stairs while Diana looked at her parents.

"Did you two know?" asked Diana.

Clarissa shook her head.

"Uncle Sean never said anything to your uncle Aaron and me," said Clarissa.

Mary sighed.

"I better go talk to Savannah," said Mary.

Spencer shook his head.

"Why don't I go talk to her because I was in her footsteps last November," said Spencer as he got up and looked at Clarissa, "You can tell Mary about my father's side of the family while I talk to Savannah," said Spencer as he headed upstairs.

A minute later Spencer found Savannah in the library sitting down on the couch with tears falling down her face.

"I don't want to talk to anyone right now," said Savannah.

Spencer shook his head and sat down next to Savannah on the couch.

"Since you don't want to talk, please listen to me because I understand what you're going through," said Spencer.

Savannah looked at Spencer with wide eyes.

"How?" asked Savannah.

"When I was four-years-old I lost my biological parents to a drunk driver and my mom's older brother and his wife adopted me," said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Last November I was working on a case in my hometown and I was required to attend a funeral to see if I could see if the unsub was there watching the newest victim's family. The morning of the funeral I decided to go to the same cemetery where the grave site service was happening because my parents are buried in the same cemetery. When I approached the graves, I saw an elderly couple standing by my father's grave talking in Hebrew and when I saw their faces and saw that the elderly man looked a lot like me I instantly recognized them because they attended my parents' funeral, my various graduations, my wedding, and the Christenings of your cousins," said Spencer.

"What did you do?" asked Savannah.

"I demanded to know who they are and asked them why they attended every major event in my life only for them to hurry away. After the case was over, I ended up staying behind for a few days because your aunt and cousins flew out to Vegas so Diana and I could learn more about my father's side of the family. When we were going through birth records at the courthouse, I ended up finding out that the elderly couple are my paternal grandparents while finding out that I also have a surviving aunt. I was in shock when I found out that I have surviving family members from my father's side because I was told that everyone from my father's side of the family were dead," said Spencer.

"Did you go confront them?" asked Savannah.

Spencer nodded.

"I had to because they were stalking me and stalking a federal agent is a federal offense. So Clarissa and I went to my grandparents' house and I demanded an explanation or I would press charges for stalking me," said Spencer as he explained what his grandparents told him without mentioning the testosterone.

When Spencer was finished, Savannah looked at Spencer.

"Were you angry at them?" asked Savannah.

"I was a bit angry at them for not being part of my life, but when it comes to knowing that they attended every major event in my life without confronting me and saved every newspaper article that mentioned me, I knew that they loved me and their great-grandchildren," said Spencer.

"Are you in contact with your grandparents, aunt, and cousins now?" asked Savannah.

Spencer nodded.

"Because of my aunt and cousins already living out here, my grandparents moved out here in January. So every Friday when I'm home; Clarissa, the kids, and I go over to my aunt's and grandparents' house for Shabbat and go to one of the local synagogues," said Spencer.

"Uncle Spencer?" asked Savannah.

"Yes, Savannah?" asked Spencer.

"Is it OK if I'm angry at my mom for keeping me away from you, Aunt Clarissa, uncle Aaron, and my cousins?" asked Savannah.

"Its OK if you're feeling angry about everything right now because I was angry too about my grandparents disowning my father and not being part of my life until I confronted them," said Spencer.

"What can I do about my anger?" asked Savannah.

"Please make sure to talk to your mother about how you are feeling about everything because your mother loves you and is doing everything she can to make sure you're having a great childhood without your father being present," said Spencer just as a voice sounded in the doorway.

"Your uncle Spencer is right, Savannah," said Mary.

Savannah got up and hugged your mother.

"Is it OK if I don't want my dad in my life because of him breaking your heart?" asked Savannah.

"Its OK, Savannah," said Mary.

Spencer looked at his niece.

"If you want fatherly advice aside from your maternal grandfather, you'll have your uncle Aaron and me to talk to too," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

The next night Spencer was sprawled out on the couch with Clarissa sitting between his legs as he rested his hand on Clarissa's 21-week pregnant bump as they watched the news and Spencer smiled when he felt the baby kick.

"The baby is sure kicking quite a bit this evening," said Clarissa.

"I know," said Spencer as he rubbed Clarissa's baby bump, "I can't believe that the baby will be here in about 19 weeks," said Spencer.

"Me too, Spence," said Clarissa as she ground herself against her husband's groin a couple of times causing Spencer to groan.

"Are you trying to make me have an erection, Clarissa?" growled Spencer.

Clarissa turned her head back and smirked at her husband.

"That's the plan," said Clarissa before they focused on the news as Clarissa continued to grind herself against her husband's groin as Spencer tried to ignore the erection that was starting to form.

20 minutes later, Spencer and Clarissa were watching a news segment a man trying to kill border agents in Canada causing Clarissa to turn her head at her husband as they listened to the TV.

"I wonder if this incident will be talked about when you're at work tomorrow," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded as he tried to ignore the throbbing that he was feeling.

"I wouldn't be surprised either," said Spencer.

Clarissa grounded herself against her husband's groin again and smirked as she felt the erection she caused her husband to form.

"Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, Clara?" asked Spencer.

"I'm craving you, so that's why I had my wicked way with you for the past 20 minutes," said Clarissa innocently.

Spencer looked at the clock and noticed that it was 9:30 P.M.

"Even though your pregnant, I hope you know that I'll be punishing you for being naughty, naughty girl," growled Spencer into Clarissa's ear.

"Promises. Promises," purred Clarissa as she slowly got up from between her husband's legs.

A few seconds later Spencer was getting off the couch before he helped his 21-week pregnant wife get off the couch. After checking to make sure that the doors and windows were locked, the security system was armed, and the kids were all sleeping; Spencer and Clarissa were quickly ripping their clothing off of each other before they made it to their bed.

xxxxxx

An hour later Spencer and Clarissa were both asleep in each other's arms while not realizing that the lovemaking session they just had would be their last time having sex for the next five and a half months.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was looking at a picture of the man that tried to kill border agents the night before as JJ looked at her teammates.

"His name's William Hightower. He claims over the past month, he's picked 10 people off the streets of Detroit, killed them, dumped their bodies across the border in Canada," started JJ.

"Has he given up the dumpsite?" asked Emily.

"He said he'll only talk to the FBI," answered JJ.

"Do we have confirmation these people are even missing?" asked Spencer.

"Two were reported missing by family months ago, but they all appear to be transients. We're having a hard time finding any information on them," said JJ.

Hotch looked at Garcia who was writing in her notebook while thinking about how much the team missed Garcia's hacking skills during the eight weeks Garcia took maternity leave to recover from her C-section and bond with Hank and Barbara.

"Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"Like a bloodhound, sir," said Garcia as she got up as she grabbed her binder and notebook before leaving the room.

"So what do we know about this guy?" asked Morgan.

Hotch looked down at the information he had on William Hightower.

"Until two months ago, he was a sergeant in the U.S. Army. He did two tours in Iraq. Lost his left leg in a roadside ambush. He was discharged with a purple heart and a commendation for valor," said Hotch.

A shocked Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"And the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are requesting our help?" asked Spencer.

"They don't have a lot of choices," said Hotch.

"He manages to get away with 10 murders, why crash the guard post?" asked JJ.

"Could be an attempted suicide. And maybe he was trying to take as many people with him as he could," said Emily.

Rossi nodded.

"It may also be a case of post-traumatic stress disorder," said Rossi.

"I don't know," said Hotch.

"Do we think he's legit?" asked Morgan.

"I think it's too many bodies to take chances," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

JJ was paging through the papers that contained information on William Hightower's victims as she looked at her teammates.

"He documented them all in detail. Names, photos, dates, and locations where he took them," said JJ.

"Military background. He's bound to be organized," said Morgan.

Rossi who noticed that none of the victims looked alike looked at his teammates.

"He definitely doesn't have a type," said Rossi.

"The only consistency is that they were all abducted in the same area," said Spencer.

"Yeah, what do we know about that?" asked Emily.

Spencer thought of the research he did on the city of Detroit.

"It's called the Cass Corridor," said Spencer as he stood up and walked to the table that JJ, Emily, Morgan, and Rossi were sitting at and pointed at a section on the map of Detroit that they had, "It's right here. It has an extremely high concentration of drug trafficking, prostitution, and homeless people," said Spencer as he sat back down.

"All high-risk behavior," said Rossi.

"So, for this guy, maybe it's more about opportunity than victimology," said Emily.

"Morgan and Prentiss, when we land, I want you to head straight to Detroit. See if you hear anything in the whisper stream. I want to make sure we have a crime before we get too deeply into this," said Hotch.

"I hear Detroit is beautiful in the summer," joked Emily.

Morgan chuckled.

"The rest of us will meet with the legal attache before we hit the Royal Canadian Mounted Police," said Hotch.

JJ looked at Hotch.

"Actually, sir, the officer in charge said that his team was part of a fellowship the B.A.U. gave to train police forces in profiling," said JJ.

"Hmm. That was the first one we ever did," said Rossi as he looked at the paper he grabbed, "Jeff Bedwell," said Rossi.

"You know him?" asked JJ.

"Yeah," said Rossi.

"Is he any good?" asked Morgan.

"He better be. I trained him," said Rossi.

A few seconds later Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message while knowing that his wife would respond quickly because of being on break.

I'LL BE GOING TO CANADA BECAUSE OF WHAT WE WATCHED ON THE NEWS LAST NIGHT ~ SR

A few seconds later Spencer's phone vibrated causing Spencer to see a text message from Clarissa.

PLEASE STAY SAFE AND CAN YOU PLEASE BRING ME HOME SOME CANADIAN BACON BECAUSE BABY REID AND I ARE BOTH CRAVING CANADIAN BACON. ~ CR

Spencer chuckled causing Hotch to look at his brother-in-law.

"What got you laughing, Reid?" asked Hotch.

"Your sister asked me to bring her home Canadian bacon because she and the baby are both craving Canadian bacon," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled a bit.

"How does Clarissa feel about only having 19 weeks left in her fourth pregnancy?" asked Hotch.

"She's happy that autumn will be starting in a few weeks because she hates the summer heat right now," said Spencer.

"I remember how bad it was for Clarissa when she was pregnant with Diana six years ago today," said Hotch.

"Speaking of Diana, I can't believe that she's been in the third grade for a week and that she'll be turning six in less than four months," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled as he thought about his now second oldest niece.

"I can't believe that my second oldest niece is in the third grade and will be turning six too, Reid," said Hotch.

"Second oldest niece?" asked Rossi.

Spencer and Hotch quickly delved into the story of finding out that Sean has a nearly nine-year-old daughter that he told his ex-girlfriend to abort only for Mary to decide to keep the baby and run off to another state. When Spencer and Hotch were done telling their teammates about Savannah, Rossi looked at Hotch.

"Sean is an ass for telling his ex-girlfriend to get an abortion, but I'm glad that Mary decided to keep the baby," said Rossi.

Spencer and Hotch nodded.

"Clarissa wants to castrate Sean," said Spencer.

"I want Sean to take responsibility for his actions, but Mary doesn't want him to," said Hotch.

"Aside from Savannah's maternal grandfather, Savannah knows that she now has Hotch and me for father figures," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you become Savannah's favorite uncle because your kids and my son loves it when you do magic tricks, read to them, and take them out on fun adventures," said Hotch.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Speaking of your kids, how is Baby Reid's nursery coming along?" asked Morgan.

Spencer grinned.

"Hotch and I finished the nursery two weeks ago," said Spencer.

"Because of you and Clarissa refusing to find out the gender this time, what color did Bridget's old nursery get painted in?" asked JJ.

"Yellow and Clarissa and Diana decided that the nursery would consist of a Noah's Ark theme because Noah's Ark is Diana's favorite Bible story and Diana had fun helping me paint animals on the wall," said Spencer.

"Speaking of the name Noah, Noah's a good name if the baby turns out to be a boy," said Emily.

Spencer shook his head as his eyes darkened a bit.

"When I was in high school, one of the football players that bullied me is named Noah and he's one of my classmates that ended up being registered as a sex offender because of what he did to me," said Spencer.

"I don't blame you for refusing to name your child after a past tormentor and I'm sorry if I brought up painful memories," said Emily.

"Its OK, Emily," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer followed his brother-in-law, JJ, and Rossi into R.C.M.P. in Windsor, Ontario, Canada when a man around Hotch's age approached them.

"Dave," said a smiling Jeff as he shook hands with Rossi.

"Jeff, how you been?" asked Rossi.

"You mean besides having serial killers trying to take out our border agents?" asked Jeff.

"Jeff Bedwell, agents Aaron Hotchner, Spencer Reid, Jennifer Jareau," said Rossi as he pointed to teach agent while Hotch shook hands with Jeff.

"Thanks for being here," said Jeff as he led Spencer, Hotch, JJ, and Rossi to the room he set up for them, "I've got a victim board and time-lines set up on monitors in the conference room. Anything you need, you've got the run of the place," said Jeff as he entered the conference room.

"We appreciate it. Don't thank me. Thank the unsub. He's the one that put you all in charge," said Jeff.

Rossi noticed the victims faces on the monitors.

"I see you paid attention in class," said Rossi.

"I need to go talk to Garcia, see if she had any luck locating the family members," said JJ.

"And check records for multiple border crosses, see if we get any hits for the days the victims went missing," said Hotch.

"Got it," said JJ.

Spencer looked at the pictures of the victims on the monitor.

"You believe that he killed all these people?" asked Spencer.

"Fits the profile," said Jeff.

"How so?" asked Rossi.

Jeff leaned down a bit to look at the live feed of William in the interrogation room.

"He got a recent physical trauma. Could be a stressor. Wide disparity of victims. No bodies. Possible border cross. Two entirely different terrains. To pull that off, you'd have to be smart, you'd have to be organized, mobile, physical," said Jeff.

"Military background gives you all that," said Rossi.

"Exactly," said Jeff.

Spencer who spent the past minute staring at the monitor finally found some type of pattern.

"It appears as though he clusters his victims into men, then women, and then back to men again," said Spencer.

"What does that tell you?" asked Jeff.

"At the moment, nothing," said Hotch.

"Has he contacted family?" asked Rossi.

Jeff shook his head.

"Refuses a lawyer, too," said Jeff.

"He's in interrogation?" asked Hotch.

"Waiting for us," said Jeff.

Everyone stayed silent for a few seconds before Rossi looked at Spencer, Hotch, and Jeff.

"This guy's U.S. Army. He demanded to talk to the FBI. He's not gonna want to talk to anyone but the person he thinks is in charge," said Rossi.

"Of course. I'll take you to him," said Jeff.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting at the conference table listening to a voicemail on William's phone with Hotch, Rossi, JJ, and Jeff.

"William, are you there? Something bad is happening. It's dark. I don't know where he's taking me," cried William's sister.

"After that, the signal cuts out," said Hotch.

"This is the same night she left her mom's house?" asked Spencer.

"Hightower called in an Army favor. They triangulated the call to a cell tower in Canada just over the border in Port Huron," said Hotch.

Rossi looked at Jeff.

"It explains why he crossed into your jurisdiction," said Rossi.

Jeff nodded.

"It's also a surefire way to get the FBI involved. He knew we'd investigate an American citizen being held on multiple murder charges," said Spencer.

"And you believe him?" asked Jeff.

"I do," said Hotch just as his phone rang causing him to answer a call from Garcia, "Go ahead, Garcia.

"Good news and bad news. I've got I.D.s on multiple border crosses for the dates in question. Trouble is, I've got hundreds, and as far as I can tell, if your license doesn't ping for any prior felonies, you're pretty much-gonna pass go and collect 200 Canadian dollars," joked Garcia.

"She's right. Busiest cross in North America. A lot of commercial traffic, trucks mostly. Stop and searches would cause too many delays," said Jeff.

"So he's got virtually free passage," said Rossi.

"And once he crosses, there's nothing but woods to hide whatever he's doing," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer entered the conference room just as JJ got off the phone.

"How's it going?" asked Spencer.

JJ sighed as Spencer sat down.

"The majority of the people on the street aren't even from Detroit. We don't have last names on most of them. No hometowns. Unless there's a missing persons report on file somewhere, it's almost impossible," said JJ.

Spencer thought about how his grandparents disowned his father and paternal uncle and didn't even talk to him until over 22 and a half years after his parents' and uncle Daniel's deaths because of him confronting them and demanded an answer about why they weren't in his life.

"Most of these people's families probably gave up on seeing them long ago," said Spencer.

JJ thought about her nine-month-old son Henry.

"A mother would never give up," said JJ as she pressed a key on the laptop in front of herself before looking at Spencer, "Can you hand me William Hightower's arrest report?" asked JJ.

Spencer handed JJ the report just before his cell phone rang causing Spencer to see that it was Garcia calling him.

"Yeah, Garcia?" asked Spencer.

"Sherlock, it's Watson. I think I've got something," said Garcia.

Spencer smiled a bit as he thought about his love for "Sherlock Holmes" books and how he was currently reading one of the books to Diana.

"What do you have?" asked Spencer as he heard Rossi enter the conference room.

"I checked Detroit crime reports over the last month because Derek and Emily astutely thought there might be some sorts of assaults or disturbances having to do with our unsub," said Garcia.

"And?" asked Spencer.

"Well, it's tres weird, but on five of the abduction nights, Detroit P.D. reports a break-in or a robbery at some type of medical facility," said Garcia.

"What types of medical facility?" asked Rossi.

"We got a hospital, blood bank, medical supply company, the Red Cross-," said Garcia

"What is he doing, stealing narcotics?" asked Spencer.

"That's just it. He isn't some drugstore cowboy. The stuff he took is, like, anesthesia and sterilizing equipment and syringes. Negative on the narcota," said Garcia.

Spencer's mind started to race a bit.

"Garcia, where were these places located?" asked Spencer.

"Putnam Street, St. Antoine, East Hancock, Martin Luther King Boulevard," listed Garcia.

Spencer looked at Rossi.

"Those are all in the Cass Corridor," said Spencer quietly.

"Do you have a list of what else he stole?" asked Rossi.

Garcia did some typing.

"Uh, I.V. tubing, infusion pump, units of O-negative blood, chest tubes, o-silk sutures, Elastoplast," said Garcia.

"Garcia, thanks a lot," said Spencer as he hung up and looked at Rossi, "You don't just randomly know how to took a line up to an infusion pump," said Spencer.

"Or that O-neg is the only safe blood type for any victim," said Rossi.

"I'll tell Hotch we think we know what he's doing with them," said Spencer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Part 2 of To Hell will happen in the next chapter.


	77. To Hell Part 2 & Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's part two of To Hell and Back. With Christmas happening next week Tuesday, my goal is to get one more chapter posted and I go on a mini hiatus to help my family prepare the house for Christmas and celebrate Christmas with my family.

Spencer was standing by his brother-in-law as Rossi started to give the profile.

"We believe the man we're looking for is a sexual sadist," started Rossi.

"What this means is that for him, the torture becomes a substitute for the sex act," said Spencer.

"The fact that he's stealing medical equipment like sterilizing agents and anesthesia tells us he may be performing experiments or surgeries on his victims," said Hotch.

"We believe this unsub gets gratification from his ability to keep his victims alive in order to endure more torture," said Spencer.

"The choice of items stolen is extremely specific, which makes us believe he's got a medical background," said Hotch.

xxxxxx

"This unsub is extremely smart and obviously organized. He's managed to abduct very different victims with very different abilities, all with no witnesses," said Spencer.

"Now, we're coordinating with the police and our agents on the ground in Detroit," said Hotch.

"We've also asked Sergeant Hightower to act as a guide on the streets in Detroit while he's in our custody," said Rossi.

"That's it. Any questions, you find me or one of the agents," said Jeff as men and women left the room.

A few seconds later William Hightower turned around to find his mother walking JJ.

"What's she doing here?" asked William.

Hotch noticed William's mother with JJ.

"Well, we've notified all the family members we can locate," said Hotch.

William shook his head.

"You have no right," said William angrily.

"It's her daughter," said Rossi.

"No, it's one thing to... To believe Lee is lost on the streets. I don't want her to know that there's a killer out there. We know how this is gonna end," said William.

"No, we don't," said Hotch.

"Look, everything I have done is to find the truth so I can spare her. I don't want her living off hope," said William.

Jeff leaned forward and looked at William.

"There are worse things," said Jeff.

William turned around and pointed at Jeff.

"You're wrong. Bad news stops us for a while, but then you move on," said William causing Spencer to think back to the time he was told that his aunt and uncle were murdered and how Clarissa helped him move on, "Hope is paralyzing," yelled William before he turned around to see his mother standing in the doorway with a stern look on her face.

"You did a stupid thing," said Maxine Hightower sternly.

William stood up and made eye contact with his mother.

"Yes, ma'am," said William.

"Come here," said Maxine as she opened up her arms.

William walked over to his mother and hugged her before Maxine noticed the pictures of the victims on the monitor.

"All these people are missing?" asked Maxine as she slowly walked towards the monitor.

"We believe so," said JJ.

"You have any suspects?" asked Maxine.

"No. But we have a strategy to try to catch him. And William is helping," said Rossi while William nodded.

Maxine rested her hand on Maxine's photo.

"My daughter- there's a chance she-she might still be alive?" asked Maxine.

"It's possible," said Hotch.

"Do you know what he's doing to them?" asked Maxine.

"It's difficult to say," said Hotch.

Maxine looked at Spencer's, Hotch's, and JJ's hands and noticed the Citrine ring on JJ's hand, the dinged up wedding band on Spencer's left ring finger, and the tan line on Hotch's left ring finger.

"Do any of you have children?" asked Maxine.

"I have a three and a half year-old son," said Hotch.

"A baby boy," said JJ.

"A five-year-old daughter, a two-year-old daughter, a 14-month-old son, and my wife is 21-weeks pregnant with our fourth child," said Spencer.

"Congratulations on the upcoming new addition," said Maxine.

"Thank you," smiled Spencer.

"Do you know what your wife is having?" asked Maxine.

"My wife and I chose to be surprised on the gender this time," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting at the conference table with JJ and Rossi when Jeff entered the room.

"You really believe he's about to abduct someone again?" asked Jeff.

"It's coming soon- tonight, tomorrow. We know he sticks to a tight cycle," said Rossi

Spencer looked at the pictures of the victims.

"The question is, why alternate victims in clusters of men and women?" asked Spencer.

"Why take the men at all?" asked JJ.

Jeff looked at JJ.

"What do you mean?" asked Jeff.

"We said he sees these people as disposable. It doesn't matter if they're male or female," said JJ.

"For a sexual sadist, male or female isn't important. The torture itself is the sex," said Rossi.

"But wouldn't it be much easier to approach a prostitute?" asked JJ.

Spencer nodded.

"She's right. A prostitute will get into a car with an unsub. It's a victim he can isolate easily with no witnesses," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Jeff.

"Is Hightower's mother still here?" asked Rossi.

"She's resting in my office," said Jeff.

Rossi looked at JJ.

"JJ, see if she's willing to talk to us. I want to know everything I can about her daughter," said Rossi.

JJ nodded as she started to stand up.

"In the meantime, we need to figure out how he's separating his male victims from the pack," said Spencer.

"And hope that Hightower gives us an edge on the street," said Rossi.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting with JJ, Rossi, Jeff, and Maxine as he listened to Maxine talk about her son and daughter.

"Lee disappeared, I begged William to find her, but it wasn't fair to him," said Maxine.

"I'm sure he wanted to find her as much as you did," said JJ.

"He'd just gotten home. He lost his leg, and he was going to physical therapy. He hadn't even processed what happened to him yet," said Maxine.

"But he found her," said Rossi.

"First time. She came home for two weeks and I had her going to meetings. I even got her onto welfare," said Maxine.

"So what happened?" asked Jeff.

"The day after the first check came, she disappeared," said Maxine.

Spencer who was looking at someone on his notepad quickly realized something.

"Wait, what was that date?" asked Spencer.

"The 2nd?" asked JJ.

Spencer squinted at the monitor.

"What if that's it?" asked Spencer.

Rossi turned his head and looked at Spencer.

"What?" asked Rossi.

"Lee Hightower was abducted on the 2nd, the day after she cashed a welfare check," said Spencer.

"So?" asked Jeff.

"Look at the dates of the other abductions," said Spencer.

JJ looked at the monitor and realized the connection that Spencer made.

"All the men are abducted around the first and the 15th of the month," said JJ.

"When welfare checks are issued," said Jeff.

"What if he's not intentionally clustering th male/female? What if this is how he best isolates his victims?" asked Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"You think he has a way to get them alone based on how they cash their checks?" asked Rossi.

"And then the rest of the month he resorts to picking up prostitutes," said Spencer.

"It would explain the pattern. We need to find out where these men cash their checks," said Rossi as Spencer dialed Morgan's number and pressed his phone against his ear.

"We don't have last names. There's no way to find them," said JJ.

"Yeah, Doc?" asked Morgan.

"Morgan, figure out how people on the streets are cashing their welfare checks," said Spencer.

Rossi who got Garcia on the phone spoke up.

"Garcia," said Rossi.

"Sir," said Garcia.

"I need you to find out if Lee Hightower ever cashed a welfare check," said Rossi.

"OK. I'm typing my fastest," said Garcia before she found something, "Uh, Greyburn Lodge, 43608 Third Street. Lee Hightower cashed her check there on the 2nd," said Garcia.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer stood around an SUV with his teammates, Jeff, and William Hightower as they tried to figure out where their unsub took Kelly.

"They should have tried to make the cross at least an hour ago," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Jeff.

"Any word from the off-road sites?" asked Rossi.

"I have agents at every known drug smuggling entry. Nothing," said Jeff.

"This unsub's smart. Everything about his plan is well researched. I think his border crossings would be consistent," said Hotch.

Spencer who was looking at a map of the area looked at his teammates, Jeff, and William.

"Are there former shipping lanes somebody could have studied in advance?" asked Spencer.

"Nothing marked," said Emily.

"Hunters might know the terrain, but it's word of mouth. Nothing documented," said Jeff.

William Hightower thought about the area.

"What about the underground railroad?" asked William.

"How so?" asked Rossi.

"In the Civil War, Detroit was the last stop for a slave before they escaped to freedom in Canada. They made the crossing in this area," said Jeff.

"He's right. But there aren't any historical landmarks that register the crossing points," said Jeff.

Morgan thought about the five-bedroom Victorian house that Spencer, Clarissa, their children, and live-in nanny live in and how Spencer told him that his house was part of the Underground Railroad during the Civil War.

"Well, if I remember right, they built a series of Victorian homes along the river to signify safe passage. Some of those homes might still exist," said Morgan.

Rossi looked at William.

"We know your sister's cell phone registered at a tower near Port Huron. He had to be close by when he crossed the border," said Rossi.

Hotch who was dialing Garcia's number spoke up as soon as Garcia answered.

"Garcia," said Hotch.

"Present," answered Garcia.

"Is it possible to cross-reference civil war maps with Victorian homes that still exist in the Port Huron area?" asked Hotch.

"Well, I'm gonna take that question as rhetorical and…," said Garcia as she did some typing before she found a house, "Got one. Three miles south of the Blue Water Bridge," said Garcia.

"Can you send me a GPS map?" asked Hotch.

"Coming now," said Garcia.

"Thanks," said Hotch before hanging up and looked at his fiancee, "Prentiss, you and William come with me. The rest of you stay here. We might need to be mobile in a hurry," said Hotch.

xxxxx

Spencer slowly walked a couple of inches behind his brother-in-law as he, Hotch, JJ, and William entered the unsub's house. After clearing a bunch of rooms, they entered a bedroom to find a man lying in a hospital bed with a tube in his neck causing Hotch to look at the man.

"Sir, are you all right?" asked Hotch.

"Who the hell are you?" asked the man.

Hotch ignored the man's question.

"Did someone do this to you?" asked Hotch.

"Get the hell out of my house," yelled the man.

Spencer thought about what he learned about the unsub.

"You're Mason Turner?" asked Spencer.

"That's not your business," said Mason.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"He's our unsub?" asked Spencer.

A second later Mason looked at Spencer, Hotch, JJ, and William.

"Who the hell are you people?" asked Mason.

JJ turned on the lamp before she walked closer to Mason.

"You are Mason Turner?" asked JJ.

"Dr. Turner," corrected Mason.

William took out a picture of his sister who was wearing a cap and gown and showed it to Mason.

"This is my sister, Lee Hightower. Has she been here?" asked William.

"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on," demanded Mason.

"We're with the FBI. We've been invited by the R.C.M.P. to assist in an ongoing investigation," said Hotch.

"You haven't been invited into my home. My Canadian home. Now get the hell out before I call the proper authorities," demanded Mason just as Rossi and Jeff entered the room.

"Sir, we've been invited by the proper authorities," said Hotch.

Mason spoke into the microphone on his headset as he looked at the laptop by him.

"Telephone, dial number 911," said Mason.

"911. What's your emergency?" asked the operator.

"This is Dr. Mason Turner, 11712 Scott Road," said Mason.

"That won't be necessary," said Jeff.

"I want these people out of my home. They don't have any right to be here," said Mason.

"Agent Rossi, Agent Hotchner, may I have a word with you, please?" asked Jeff.

A few seconds later Hotch and Rossi followed Jeff to another room.

xxxxxx

Spencer walked towards the pigpen and started to look at the pigs as he thought about pigs being Bridget's favorite animal and the books he read about pigs to the kids as he listened to his teammates and Jeff talk about the shoes they were looking at.

"These are... They belong to victims?" asked a shocked Jeff.

"Possibly," said Emily.

Jeff sighed as he leaned forward a bit.

"Why just the shoes? Where are the bodies?" asked Jeff.

Spencer looked over at his teammates and Jeff.

"I don't think there's going to be any bodies, guys," said Spencer as he noticed that he gained everyone's attention, "Pigs are omnivores. They'll eat anything. By anything, I mean... Anything," said Spencer with disgust lacing through his voice.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was standing with his brother-in-law and Morgan when Rossi walked over to them.

"Is Bedwell alright?" asked Hotch.

"He will be. He has every available cop in Ontario on the way here," said Rossi.

"You find anyone in the house?" asked Morgan.

"Mason Turner," said Hotch.

"Is he in custody?" asked Morgan.

Hotch thought about the condition that he, his brother-in-law, JJ, and William found Mason Turner in.

"Uh, not exactly," said Hotch.

"But he's not going anywhere," said Rossi.

Hotch saw the confused look on Morgan's face.

"He's quadriplegic," said Hotch.

"Paralyzed from the neck down," said Spencer as he gestured to the door where he was able to see Mason from, "JJ's in there with him right now," said Spencer.

"Well, that's a pretty good criminal defense," said Morgan.

"I'll go talk to him," said Rossi before walking away.

Hotch looked at Morgan.

"Morgan, do you have the contact number for the Detroit detective?" asked Hotch.

"Benning? Yeah," said Morgan.

"Yeah, we're gonna need their open missings so we can make identifications on this property," said Hotch.

"Right," said Morgan before walking away as he pulled out his phone.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"I think that laptop is his sole communications device," said Hotch as his brother-in-law nodded in agreement, "Which means data files on hard drives, records," said Hotch as he called Garcia.

Spencer listened to his brother-in-law talk to Garcia on the phone and inwardly smiled as he thought about how Morgan would most likely appreciate his wife flying out to help out. After Hotch hung up, Hotch made eye contact with his brother-in-law.

"Reid, will you let Bedwell know that we're gonna need a warrant to examine the laptop and the hard drives," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded as he turned to head towards Bedwell only for Hotch to think about Bridget's current obsession being about pigs at the moment and how his sister and brother-in-law would encourage their kids to learn about the object of their current obsession.

"Reid," said Hotch.

Spencer turned around and looked at his brother-in-law.

"How long do you think it would take?" asked Hotch.

Spencer walked closer to his brother-in-law.

"To get a warrant?" asked Spencer.

Hotch gestured to the pigpen.

"No. For the pigs to…," said Hotch.

Spencer realized what his brother-in-law was trying to ask him as he looked at the pigs.

"Depending on the size and condition of the body when it's placed in the pen, it wouldn't be quick. Why?" asked Spencer.

"That means Kelly wasn't put in there. She's still here somewhere," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded before he walked towards Jeff.

xxxxx

Spencer was standing with his teammates when Jeff approached them.

"Judge will sign the warrant for the laptop first thing in the morning," said Jeff.

"Our tech should just be getting there then," said Hotch.

"We got search-and-rescue units coming. They're also our emergency response team, so they'll be armed in case we come across something," said Jeff.

JJ thought about the media attention that the farm that they're at is going to get.

"When this hits the press, families of missings are gonna come rushing out here. I'm gonna need some uniformed officers to assist me," said JJ.

Jeff looked at JJ.

"Come on, let's get you set up," said Jeff as he led JJ away.

Hotch looked at Morgan.

"Morgan, I want you to supervise the evidence collection. I don't think the techs have seen a scene like this before," said Hotch.

Emily scoffed as she looked at her fiance.

"Has anyone?" asked Emily just as Rossi approached them.

"We have a picture," said Rossi as he passed a framed photograph to Hotch, "This is Lucas Turner, Mason's brother. According to Mason, he's the unsub. Mason claims he's a victim himself," said Rossi.

"Does Mason know where Lucas would take the girl?" asked Hotch.

"Claims he has no idea," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Reid, Lucas is your assignment. Find his room, his things, anything that might tell us where he would go," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded at his brother-in-law.

"On it," said Spencer.

"One more thing. Mason warned me that his brother is extremely psychotic. Says he won't go down without a fight," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at his fiancee.

"Prentiss, have JJ get the picture and the description out to the press. When they get here, put them to work for us. Somebody's gonna notice a man that big," said Hotch.

"You got it," said Emily.

Hotch looked at Rossi.

"Dave," said Hotch as he gestured Rossi to follow him.

xxxxxxxxx

A few hours later at the Reid family home, Clarissa and Lucy were making breakfast together when Clarissa's personal phone vibrated causing her to see a text message from Spencer.

GOOD MORNING, LOVE. I DON'T HAVE TIME TO TALK TO YOU AND THE KIDS BEFORE DIANA LEAVES FOR SCHOOL AND YOU LEAVE FOR WORK BECAUSE OF HAVING TO PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER AND BEING AT THE UNSUBS' FARM SEARCHING FOR THE SECOND UNSUB AND MISSING VICTIM. ASIDE FROM PLANNING ON MAKING A FEW APPOINTMENTS WITH DR. MERRILL, I MIGHT CONSIDER GOING ON A KOSHER DIET BECAUSE OF WHAT WAS DISCOVERED AT THE UNSUBS' CRIME SCENE. I LOVE YOU AND PLEASE GIVE THE KIDS A KISS AND TELL THEM THAT I LOVE THEM. ~ SR

"Spencer?" asked Lucy.

Clarissa nodded.

"Seems like Spence is working a really rough case because of the unsubs' farm he's considering going on a kosher diet like his grandparents and making a few appointments with his Bureau-appointed therapist," said Clarissa.

"Talking to a therapist is never a bad idea," said Lucy.

Clarissa nodded in agreement as she thought about the therapy she went through after her mother died and how she also talked to a therapist after the Hankel case because of her husband's PTSD.

"Even though Spence has worked bad cases before, it seems like this one is affecting the entire team including my brother," said Clarissa.

"Just make sure that your a good listening ear for Spencer when he gets home and I'll be glad to talk to him if he doesn't want to make you get sick over possible disgusting details," said Lucy.

Clarissa nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad that Spence's godmother referred you to Spence and me because the kids, Spence, and I all love you and you understand the life of an FBI agent," said Clarissa.

"Even though I do miss being an FBI agent, I'm glad that I became a nanny to your beautiful Bambini and a cook and housekeeper for you and Spencer," said Lucy.

"Are you ever going to consider dating again?" asked Clarissa.

Lucy sighed.

"Even though its been six years since I lost my husband and son, I don't think I'll ever be ready to start dating again because I don't want to leave you and your family," said Lucy before looking at the clock on the microwave, "We might as well put everything in the oven to keep warm and get the Bambini up and ready for the day," said Lucy.

xxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, in Canada, Spencer approached his brother-in-law.

"Mason says his brother sometimes sleeps on the couch in the living room or disappears for days at a time," said Spencer.

A shocked Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"He doesn't have a room?" asked Hotch.

"Not according to Mason," said Spencer.

"Keep looking around. They've lived here their whole lives. There's got to be something here that gives us an idea of who he is," said Hotch.

"After this case, I'm going to make a few appointments with Dr. Merrill, I might follow my grandparents' footsteps and eat a kosher diet," said Spencer before walking away.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer entered the barn where he donned some latex free gloves before taking a look around his surroundings before noticing clothes hanging on the loft. Spencer quickly walked to the ladder and started to climb up onto the loft where he saw rats walking around in a cage as he carefully got onto the platform on the loft where he saw pictures hanging on the wall that reminded him of pictures that Diana and Bridget could draw. Spencer headed towards the pictures and studied them for a moment before one picture caught his eye causing him to take it down.

xxxxxxxx

Hotch entered the barn where he saw his brother-in-law entered and he instantly got worried when he didn't see his brother-in-law in the barn.

"Reid!" called out Hotch.

Spencer quickly walked to the railing on the loft and looked down at his brother-in-law.

"Up here. Hey, I found out where he sleeps," said Spencer.

"So Mason was lying?" asked Hotch.

"I find it hard to believe he didn't know his brother was living in the barn," deadpanned Spencer.

"Anything up there that's gonna help us find him?" asked Hotch.

"No, nothing yet. I will say this, though- I doubt that he's psychotic," said Spencer.

Hotch thought about all the child psychology books Spencer owned.

"Why is that?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at the picture he removed from the wall earlier.

"There's a collection of drawings up here that suggest autism or moderate mental retardation. Now, retardation and psychosis in the exact same subject is exceedingly rare. It's more likely he doesn't fully understand the acts that he's committed," said Spencer.

Hotch instantly thought about his niece that just turned two and had mild autism like her father.

"Anything to suggest a violent nature?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at the drawing in his hands again.  
"Nothing in the drawings," said Spencer as he looked at the eye that was drawn in the picture, "They do suggest someone's been watching him. He's very childlike. I think that when we find him, he's gonna be scared and probably confused," said Spencer.

"You think he'll fight?" asked Hotch.

"Uh, yeah, I don't know, maybe," answered Spencer quickly.

As Hotch started to walk away, Spencer had a weird feeling causing him to look at his brother-in-law.

"Hey, Hotch," said Spencer.

Hotch stopped walking and turned to look at his brother-in-law.

"Do you ever get the feeling that a case isn't going to end well?" asked Spencer.

Hotch inwardly shook his head as he thought about the gut feeling that Spencer has whenever he senses that something bad is going to happen and how Diana is turning out to be a lot like her father because of the time she had a nightmare about a monster taking her father right before the Hankel case.

"Reid, keep looking. This girl needs us," said Hotch before walking away.

At that moment Spencer's personal phone vibrated causing Spencer to remove his gloves and grab his phone to see a text from Clarissa.

THE BABY'S KICKING QUITE A BIT TODAY AND DO YOU HAVE A FEELING THAT SOMETHING BAD'S GOING TO HAPPEN? I DO. ~ CR

Spencer inwardly shook his head as he wondered if his unborn child knows that something is wrong as he typed a reply.

I HAVE A FEELING THAT SOMETHING BAD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN TOO AND I ENDED UP ASKING YOUR BROTHER IF HE EVER GETS A FEELING THAT A CASE ISN'T GOING TO END WELL. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was talking with his brother-in-law when Rossi walked towards them.

"They were doing experiments," said Rossi.

"Spinal regeneration?" asked Spencer.

"Probably. He was definitely trying to fix himself," said Rossi.

Spencer squinted a bit.

"Stem cell harvesting? The equipment's far too unsophisticated. There's no way it would have ever worked," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Hotch.

"You were a prosecutor, Hotch. Could you convict this guy? A quadriplegic who clearly never touched any of the victims?" asked Rossi.

"I don't know. We need to concentrate on Kelly. We can't worry about the other stuff right now," said Hotch before walking away.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"He might get away with this," said Rossi.

Spencer turned his head to where William was leaning against the railings of the pigpen before looking at Rossi.

"Even though the man that killed my parents and uncle Daniel lost his six-year-old son to the same serial killer that was planning on abducting me, raping me, and killing me before my uncle Gordon arrested him, my father's law firm made sure that Lou Jenkins got a life sentence," said Spencer before shaking his head sadly, "Even though everyone made sure I got justice, Lou Jenkins ending up in prison and eventually dying couldn't bring my parents and uncle Daniel back," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer ran into a room as he heard Garcia call Rossi, and a few seconds later he heard Kelly on the phone.

"Oh, my God, you have to help me. I'm somewhere in the woods being held by a man named Lucas…," said Kelly.

"Kel-Kelly?" shouted Lucas over the phone.

"And he's-oh, my god! -," cried Kelly.

"That's mine!" shouted Lucas.

Everyone started to hear a ruckus in the background.

"Help me!" cried Kelly just as the phone disconnected.

"The phone's disconnected," said Garcia.

"Garcia, can you find the signal?" asked Hotch.

"No, I-wait," said Garcia as she typed, "Yes. I'm hooked into the system. I should be able to- got it. It's just west of here, less than half a mile," said Garcia.

"That's all you can tell?" asked Rossi.

"It's in the woods. There aren't any reference points," said Garcia.

Hotch looked at Garcia.

"Get the coordinates to my GPS and let Morgan and Prentiss know in the field," said Hotch before he looked at Spencer and Rossi, "Dave, Reid, let's go," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer hiked through the woods with his teammates and the search party before Hotch stopped walking and looked around.

"This is where the signal came from," said Hotch.

"There's nothing here," said Morgan.

"Kelly! Kelly!" called out Emily.

"Kelly!" called out Morgan and Hotch.

"Kelly!" called out Rossi.

"We're in exactly the right spot. All right, everybody split up," ordered Hotch.

"Kelly!" called out Emily.

"Kelly!" called out Hotch.

Spencer quickly noticed an eye that looked similar to Lucas's drawings carved into a tree.

"Kelly!" called out Emily.

Spencer quickly noticed another tree that contained an eye.

"Kelly!" called out Morgan.

Spencer noticed a third eye carved into another tree while everyone else called out Kelly's name.

"Guys!" shouted Spencer as he started to brush away dead leaves causing himself to find a trapdoor for some type of bunker.

Hotch and Rossi quickly joined Spencer who waited for Hotch's permission to open the trapdoor.

"Go ahead," said Hotch.

Spencer quickly pulled the trapdoor up causing Hotch to look down into the bunker.

"Kelly Shane?" asked Hotch.

"Down here!" shouted Kelly as she looked at Lucas Don't make any sudden moves when they come down, OK?" asked Kelly.

"I'm bad. I'm bad," cried Lucas.

Hotch climbed down into the bunker as he looked at Lucas.

"Lucas turner, this is the FBI. Just put your hands up, OK?" asked Hotch.

After Emily, Morgan, and some R.C.M.P. members entered the bunker and Hotch and Emily brought Kelly out, Spencer was flinching as he heard gunshots and Morgan yelling in the bunker.

xxxxxxxx

Later on that night, Spencer entered his quiet house and noticed a light on in the kitchen causing him to find Clarissa eating spaghetti with pickle slices and hotdog slices mixed in with the sauce.

"Hi," said Spencer as he tiredly sat down across from his wife.

"How bad was the case?" asked Clarissa.

"I consider this case as number two of the five worst cases I ever worked on my list," said Spencer.

"If you need to talk, I'll listen," said Clarissa.

"I know," said Spencer softly before smiling a bit, "At least after I catch up on some sleep, I get to spend all day with Bridget and Evan," said Spencer.

"I wish that I could play hookey from work and allow Diana to play hooky from school, I know that playing hooky wouldn't set a good example for Diana," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded in agreement as he noticed the bowl of spaghetti with hotdogs on the kitchen island.

"Is that for me?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"When I heard you pull into the garage, I decided to fix you something to eat because of having a feeling that you barely ate today," said Clarissa.

"I might as well quickly eat this very late dinner and check on the kids before I take a shower so I no longer smell like I've been on a farm and go to bed," said Spencer as he started to eat his first meal in over 24 hours.

xxxxx

20 minutes later Spencer entered Diana's and Bridget's bedroom and smiled softly at the sight of Diana and Bridget both sleeping in their beds as he walked over to Bridget's bed and moved Bridget's nearly black curly hair off her forehead and kissed his two-year-old daughter.

"Daddy loves you, Cricket," said Spencer softly.

Bridget opened her eyes and blinked a few times before grinning at her daddy.

"You come home, daddy," said Bridget.

Spencer nodded.

"Daddy got home a little bit ago, but I wanted to give you a goodnight kiss before I shower and go to bed," said Spencer softly before kissing Bridget again, "Please go back to sleep and I'll see you later on this morning," said Spencer softly as he tucked his youngest daughter back into bed..

"OK, daddy," said Bridget as she closed her eyes.

Spencer turned around to find Diana sitting up in her bed with her glasses on.

"Welcome home, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer walked over to Diana's bed and gave his oldest daughter a hug and a kiss.

"I missed you and your siblings, Diana," said Spencer.

"Mommy, Bridget, Evan, Baby Reid, and I all missed you, daddy," said Diana as she hugged her daddy before wrinkling her nose, "You smell like you were on a farm, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer nodded.

"The bad guys that your uncle Aaron, my teammates, and I caught lived on a pig farm," said Spencer.  
"I'll go back to sleep so you can take a shower, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer smiled as he kissed Diana's forehead.

"I love you, Diana," said Spencer.

Diana kissed her daddy's cheek.

"I love you too, daddy," said Diana as she allowed her daddy to tuck her back into bed before removing her glasses as she closed her eyes.

Spencer placed Diana's glasses on her nightstand and gave Diana one last kiss before leaving his daughters' bedroom before heading into Evan's nursery where he found Clarissa fastening a clean diaper onto Evan.

"Evan's still awake, but he should be going back to sleep in a minute," said Clarissa.

Spencer walked over to his wife and oldest son and took his 14-month-old son from his wife.

"Where you a good boy for mommy, your sisters, and Lucy while I was gone, tadpole?" asked Spencer.

Evan nodded at his father as he gave his daddy a grin.

"Es, Dada," said Evan before his eyes closed.

Spencer held his son for a moment before he gently laid his son back into the crib before he headed to the master bedroom where he found Clarissa sorting through his go bag as he heard water running in the bathroom.

"I turned on the shower for you as you took a moment to hold Evan," said Clarissa.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

"I would join you in the shower, but I have to get up for work in four hours," said Clarissa.

"Its OK, and we can always reconnect after the kids are in bed tonight," said Spencer.

Clarissa nodded in agreement as she pointed to the bathroom.

"Go get in the shower because Diana is right about you smelling like you were on a farm," said Clarissa.

"Yes, ma'am," said Spencer as he headed towards the bathroom and quickly stripped before climbing into the shower.

xxxxxxx

20 minutes later Spencer was joining Clarissa in bed while not realizing what was going on in his brother-in-law's apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: My AU version of Nameless Faceless will be up as soon as possible and I'm sorry to say that Spencer will still be shot in the next chapter


	78. Nameless Faceless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There are swear words in this chapter because of a hormonal Clarissa.
> 
> This chapter starts four hours after the ending of the last chapter, and I hope that everyone loves my AU version of Nameless Faceless.

Spencer woke up to his work phone ringing at 6:30 AM causing him to quickly grab his phone and answer it.

"Dr. Spencer Reid," answered Spencer groggily as he slipped on his glasses and noticed that Clarissa wasn't in bed.

"I'm sorry to wake you up on our day off to decompress after what happened in Canada, but we got an urgent local case that we have to take because of no other teams being available," said JJ as she told him that she'll pick him up in 15 minutes before hanging up.

Spencer sighed as he started to get out of bed.

"So much for a day off to spend time with Bridget and Evan," said Spencer just as Clarissa who was already dressed in her hospital scrubs and had her armpit length nearly black hair pulled into a ponytail exited the bathroom.

"You got called into work?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"It's a local case and there are no other teams available," said Spencer.

"After you arrest the unsub, please shoot him in the jewels for ruining your day off please," said Clarissa.

"Hormonal right now?" asked Spencer as he started to get dressed.

"Yes," said Clarissa as she started to button up her husband's dress shirt and quickly tied his tie, "I prefer undressing you instead of helping you get dressed," said Clarissa.

"I feel the same way too," said Spencer as he smelled cinnamon rolls, pancakes, and scrambled eggs, "Seems like Lucy's already up," said Spencer as he pulled on the vest he chose.

Clarissa quickly buttoned up the vest.

"I'm not surprised, but it sucks that you can't eat breakfast with the kids, Lucy, and me before leaving," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband, "You look great, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer took in the sight of his wife wearing her scrubs while her 21-week pregnant baby bump was showing.

"You look beautiful, Clara. Hopefully, I can have tomorrow off because I barely got sleep last night," said Spencer.

"I hope so too because pretty soon we're going to be woken up a couple of times a night dealing with feedings and diaper changes," said Clarissa.

"I better give the kids each a quick goodbye kiss and get downstairs and grab some breakfast because JJ's going to be here in five minutes to take me to the crime scene," said Spencer.

After giving Diana, Bridget, and Evan who were all asleep each a kiss, Spencer was grabbing some breakfast from Lucy before getting his revolver and climbing into JJ's SUV.

xxxxxxx

Spencer was already at the crime scene with JJ and Detective Walker reading a file when JJ saw Morgan, Rossi, and Emily entered the victim's home.

"Oh, you guys are already here. You guys remember Detective Walker?" asked JJ as she gestured to the detective that they assisted when Garcia got shot.

Detective Walker shook Morgan's hand.

"Thanks for being here. I understand none of you are working on much rest," said Detective Walker.

Rossi looked at the victim that was already covered up.

"Who's the victim?" asked Rossi.

"His name is Nelson Martinez. From what we can figure, he answered his door, was forced into the apartment at gunpoint and then shot in the chest. It was all pretty sloppy," said Detective Walker.

Morgan thought about how he and Garcia got less than four hours of sleep because of their two-month-old twins Hank and Barbara.

"No disrespect, but I don't understand why you need us here," said Morgan.

Spencer gave Morgan an understanding look as he thought about the first couple of months with a new baby is hard to adjust to.

"Two days ago, a local doctor named Tom Barton found a note addressed to him at the hospital. It said the person was planning to kill his son. If Dr. Barton tried to keep his boy hidden, One person would die every day in his place," said Detective Walker.

"And you think this is connected?" asked Emily.

Spencer looked at his soon to be sister-in-law.

"The note is signed L.C.," said Spencer.

"Yesterday we had another victim. Multiple gunshots outside the apartment. The shooter wrote L.C. In white chalk next to the body," said Detective Walker.

"Now, unless Dr. Barton puts his son in harm's way, we're gonna keep having a victim a day," said Spencer.

"Where's Barton now?" asked Rossi.

"He's at home. He doesn't know about this victim yet," said JJ.

Emily thought of her fiance that refused to live or sleep with her until they got married.

"Where's Hotch?" asked Emily.

"He's not answering his cell. I assume it's on vibrate. He'll get the message when he wakes up," said JJ.

"Try him again. He can meet us at Barton's house," said Rossi.

xxxxxxxxxx

After the team briefed Dr. Barton about what was going on and JJ, Morgan, and Rossi ended up going to Jeffery's school to protect Jeffery, Dr. Barton looked at Spencer who was looking at a picture of Jeffery.

"You have kids?" asked Dr. Barton.

Spencer smiled and nodded.

"A five-year-old daughter, a two-year-old daughter, a 14-month-old son, and my wife who's a pediatric nurse at Children's National is 21-weeks pregnant with our fourth child," said Spencer.

"I thought that your last name sounded familiar because I met a Nurse Clarissa Reid when Jeffery had to get his tonsils out at Children's National over four years ago," said Dr. Barton before smiling a bit, "Jeffery said that Nurse Clarissa was his favorite nurse," said Dr. Barton.

Spencer softly chuckled.

"Clarissa and I are both child magnets, so everyone's not surprised that we're already expecting our fourth child," said Spencer.

"Know what your wife is pregnant with?" asked Dr. Barton.

"We refused to find the gender this time," said Spencer before he pulled out his phone and called Garcia.

After telling Garcia what he needed her to get for him, Garcia spoke up.

"This guy's a trauma surgeon working a major metropolitan area. We are talking thousands of surgeries," said Garcia.

Spencer thought about how it was currently the last full week in August.

"Confine it to the last eight months," said Spencer.

"That's still hundreds," said Garcia.

"I know, but you are talking to a guy who can read 20,000 words per a minute," said Spencer.

Garcia laughed.

"OK, do you want biological information or full medical charts?" asked Garcia.

"Full medical charts please," said Spencer.

"You'll have them in seconds," said Garcia.

Spencer thought about his brother-in-law still not showing up or answering phone calls causing him to wonder if his brother-in-law is sick.

"Garcia?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, my love," said Garcia.

"Has Hotch checked in with you?" asked Spencer.

"Your brother-in-law's not with you?" asked Garcia.

"He's probably on his way," said Spencer as he saw Emily and Dr. Barton enter the living room, "Uh, thanks for everything. Bye," said Spencer before hanging up and looked at Emily, "She's going to email the files. We'll print them out from here," said Spencer.

"I could have my office send over the files," said Dr. Barton.

Emily shook her head.

"No, no, trust us, this is faster," said Emily as Dr. Barton's printer started to beep.

Spencer grabbed a file.

"We need to dig through your life and try to figure out why this is happening," said Spencer.

"Let's start with the most recent cases first, something set this guy off, and odds are it's in your files," said Emily.

xxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile at St. Sebastian Hospital Nurse Mary Jenson entered her newest patient's room and gasped when she realized that the John Doe could be her ex-boyfriend's oldest brother causing her to quickly take the John Doe's vitals before she hurried to find the doctor that was treating the John Doe.

"I know who this John Doe is because I heard Agent Derek Morgan's name before," said Nurse Mary.

"Who is this John Doe?" asked Dr. Zwerling.

"Agent Aaron Hotchner from the Behavioral Analysis Unit down in Quantico, Virginia. I recognize him because he's Savannah's biological paternal uncle through his younger brother Sean. So can I please contact Aaron's little sister Nurse Clarissa Reid at Children's National and ask her to come here and see if she can identify the mystery man brought in by Agent Derek Morgan?" asked Nurse Mary.

"You may," said Dr. Zwerling.

"Here's a warning that Clarissa is 21-weeks pregnant so we'll need to be careful with her," said Nurse Mary.

Dr. Zwerling nodded as Mary headed over to the nearest land-line and found a phone book and found the phone number for Children's National.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile at Children's National, Clarissa was fixing herself a cup of tea when a voice sounded through the intercom.

"Nurse Clarissa Reid, you have an urgent phone call on line two," said a female voice.

Clarissa hurried to the nearby desk and picked up the land-line as she pressed the number 2.

"Nurse Clarissa Reid, how can I help you?" asked Clarissa.

"Its Nurse Mary Jenson from St. Sebastian Hospital. There's a man who looks just like Aaron brought in as a John Doe, and I was hoping that you could leave work and see if the John Doe is your brother," said Mary.

Clarissa took a few gasping breaths as another nurse and the nearest doctor helped Clarissa sit down.

"I sensed that something bad was going to happen, so I'll there ASAP," said Clarissa.

"I'll wait for you at the main entrance," said Mary before hanging up.

Clarissa looked at the head nurse.

"There's a John Doe who looks a lot like Aaron in St. Sebastian Hospital that was brought in as a John Doe and that hospital is the closest hospital to Aaron's apartment," said Clarissa as tears fell down her face.

"I'll call an on-call nurse to come here to help while you can take the rest of the day off to see if that John Doe is your brother," said Nurse Bonnie.

"Thank you," said Clarissa.

Nurse Alyssa looked at Clarissa.

"I just called a cab for you because your in no condition to drive right now, Clarissa," said Alyssa.

"Thank you," said Clarissa.

"Do you think that your ready to stand up now?" asked Bonnie.

Clarissa nodded as Bonnie helped her stand up.

"Even if this man is or not your brother, you need to stay calm so your blood pressure doesn't go up and cause harm to you and Baby Reid," said Bonnie as she started to help Clarissa walk to the locker room.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

30 minutes later at St. Sebastian Hospital, Nurse Mary gently led Clarissa into the ICU room that the John Doe was in and a few seconds later Clarissa started sobbing causing Mary to quickly help Clarissa sit down in the closest chair.

"Was I right about the John Doe being Aaron?" asked Mary.

"Yes," sobbed Clarissa.

Mary started to rub Clarissa's back.

"You need to calm down for yours and the baby's safety, and as soon as your calmed down we'll contact Spencer and Aaron's fiancée and let them know that Aaron's here," said Mary.

"What happened to Aaron?" asked Clarissa.

"I'll tell you what's going on after I check your blood pressure and get you some water to drink," said Mary as she grabbed the nearest blood pressure cuff.

"Yes ma'am," said Clarissa as she held out her arm and allowed the cuff to be fastened around her upper arm.

After Mary told Clarissa that her blood pressure was good and Clarissa took a few sips of water, she started to explain Hotch's injuries before Clarissa realized that it was the Boston Reaper that attacked her big brother.

xxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, at Dr. Barton's house, Spencer looked at Dr. Barton and Emily.

"Let's concentrate on the note. For starters, we know that he's male," said Spencer.

Dr. Barton looked between Spencer and Emily.

"How can you be sure?" asked Dr. Barton.

"Women tend to add adjectives and very specific details to their notes. This has none of those," said Emily.

"Males are also more direct," said Spencer as he looked at the note that Dr. Barton was sent, "First sentence..."I plan to kill your son."," said Spencer.

"And their notes tend to be more about themselves than the person they're writing to. "I watched you every day." "I will watch you lose everything."," recited Emily.

"We know he surveilled you and your son, which means he either has enough money to be away from a regular job or he's currently unemployed," said Spencer.

"He's most likely a father. He's clearly grieving. He's taken great measures to make sure you feel his pain," said Emily.

"Let's start with cases involving teenagers killed, but also anyone with a strong family presence. Just because your son is 15, that doesn't necessarily mean that his child is the same age," said Spencer.

Dr. Barton nodded.

"Have you had a lot of cases like this, where someone taunts you with what they're gonna do?" asked Dr. Barton.

"A few," said Emily.

"And how did they end?" asked Dr. Barton as he watched Spencer and Emily exchange disturbed glances, "Please," begged Dr. Barton.

"Suicide by cop seems to be an effective way for them to make their point while ending their suffering all at once," said Spencer.

Dr. Barton looked at the clock.

"Jeffrey is leaving school in five hours. There's no way we can get through all these patients in this time," said Dr. Barton.

"Well, now, we've narrowed it down already," said Emily.

Dr. Barton dropped a file onto his coffee table.

"And we still have 100 left," said Dr. Barton before looking at Spencer and Emily, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be callous, but when you work in the E.R., you don't remember names. You operate and you move on," said Dr. Barton firmly.

Spencer nodded in agreement.

"Clarissa always doesn't remember all of her patients unless they draw her a picture as a gift," said Spencer.

"He's right. There are too many files here for us to profile in such a short period of time," said Emily as she thought about going to check on her fiance just as Spencer's personal cell phone rang.

Spencer quickly pulled out his personal phone causing his eyebrows to furrow when he saw that it was Clarissa causing him to quickly answer his phone.

"Is everything OK with you, the kids, or Baby Reid?" asked Spencer.

"We're all fine but Aaron was attacked by the Boston Reaper," sobbed Clarissa.

Spencer's eyes went wide as he decided to focus on his pregnant wife.

"Please stay calm because your 21-weeks pregnant and it's too early for Baby Reid to be born unless the baby spends a couple of months in the NICU," said Spencer firmly.

Clarissa took a few calming breaths.

"I'm OK now," said Clarissa.

"Please tell me what happened," said Spencer quietly.

"Remember the sense we both had about something bad is going to happen?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Spencer.

"I got a call from Mary at St. Sebastian Hospital telling me that a man who looks like Aaron was brought in and is currently in the ICU for nine stab wounds. Mary told the doctor that she believes that she recognized the man before getting permission to call me. Nurse Bonnie gave me permission to leave work and I took a cab to St. Sebastian Hospital and she was right about the John Doe being Aaron," said Clarissa.

"Hotch never showed up to the crime scene or answered our phone calls, so I assume that he was attacked by the Reaper between the four hours since the team and I got back from Canada and getting called in," said Spencer before Emily's eyes went wide.

"Who's with you right now?" asked Clarissa.

"Emily's currently with me while the rest of the team is at another location right now," said Spencer.

Clarissa sighed in relief as she realized that Emily went to her own place the night before.

"My boss already gave me the rest of the day off because I'm one of Aaron's medical power of attorneys, so I'll stay at the hospital while you, Emily, and the rest of the team focus on the case and come to the hospital right after this son of a bitch is caught," said Clarissa firmly.

"I promise," said Spencer before thinking of something, "Even though you are a pediatric nurse, I need your help with something," said Spencer.

"What is it?" asked Clarissa.

"At every crime scene there's a note that has the initials L.C. and the target of the case is a doctor, and I'm trying to remember what L.C. can possibly mean," said Spencer.

Clarissa quickly grabbed her brother's medical charts and saw the initials "L.C." on the chart.

"LC stands for "living children", Spence. It's administrative. It's when they're afraid a patient's gonna go on life support and they don't have a DNR order, L.C. is put on their medical records," said Clarissa.

"Your insight really helped a lot, love," said Spencer.

"Your welcome and please catch the current son of a bitch that you are trying to catch before you and your teammates can find the son of a bitch that attacked my favorite brother," said Clarissa before hanging up.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"What's going on?" asked Emily.

Spencer looked at Dr. Barton.

"Could you please fix Emily and me each a cup of coffee while I tell quickly Emily about the phone call I just got from my wife before we focus on these files?" asked Spencer.

Dr. Barton saw the seriousness showing in Spencer's eyes causing him to nod as he quickly left the room and as soon as Dr. Barton was out of earshot, Spencer quickly started to explain the phone call he got from Clarissa.

After Spencer finished, Emily quickly stood up.

"I need to get to my fiance," said Emily.

Spencer shook his head.

"Clarissa told me that L.C. means for 'living children' and I think that Dr. Barton could possibly be the target instead of Jeffery because this man might want to have Jeffery grow up without a father," said Spencer.

Emily's eyes went wide as she realized that Spencer could be right.

"Then I'll stay here and we can send an officer that we trust to look over Aaron's apartment," said Emily.

Dr. Barton came back into the room with two cups of coffee and a sugar canister on a tray and set them down.

"Is everything OK?" asked Dr. Barton.

"We just found out that my brother-in-law who's also our boss and Emily's fiance is currently in the hospital," said Spencer.

"I'm sorry to hear that, and I hope that none of you are going to abandon Jeffery and me," said Dr. Barton.

"We're staying here while the rest of the team stays with Jeffery, and I'm going to call someone to check over my fiance's apartment," said Emily as she quickly dialed Will's number and quickly spoke to Will on the phone, "Without calling JJ and telling her what's going on, I need you to go to Aaron's apartment and look it over before calling Reid or me," said Emily before hanging up.

Dr. Barton looked at Spencer and Emily.

"How long will you all be around to make sure he's OK?" asked Dr. Barton.

"Let's just get through today," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer, Emily, and Dr. Barton were going through files and taking notes when Spencer's phone rang causing Spencer to see the number for JJ's boyfriend.

"Hey, Detective LaMontagne," said Spencer.

"I decided to call you because of finding blood on Aaron's carpet and a bullet hole in the wall," said Will.

"What?" asked Spencer before looking at Dr. Barton, "I'm really sorry, we have to take this phone call, OK?" asked Spencer.

Dr. Barton quickly remembered the phone call that Spencer received.

"It is about your boss?" asked Dr. Barton.

Emily nodded.

"It is," said Emily.

Dr. Barton quickly walked away while Spencer put his phone on speaker.

"There's a huge hole in the wall. Probably a .44, but there's no blood or tissue spray around it," said Will.

Spencer looked at Emily who was having a hard time to compose herself causing him to speak up.

"Any idea how he got out?" asked Spencer.

"If he was shot, there are no drag marks. But a body could have been wrapped in something," said Will.

"And Bureau techs are on the way?" asked Spencer.

"Any second," said Will.

Spencer quickly thought about how he needed to take charge at the moment and quickly made his decision on what he needed Will to do.

"All right, um, write down everything you see and we'll profile from your notes when we're done with our current case," said Spencer before hanging up and looked towards the direction that he saw Dr. Barton walk to, "Uh, Dr. Barton? Sorry about that," said Spencer.

"Its OK," said Dr. Barton.

Spencer decided to focus on the case as he looked at Emily who hasn't spoken a word yet.

"I know that you want to be with your fiancé right now, but we need to focus on this case so we can catch this unsub and head to St. Sebastian Hospital. I can just question Dr. Barton while you mentally deal with what happened to your fiancé and my brother-in-law," said Spencer.

Emily nodded while Spencer before looked at the file in front of himself.

"We know he's been killing Hispanic males as surrogates. Did you separate the case files?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah," said Dr. Barton.

"All right, how many of the surgeries fit the criteria?" asked Spencer.

Dr. Barton grabbed the notepad that he set down two minutes ago and looked at it.

"Um, 82," said Dr. Barton.

"All right. Now let me ask you this. On how many of those dates did you operate on somebody else as well?" asked Spencer.

Dr. Barton looked at his list.

"75," said Dr. Barton.

"Did any of those patients die on the table?" asked Spencer. 

"10," said Dr. Barton before remembering something as he grabbed some papers, "Um, no, wait. 11," said Dr. Barton as he sat down next to Spencer.

"11. That's where we start. This whole thing is about choice. He's forcing you to play God with your son because the last time you had a choice, your decision devastated him," said Spencer.

"I'm a doctor. I save people. It doesn't matter to him," deadpanned Dr. Barton.

"All that matters to him is that you had an alternative and you didn't take it. Now, how many of those surgeries involve patients under 20?" asked Spencer.

Dr. Barton looked at his list again.

"Uh...six. We get a lot of shootings, mostly gang-related," said Dr. Barton.

"Has a gang member or family member ever threatened you?" asked Spencer.

"No, uh, at first when you lose someone it's mostly confusion and devastation. The anger comes later," said Dr. Barton.

"I understand because I was like that when my parents died when I was four and my adopted parents died when I was 19," said Spencer before becoming serious, "All right, we have six dates where you operated on a Hispanic male on the same night a patient under 20 died. What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna read the names and dates off to you, and you tell me anything you can remember, OK?" asked Spencer.

Dr. Barton nodded.

"OK," said Dr. Barton.

Spencer looked at the narrowed down list.

"All right, let's start with January 22nd. Tyler Hayes, multiple gunshot wounds," read Spencer.

Dr. Barton thought about the surgery he did before he shook his head.

"February 13th, Brian Douglas, a hit-and-run victim, lacerated aorta," read Spencer.

Dr. Barton flashed back to doing surgery on Brian before shaking his head.

"No," said Dr. Barton.

"March 15th, Devon Marks, Heroin overdose," said Spencer before he glanced at Emily who was most likely texting Clarissa or Will before he continued to read another name, "Angela Harris, another car accident, single vehicle, bleeding into her brain," read Spencer.

After saying no a few times, Dr. Barton looked at Spence.

"I...this is no use. I would remember if I was threatened," said Dr. Barton.

"Did any of them ask you about your family?" asked Spencer.

Dr. Barton looked at the ticking clock causing Spencer to glance at the same clock.

"We have time," said Spencer gently.

Dr. Barton looked at Spencer.

"How can you stay so calm while worrying about your brother-in-law?" asked Dr. Barton.

Spencer's lips quirked up a bit.

"Aside from knowing that my spitfire of a wife is watching her brother like a hawk like she does whenever the kids or I are either sick or injured, I tend to do some of my best work under extreme terror. I know that the faster we find this unsub the faster I can find out what happened to my brother-in-law," said Spencer.

Emily who was texting with Clarissa on her phone looked at Spencer.

"Aaron hasn't woken up yet, and she's wondering if we should call Haley and Sean yet," said Emily.

Spencer quickly thought about what should be done.

"Let's wait until we know what fully happened before we call my brother-in-law and former sister-in-law," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dr. Barton looked at Spencer and Emily.

"I don't understand. These surgeries are all hours apart. I didn't have to choose between patients. If he's punishing me for my choices, none of these fit," said Dr. Barton.

"All right, look at the note again and compare against the wording on the charts. A lot of times an unsub will unconsciously mirror the wording of situations," said Spencer.

Dr. Barton took the note and studied it before he remembered the victim he operated on causing Spencer to see a look on Dr. Barton's face.

"You remember something?" asked Spencer.

"Uh, I don't know. It was right after New Year's. There was a car accident. One of the victims was Hispanic," said Dr. Barton.

Spencer quickly grabbed some papers and read off some of the information.

"New Year's... Um... January 3rd, there was a two-car collision, you operated on a Hector Ledezma. That was your only surgery that night," said Spencer.

"That's because I didn't operate on the boy," said Dr. Barton as he explained what happened to Spencer and Emily.

When Dr. Barton was done talking, Spencer pulled out his phone and called Garcia.

"Garcia, I need you to find a patient in the system named Jason Meyers. He was admitted January 3rd, on life support," said Spencer.

Garcia quickly did some typing before finding something.

"Oh, no," said Garcia.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"He was taken off the ventilator and declared legally dead three days ago," said Garcia.

"Who's his father?" asked Spencer.

Garcia did some typing.

"Yeah, uh, Patrick Meyers, age 45," said Garcia.

"Get a photo into the school immediately. I think he's our unsub," said Spencer.

"OK. Yeah. It's on its way," said Garcia before hanging up.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer cleared his throat as he saw Dr. Barton pull on his suit jacket.

"Where are you going?" asked Spencer.

"The note says not to deviate from my routine, and I always pick up Jeffrey on my days off," said Dr. Barton.

Spencer looked at Emily who was still texting with Clarissa for updates before making his decision.

"I'm gonna come with you," said Spencer before looking at Emily, "Will you be alright?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah," said Emily.

A few seconds later Spencer looked out the window to see a man standing outside with a gun causing him to pull out his revolver and run towards Dr. Barton who was standing on the porch.

"Barton!" exclaimed Spencer as he tackled Dr. Barton away as he heard a gunshot go off before he felt a bullet rip through his left thigh, "Uhh!" shouted Spencer as he and Dr. Barton hit the grass while his revolver landed a couple of feet away from him.

A few seconds later Spencer was applying pressure to his left leg as he looked at Dr. Barton behind him.

"Are you hit?" asked Spencer.

"No," said Dr. Barton.

Spencer looked at his revolver and realized that he couldn't grab it without causing any more damage to his knee.

"Get my gun. My gun" gasped Spencer.

Dr. Barton started to crawl towards Spencer's revolver as Patrick Meyers walked closer to them.

"Get away from him! Get away from him," cried Patrick.

Dr. Barton grabbed Spencer's revolver and passed it to Spencer before he hid behind Spencer.

"Whatever you do, stay down," ordered Spencer as he used his right hand and pointed his revolver at Patrick.

"Don't protect him," cried Patrick.

Spencer blocked out the pain that he was feeling as he looked at Patrick.

"Drop the gun!" ordered Spencer.

"He killed my son!" cried Patrick as he continued to walk closer to Spencer and Dr. Barton.

Spencer started to try talking Patrick down only for him to pull the trigger when Patrick tried to shoot at him and Dr. Barton again. A few seconds later the bullet went right between Patrick's eyes causing the man to drop down to the ground dead instantly. A second later a relieved Emily ran outside while Dr. Barton started to examine Spencer's bullet wound.

"Dr. Reid was shot above the left knee, Agent Prentiss," said Dr. Barton.

"I called 911 as soon as I heard the gunshot, so paramedics should be here any minute," said Emily as she ran over to Patrick and checked his pulse before moving the gun away.

"Is he dead?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Emily before running towards Spencer and knelt down by him and Dr. Barton and noticed the pain that was already showing through his brown eyes, "I'm so sorry that you got shot, Spencer," said Emily.

"It could have been you instead of me, and I prefer that it was me than you, Emily. What's done is done and what matters is that you, Dr. Barton, and I are all alive and that Jeffery is safe," said Spencer as an ambulance arrived while cop cars and vehicles that contained Morgan, JJ, Rossi, and Jeffery arrived.

Dr. Barton who finished examining Spencer's thigh and knee looked at Spencer.

"Looks like it went clean through. Keep pressure on this, OK?" asked Dr. Barton just as paramedics joined them and started to look over Spencer's knee.

Spencer noticed JJ, Morgan, Rossi, and Jeffery coming towards them causing him to decide that Jeffery needs to be reunited with his father.

"I'm good, I'm fine. Go to your son. I'm good. I'm fine. Go," said Spencer.

Dr. Barton got up and ran over to his son while JJ, Morgan, and Rossi saw Spencer's gunshot wound.

"Jeffrey," said Dr. Barton as he hugged his son without getting Spencer's blood on him.

JJ looked at Spencer who was grimacing as paramedics tended to him.

"You OK?" asked JJ.

"Yeah, fine," said Spencer.

"What happened?" asked Rossi.

"It turns out that Patrick Meyers was targeting Dr. Barton all this time. Spencer was going to go with Dr. Barton to pick up Jeffery only for Spencer to tackle Dr. Barton and take the bullet that was meant for Dr. Barton. Spencer tried to talk down Patrick, but Spencer ended up shooting Patrick Meyers right between the eyes while he was sitting on the ground," said Emily.

Rossi who was looking at Patrick Meyers noticed the bullet wound between Patrick's eyes and looked at Spencer.

"Remind me to never piss you off because I heard about you being one of the best shots in the FBI because of your late uncle Gordon teaching you how to shoot before he died," said Rossi.

Morgan grabbed Spencer's revolver.

"We'll get you to a hospital," said Morgan.

Emily looked at her teammates.

"We're going to the hospital either way. A couple of hours ago, Clarissa got a phone call from Sean's ex-girlfriend telling her that Aaron's in St. Sebastian Hospital right now because George Foyet attacked Aaron," said Emily.

Spencer looked at the paramedics as they started to wrap his thigh and knee with gauze wrap.

"I have to go to St. Sebastian Hospital because my wife is already there with my brother-in-law right now. My wife's 21-weeks pregnant, so it would be better for her if I'm taken to the same hospital as my brother-in-law," said Spencer firmly as he braced himself as paramedics lifted him onto a gurney.

"OK," said the paramedic.

Emily looked at JJ, Morgan, and Rossi.

"I'll ride with Reid to the hospital," said Emily.

"I'll call Clarissa and ask her to get to the emergency room," said Rossi.

A few seconds later JJ, Morgan, and Rossi were rushing to an SUV while Spencer was being loaded onto a gurney before he was pushed back into the ambulance and accepted the hand that Emily held out to him.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was being wheeled into an exam room where he found a teary-eyed Clarissa sitting in a wheelchair as a nurse took her vitals.

"You and the baby didn't take the news about me getting shot well?" asked Spencer.

"Baby Reid and I didn't take the news well," said Clarissa before noticing the gauze that was over her husband's left knee and thigh and realize that her husband might not be able to walk for a couple of months, "Even though I'm proud of you for saving that doctor's life and making sure that no one but the unsub die, I hope you know that I'm grounding you from having sex until six weeks after the baby's born," choked Clarissa just as a doctor started to examine Spencer's knee before deciding to rush Spencer to surgery.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later, a nurse pushed Clarissa who was still in a wheelchair into Hotch's hospital room and Hotch's eyes went wide when he saw his pregnant sister in a wheelchair.

"Are you in a wheelchair because of what happened to your husband and me today, Clarissa?" asked Hotch.

Clarissa nodded as she gave her oldest brother her 'Hotchner glare'.

"You and Spence have caused me so much stress today, Aaron. I collapsed when I was told that Spence got shot," said Clarissa.

"Are you and the baby OK?" asked Hotch.

"The baby and I are both fine and I'm on family medical leave for the next two weeks to rest and take care of Spence, but I'm stuck in this wheelchair until I go home to the kids and Lucy," said Clarissa before thinking about her nephew, "Will Jack be coming here to see you and Spencer?" asked Clarissa.

"Haley and Jack are on their way to see me before they go into Witness Protection and I already told the US Marshall that Haley and Jack aren't leaving until Jack gets to see his uncle," said Hotch.

"Good," said Clarissa before glaring at her brother, "You better not be thinking about sending the kids and me into Witness Protection because going into Witness Protection would be adding even more stress for the baby and me right now and this baby will be the reason why Spence and I will get through our latest obstacle. Even if I wasn't pregnant, I would refuse to go because I want to be here to take care of my husband and you and knowing Diana she'll want to help take care of her father and you," said Clarissa.

"You, Diana, Bridget, and Evan aren't going into Witness Protection because of you being pregnant and George Foyet chose Jack and Haley to be the people he'll go after to get revenge on me," said Hotch just as Dr. Trader entered the room.

"The receptionist in the waiting room told me that you were in here visiting your brother, Mrs. Reid," said Dr. Trader.

Clarissa quickly introduced her brother before looking at her husband's surgeon as she held her brother's hand.

"How's my husband?" asked Clarissa.

"Your husband made it through surgery fine," said Dr. Trader.

Clarissa released the tears that were threatening to fall down her face as Hotch squeezed her hand.

"What's the prognosis?" asked Clarissa.

"If he follows my instructions and does well in physical therapy, I believe that your husband will be walking unassisted by Christmas," said Dr. Trader.

Clarissa gave a watery smile.

"Knowing Spence, he'll make sure that he's walking again by the time our fourth child's born because my due date is around the first full week of January," said Clarissa.

"Your husband is currently in recovery and he'll be brought in here soon," said Dr. Trader.

"Spencer gets to be my roommate?" asked Hotch.

"Nurse Mary mentioned to me that you and Agent Reid are brother-in-laws, so I thought that you two should share a room to make everything easier for Mrs. Reid," said Dr. Trader.

Clarissa nodded in agreement.

"I agree," said Clarissa before she heard Jack's excited chatter causing her to look at Dr. Trader, "Can you take me to the family room so I can allow my brother to have a private moment with his ex-wife and son?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Dr. Trader as he grabbed the handles of Clarissa's wheelchair and pushed Clarissa out of the room.

xxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was being pushed towards his brother-in-law's hospital room when he saw Clarissa sitting in a wheelchair by Haley, Jack, and an unknown man as they talked in the hallway.

"Look who's here, Jack," said Clarissa.

"Your husband is still groggy from and anesthesia, so let's make it quick so he can get some rest," said the nurse.

Jack looked favorite uncle.

"Did you get an owie like my daddy did, uncle Spencer?" asked Jack.

"The bad guy hurt my left knee and I just had surgery to repair the damage. I'm going to be staying in your daddy's hospital room for the next few days," said Spencer tiredly.

"What on earth happened to you, Spencer?" asked Haley as she covered Jack's ears.

"Emily and I were protecting the intended target and I ended up taking the bullet that was meant for the victim," said Spencer tiredly.

"What's the prognosis?" asked Haley.

"Spence has a good outcome to walk on his own two feet again without the assistance of crutches and eventually a cane by Christmas," said Clarissa as Haley uncovered Jack's ears.

"Just before the baby's due date," said Haley.

Clarissa nodded as the unknown man looked at Spencer.

"Are you Agent Hotchner's brother-in-law?" asked the man as he introduced himself.

"Yes," said Spencer.

"Because of agreeing to delay leaving the hospital so Jack could say goodbye to you, you need to say goodbye to your nephew quickly because we really need to get going now," said Sam.

Clarissa looked at her nephew.

"Uncle Spencer and I want you to be a good boy for your mommy and hopefully you'll be home before your new cousin is born," said Clarissa.

"I pomise to be good, but can I please give the baby a kiss?" asked Jack.

"Yes, but you need to give uncle Spence a kiss too," said Clarissa.

Jack gave Clarissa's baby bump a kiss.

"I love you, Baby Weed," said Jack and grinned when he felt a kick, "the baby kick me," said Jack.

Spencer and Clarissa gave each other sad smiles while Haley lifted up Jack.

"Give Auntie Clarissa and uncle Spencer a kiss, Jack," said Haley.

Jack gave his Aunt Clarissa a kiss.

"I love you, Auntie Clara," said Jack.

Clarissa gave her favorite nephew a kiss.

"I love you too," said Clarissa as tears fell down her face.

Haley then positioned Jack so Jack could give his uncle Spencer a kiss.

"I love you, uncle Spence," said Jack.

Spencer gave his favorite nephew a kiss.

"I love you too, Jack Attack," said Spencer tiredly.

"We have to go," said Sam before looking at Spencer, "I'll take good care of your nephew and I hope you have a speedy recovery, Agent Reid," said Sam.

"Thank you," said Spencer before the nurse continued to push his bed towards his brother-in-law's new hospital room while another nurse came over and started to push Clarissa's wheelchair.

A few seconds later Spencer gave his brother-in-law an embarrassed smile as he was pushed into the room that he was sharing with his brother-in-law.

"Aside from the day you just had, I'm sorry that you also have to deal with me getting shot too," said Spencer as nurses positioned his bed and hooked up the correct monitors.

After the nurses left the room, Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"I'm just glad that your going to be OK even though you won't be participating in any raids until after the baby's born," said Hotch.

"Where's Emily?" asked Clarissa.

"She went home to get some sleep and tomorrow she, Morgan, Rossi, JJ, Garcia, and Will are going to be packing up my apartment and move me into her apartment," said Hotch.

"Good," said Clarissa just as her cell phone vibrated causing her to see a text from Lucy.

I JUST TOLD DIANA AND BRIDGET THAT THEIR DADDY AND UNCLE AARON GOT HURT, AND THEY WANT TO COME TO THE HOSPITAL NOW. ~ LR

"Are you two up for some visitors?" asked Clarissa.

"The kids?" asked Spencer.

"They heard that you both got hurt and we'll need to tell them about Haley and Jack going away for awhile," said Clarissa.

"I'm not looking forward to seeing the look on Diana's face when we tell her that I had to send Jack away," said Hotch.

"Knowing Diana, she'll be upset briefly before accepting your decision," said Clarissa.

At that moment Spencer groaned in pain causing Clarissa to look at her husband.

"I don't want you to scare the kids when you're in so much pain, so can you please accept some morphine for me. You were strong enough not to develop an addiction after Hankel and I know that you won't get addicted this time too. As soon as your up and moving around, I'll make sure you go to a meeting," said Clarissa.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Please listen to Clarissa because I can't bear to seeing you in so much pain right now," said Hotch.

Spencer sighed.

"As long as I'm giving the smallest dose as possible I'll accept the morphine, but I refuse to be on narcotic pain medication when I'm released from here," said Spencer.

"Deal," said Clarissa as she pressed the call button.

A few minutes later Spencer was holding Clarissa's hand as a nurse connected a bag of morphine to his I.V. drip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm leaving this chapter where its at because of the length, but Diana, Bridget, Evan, Spencer's godparents, and Spencer's grandparents will appear in the next chapter that will be posted after Christmas. So I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas!


	79. Hospital Stay & Lucy Gets a Boyfriend?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my last chapter of this story for the year 2018, so the next time I update will be next year.
> 
> When it comes to how many chapters I posted for this story and the length of it and being told that I need to end Romance by the Book soon by a guest reviewer, I think I'll end this story when Spencer and Clarissa celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the day they met and their eight year wedding anniversary (Which means that this story will have over 100 chapters) before I write the sequel due to exciting plans I have for Spencer and Clarissa and my take on Emily's storyline in season 6.
> 
> This chapter starts 10 minutes after the last chapter.
> 
> Warning: A cute toddler says a certain swear word in this chapter.

Diana who was sitting in her booster seat in the backseat of Lucy's car, thinking about the wheelchair and crutches that she watched her nanny put into the trunk of her car hugged the stuffed Babar that once belonged to her father close to herself looked at her nanny.

"Because of you putting the wheelchair and crutches that daddy used over two years ago when he broke his foot into the trunk, did daddy get an injury that won't allow him to walk for a while?" asked Diana.

Lucy looked at Diana through the rear-view mirror and thought about how Diana always end up clinging to her stuffed Babar when she's worried about her father.

"The bad guy ended up injuring your father's left knee," said Lucy.

"Did daddy have surgery?" asked Diana.

"Your daddy needed to have surgery to repair some muscles that made up his thigh and connected to his knee, so your father will be in quite a bit of pain from his injury while being tired from the anesthesia he's been given," said Lucy.

Diana tilted her head.

"Daddy ended up injuring his left quadricep and hamstring," said Diana to herself before looking at her nanny who was beaming at her for pronouncing the two muscles correctly, "Do you know when daddy will be able to walk again?" asked Diana.

"Mommy said that if daddy stays off his injured knee as much as possible while his muscles and ligaments heal and pushes himself to walk again quickly in physical therapy, he'll be walking unassisted again by Christmas and the time your new brother or sister is born," said Lucy.

Diana smiled.

"And my birthday too," said Diana.

Lucy nodded

"If you have an ice skating party this year, your daddy won't be able to get on the ice with you this year since mommy can't join you because of the baby in her tummy," said Lucy.

Diana quickly used her eidetic memory to flashback to the calendar that was hanging in the kitchen and how her mother marked the baby's due date on the calendar while writing numbers six through 40 on the Sunday of each week to remind her how far she is that week.

"Do you think that mommy and daddy would let me have a few friends over for a birthday slumber party even though mommy would be very close to her due date or my new sibling would be born by then?" asked Diana.

"You can ask them, but please don't get upset if your mommy and daddy say no because they both had a rough day today," said Lucy.

Xxxxxxxx 

Spencer smiled as he watched Diana enter his and Hotch's hospital room while Lucy pushed Bridget and Evan in the wheelchair that he used after the Hankel case.

After Lucy helped the kids give their father and uncle each a kiss, Diana looked at her father.

"What happened to staying safe, daddy?" asked Diana before looking at her favorite uncle, "You need to brush up on your self-defense training, uncle Aaron," said Diana.

Spencer, Clarissa, Lucy, and Hotch hid their smiles as Hotch looked at his oldest niece.

"As soon as my doctor gives the OK, I'll work on brushing up my self-defense training," said Hotch.

Diana quickly noticed her mother sitting in a wheelchair and the same type of hospital bracelet that her daddy and uncle had on her wrist.

"Why are you in a wheelchair, mommy?" asked Diana.

"The baby and I didn't take the news of daddy getting hurt very well, so a doctor from the maternity ward here checked to make sure that the baby and I are both OK. The baby and I are both fine, but I've been ordered to take two weeks off to rest," said Clarissa.

"You need to be careful too, mommy," scolded Diana.

"I promise, Diana," said Clarissa.

Bridget who was sitting on the foot of her father's hospital bed looked at her daddy's covered up legs.

"Can I pwease kiss your owie to help you feel better?" asked Bridget.

"Yes you may, Cricket," said Spencer.

Bridget leaned forward and kissed her father's covered up left leg.

"All better, daddy," said Bridget.

"Thank you, Bridget," said Spencer before looking at Evan who was sitting next to him on the right side of his hospital bed, "Do you want to kiss my owie like mommy, Lucy, and I do when you get an owie?" asked Spencer.

The 14-month-old toddler grinned at his father.

"Yes, Dada," said Evan.

"Let me help you, Evan," said Lucy as she scooped up Evan and leaned him towards Spencer's left knee, "Give daddy's knee a gentle kiss," said Lucy.

"K," said Evan as he gave his daddy's left knee a sloppy kiss, "All etter," said Evan.

"Thank you, Evan," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his oldest niece who was sitting in the chair between his and his brother-in-law's hospital beds.

"I need to talk to you about something serious, so can you please join me on the foot of my bed, Diana?" asked Hotch.

Diana nodded as Lucy helped her climb into her uncle's bed.

"Did I do something wrong that's going to get me in trouble?" asked Diana.

"You're not in trouble, but the bad guy who attacked me is wanting to hurt Aunt Haley and Jack to get revenge on me. So until this bad guy is caught, a U.S. Marshall will be hiding Aunt Haley and Jack in another state and none of us will know where they are," said Hotch gently.

Diana started to tear up a bit as she thought about not getting to see her cousin for a while.

"So I can't see or talk to Jack because of Aunt Haley and Jack being in Witness Protection?" asked Diana.

Hotch nodded while being grateful that Diana is much smarter than the average five-year-old as he removed his niece's glasses and used his thumbs to wipe Diana's tears.

"It's too dangerous for us to be in contact with them. I promise you that as soon as Jack comes home, you can spend as much time as you want with Jack when you two are not in school," said Hotch.

"OK," sniffled Diana.

"Jack gone?" asked Bridget.

Hotch nodded as he quickly thought about how he could explain about Jack being gone to a two-year-old toddler.

"He's playing hide and seek against a really bad man, but you'll get to play with him again as soon as the bad man is caught," said Hotch.

"OK," said Bridget.

At that moment Clarissa yawned causing Lucy to look at Diana and Bridget as she settled Evan on her hip while she scooped up Bridget with her free arm.

"Its time to take mommy home because your mommy, daddy, and uncle Aaron all need rest," said Lucy.

A teary-eyed Bridget looked at her father.

"Daddy not come home?" asked Bridget.

Spencer sadly shook his head.

"Daddy has to stay here until Friday, but if you and Diana end up being good girls for mommy and Lucy tonight and tomorrow morning, mommy can bright you and your siblings here to see me tomorrow," said Spencer.

Diana nodded seriously.

"I promise to be a good girl for mommy and Lucy while I help them take care of Bridget and Evan and help out with chores," said Diana.

"I know that you will help take care of your siblings and help out with chores because you always make sure to help take care of your siblings and do household chores when I'm on a case," said Spencer before looking at his two-year-old daughter, "Are you going to be a good girl so you can visit me tomorrow?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Bridget.

Diana held her stuffed Babar up to her father.

"I want you to keep Babar with you while you stay here, daddy," said Diana.

"Are you sure you want to give me Babar?" asked Spencer.

"I know that you will miss mommy, Bridget, Evan, and me while you stay here, so I want you to keep Babar with you to keep you and uncle Aaron company," said Diana.

Lucy and Clarissa both wiped the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Its very sweet of you to let daddy keep Babar here, Diana," said Clarissa.

Spencer took his old Babar from his oldest daughter.

"I'll keep Babar here with me," said Spencer as he hugged the stuffed animal that survived his childhood close to himself.

After Lucy helped Diana, Bridget, and Evan each give their father a kiss, Lucy helped Clarissa stand up.

"I love you, Clarissa," said Spencer.

"I love you too," said Clarissa as she gave her husband a stern look, "You better behave for the doctors and nurses here or you'll spend your entire medical leave confined to our bed when you don't have any doctor appointments or go to church," said Clarissa firmly.

"Yes, ma'am," said Spencer.

Clarissa then walked over to her brother and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you, Aaron," said Clarissa.

"I love you too, Clarissa," said Hotch.

Clarissa gave her oldest brother the same stern look she gave her husband.

"You better behave for your doctors and nurses too," said Clarissa as Lucy helped Clarissa sit back down in her wheelchair.

A few seconds later, Spencer and Hotch were watching a nurse push Clarissa's wheelchair while Lucy held Evan on one hip while holding Bridget's hand with her free hand.

A few minutes later two nurses came into the room and looked at Spencer and Hotch as they introduced themselves before looking at Spencer as they noticed the wedding band on Spencer's left ring finger and an aged stuffed Babar tucked into Spencer's arm.

"Were those three cutie pies that left with your wife your children?" asked Nurse Annabelle.

Spencer nodded.

"Yes," said Spencer.

"How old are they?" asked Nurse Annabelle.

"Diana is five and a half, Bridget just turned two on the 7th, and Evan is 14-months-old," said Spencer.

"Diana and Evan both look so much like you," said Nurse Annabelle.

"I know, but Diana is technically my blue-eyed mini-me because she has my wife's blue eyes," said Spencer.

Nurse Charlotte thought about the baby bump she saw on Mrs. Reid.

"Do you know the gender of your fourth child?" asked Nurse Charlotte.

"Clarissa and I chose to be surprised this time," said Spencer.

"How long have you and Clarissa been together?" asked Nurse Charlotte.

"We met eight years, eight months, and 27 days ago and got married six years, eight, months, and 27 days ago," said Spencer.

Nurse Charlotte smiled.

"I've been married for 30 years, so I hope that you and your wife last a long time," said Nurse Charlotte.

"I hope so too," said Spencer before looking at Nurse Annabelle and noticed an engagement ring on Annabelle's left ring finger, "Congratulations on your engagement," said Spencer.

Nurse Annabelle blushed a bit.

"Thank you and I'm nervous about getting married on Saturday," said Nurse Annabelle.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"I was nervous on my own wedding day too," said Spencer before Nurse Annabelle and Nurse Charlotte excused themselves to introduce themselves to their other patients for the night.

A few seconds later Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"I'm not looking forward to the nightmares I'll be dealing with tonight," said Spencer.

"Due to the kill shot Emily told me about you doing?" asked Hotch.

"Yes," said Spencer before he softly chuckled, "When Rossi saw Patrick Meyer's dead body, he told me to remind him that I should never piss him off," said Spencer.

Hotch nodded in agreement as he thought about witnessing Spencer shoot Phillip Dowd right between the eyes, noticing the bullet wound right in Tobias Hankel's heart, and finding out that his brother-in-law shot Patrick Meyers right between the eyes.

"This is the third time you've done a kill shot while being injured at the same time, and because of you doing your best work under intense terror makes me agree with Dave's statement," said Hotch.

Spencer laughed.

"When Diana and Bridget have their first dates, I'm planning on telling their dates about the kill shots I did in the field while I clean my revolver in front of them," said Spencer.

"I'm going to be sitting right beside you cleaning my two guns too," said Hotch before he started to tell his brother-in-law about what Foyet did to him because of Spencer telling him everything that Tobias Hankel did to him.

Xxxxxxxx 

An hour later, a pajama-clad Diana was allowing her mother to comb her freshly washed long curly brown hair as she brushed Bridget's wet hair.

"Can Bridget and I please sleep with you tonight?" asked Diana.

"Yes, and I already called the school and Mrs. O' Conner and told them that you're staying home from school tomorrow because of your daddy and uncle Aaron both getting injured in the line of duty," said Clarissa.

"What about Friday?" asked Diana.

"You'll be going to school on Friday because the school and I agreed that you should talk to Dr. Annie about what happened to your daddy and uncle Aaron," said Clarissa.

"Why?" asked Diana.

"The next couple of months will be hard on all of us because your daddy and uncle Aaron will both have good days and bad days as they both recover from their injuries while you have to deal with Jack being away," said Clarissa just as Lucy entered Diana's and Bridget's room with Evan.

"I thought that I should let you know that I already brought a bunch of my clothes and personal belongings and placed them in the guest bedroom before you put Evan to bed and I settle Diana and Bridget into the living room to watch a movie," said Lucy.

Bridget looked at her nanny.

"Why you sleep here?" asked Bridget.

Diana decided to answer her little sister's question before Lucy could.

"Daddy ended up hurting his foot when I was three and you were in mommy's tummy, and he was stuck using crutches and a wheelchair for four weeks. So Lucy wants to be nearby so she can make sure that mommy doesn't hurt the baby and herself while daddy recovers," said Diana.

"Your sister is right, Bridget," said Lucy.

A few seconds later Diana and Bridget were both giving their little brother each a goodnight kiss before Lucy took them downstairs so they could watch "Monsters Inc." while Clarissa rocked Evan to sleep and placed him in his crib before joining her daughters downstairs.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next morning Spencer was sitting up in his hospital bed with Bridget sitting on his right as he played chess with Diana.

"I see checkmate in 12," said Spencer as he moved his next piece.

Diana studied the chess board and quickly found the piece she wanted to move before looking at her parents.

"Do you think I can quit figure skating and do something else as an extracurricular activity?" asked Diana.

"Why do you want to quit figure skating?" asked Clarissa.

"I want to be in Girl Scouts with Aria and I have a feeling that you would say yes because you were a Girl Scouts when you were my age, mommy," said Diana.

Clarissa smiled.

"I was already planning on asking you if you wanted to be in Girl Scouts this school year because Mrs. O' Conner will be the troop leader for the girls in your age group at school, but you can still do figure skating lessons one day a week," said Clarissa.

"OK, mommy," said Diana before remembering the conversation she had with Lucy the day before, "Instead of having another ice skating party to celebrate my sixth birthday in December, can I please have a few friends sleep over at our and house instead?" asked Diana.

"You want to host your first slumber party because of how much fun you had at Aria's party last month?" asked Clarissa.  
Diana nodded.

"Yes," said Diana.

"You can have a slumber party to celebrate your birthday with your friends this year, but you can only invite six friends because of you turning six," said Clarissa.

"Thank you, mommy," said Diana before moving a piece on the chessboard and grinned at her daddy, "Checkmate," said Diana.

Spencer looked down at the chessboard and shook his head and looked at Diana.

"Maybe you should join the chess club at school," said Spencer.

Diana grinned at her father.

"I'm already planning on joining the chess club so I can kick someone else's ass at chess," said Diana.

"Diana Ethel Reid, please watch your language," scolded Spencer.

"Sorry, daddy," said Diana.

Evan who was sitting with his uncle Aaron looked at his parents.

"Ass," said Evan before he accidentally dropped his teething ring onto the floor, "Fuck," said Evan.

Spencer, Clarissa, and Hotch exchanged horrified looks while Bridget looked at her father.

"Evan say a bad word, daddy," said Bridget.

Spencer nodded as he thought back to 14-month-old Bridget attempting to say the same word on his 27th birthday when Clarissa dropped a knife on the floor.

"I know," said Spencer as he gave Clarissa a look, "I know that Evan learned that word because you said that word during breakfast on the day I left for Canada," said Spencer.

"It seems like Evan inherited your eidetic memory, Spencer," said Hotch.

"I know," said Spencer as he looked at Clarissa's baby bump, "I just wonder if Baby Reid will end up inheriting my eidetic memory too," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

A half-hour later Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan went home for lunch and Bridget's and Evan's nap time when Alex Blake entered Spencer's and Hotch's hospital room and looked at her godson.

"I thought that you promised me that you would stay careful in the field because I told you a bunch of times that I won't survive losing you because of already losing Ethan," said Alex.

"I know, and I'm sorry," said Spencer.

Alex sat down next to her godson's chair and took his IV free hand.

"I'm just glad that you're going to be OK," said Alex.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"Me too, and Clarissa, the kids, and my unborn child are the reasons why I'm going to push myself to walk unassisted by the time Baby Reid is born," said Spencer.

Hotch looked over at his brother-in-law.

"At least we already have the nursery finished," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded in agreement just as there was a knock on the open door causing Spencer to see his grandparents.

"Hi, grandma. Hi grandpa," said Spencer.

Alex looked at her godson as she stood up.

"I'll get going because I have a class to teach at Georgetown, but I'll call you tomorrow, Spencer," said Alex.

"OK, mom," said Spencer as soon as Alex left the room he looked at his grandparents, "I'm sorry if I scared you guys when Clarissa called to tell you two that I got shot," said Spencer.

"You to be more careful because Lydia and I probably wouldn't survive if we lost you too because we already lost your father and uncle Daniel," said Evan.

"I know," said Spencer.

Lydia took in the sight of her youngest grandson in his hospital gown.

"Hopefully the next couple of months will cause you to gain some more weight because of you still being too skinny for my liking," said Lydia.

Spencer rolled his eyes while Hotch looked over at his brother-in-law's grandparents.

"You should have seen how skinny your grandson was when I first met him nearly nine years ago," said Hotch.

"Eight years, eight months, and 28 days ago," said Spencer.

Hotch shook his head while Lydia looked at her grandson.

"Would it be OK if Shabbat happens at your house until a couple of months after our newest great-grandchild is born so everything can be easier for you and Clarissa when your home on Fridays?" asked Lydia.

Spencer nodded.

"Clarissa and I talked about the possibility of Shabbat happening at our house because of my knee, so Clarissa and I won't mind hosting Shabbat at our house," said Spencer before he yawned a bit.

"As much as we want to spend a couple of hours with you, you need your rest and we'll come and visit as soon as your settled in at home," said Evan.

Xxxxxxxx 

The next afternoon Spencer was sitting up in bed with his left leg and knee elevated when he smiled as he heard familiar footsteps run in the hallway before knocking on the closed bedroom door.

"Its open," called out Spencer.

A few seconds later Diana was standing by her parents' bed.

"How long ago did you get home from the hospital?" asked Diana.

"Mommy brought me home during Bridget's and Evan's nap time," said Spencer.

Diana looked at the empty bottle of water on her father's nightstand before looking at her father.

"Before I get started on my homework so I can enjoy my weekend, do you want me to get you some more water and a snack?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled.

"Some water and a snack will be great, and why don't you bring your homework in here and do it on mommy's and my bed?" asked Spencer.

Diana grinned.

"OK, daddy," said Diana as she quickly left her parents' room.

10 minutes later Diana had her backpack on her back as she held a bottle of water and a plate that contained a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, baby carrots, and some grapes.

"I made you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer smiled as he thought about him, Clarissa, and Lucy allowing Diana to make herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich as long as she cleaned up any messes she made.

"That looks delicious," said Spencer as he accepted the plate from Diana and broke the sandwich in half and passed half of it to Diana who grinned at him before taking a bite of her sandwich.

A few minutes later Spencer was looking over all of Diana's homework before Diana chose to take care of the sixth-grade level math homework that Mrs. O' Conner gave her to do.

Xxxxxxxx 

Three days later, Clarissa was pushing Spencer's wheelchair through the park while Lucy pushed a double stroller that contained Bridget and Evan when a man around Lucy's age approached them.

"Lucy Robertson?" asked the man.

Lucy's eyes went wide.

"Anthony Bruno?" asked Lucy.

Anthony nodded as he looked at Spencer, Clarissa, Bridget, and Evan and noticed that Spencer and Evan had brown hair that was close to Lucy's hair color.

"Are these people your son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren?" asked Anthony.

Lucy shook her head.

"Caleb and Willie died over six years ago," said Lucy softly.

"I'm sorry, but I understand what you went through because I ended up losing my own wife cancer before we could even have children," said Anthony softly.

"After Caleb and Willie died, I retired from the FBI and became a live-in nanny for my best friend's godson who's a fellow FBI agent, his wife, and children," said Lucy as she introduced Spencer, Clarissa, Bridget, and Evan to Jordan before looking at Jordan, "Spencer and Clarissa also have a five-year-old daughter named Diana, but she's at school right now," said Lucy.

Anthony looked at Spencer.

"I'm a psychologist and its an honor to meet you because I'm a huge fan of everything you published in psychology journals, Dr. Reid," said Anthony as he shook hands with Spencer.

"I've read some of your published work too," said Spencer before shifting around in his wheelchair and looked at his watch.

"Is it time for your medication, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"Yes," said Spencer as Clarissa started to go through the diaper bag she brought along.

Anthony looked at Spencer and took in the sight of the young man who was wearing cargo shorts, a polo shirt, while Spencer's left leg, thigh, and knee contained a hinged brace while there was some gauze wrap peaking through the brace.

"I hope that I'm not being rude, but did you recently get injured in the line of duty?" asked Anthony.

Spencer nodded.

"I got S-H-O-T above the left knee last week Wednesday and I'm glad that these two mother hens are allowing me out of the house today for some fresh air as long as I stay in my wheelchair," said Spencer.

Clarissa walked around her husband's wheelchair and faced her husband as she gave him her 'Hotchner Glare' while resting her hands on her hips.

"Because of you calling me a mother hen, you can forget about having ice cream for dessert tonight," said Clarissa firmly as she handed her husband his pain medication and a bottle of water.

Spencer took the medication that his wife gave him while Lucy looked at her ex-boyfriend.

"How long are you staying in D.C. for?" asked Lucy.

"I'm staying here for good because I lost my apartment to an apartment fire last week and I decided to move down here," said Anthony.

"So you're living in a hotel right now?" asked Lucy.

Anthony nodded.

"Yes," said Anthony.

Clarissa quickly grabbed the handles of Spencer's wheelchair and pushed her husband 20 feet away from Lucy, Bridget, Evan, and Anthony before kneeling down and started to examine her husband's bad knee as she made eye contact with her husband.

"We must have Anthony stay in Lucy's pool house because I can tell that they're still in love with each other, so we must play matchmakers as we did for Austin and your best friend Ethan," said Clarissa quietly.

Spencer shook his head as he thought about Clarissa really wanting Lucy to start dating again even though Lucy is reluctant about possibly leaving them and the kids if she ever moves on from her late husband.

"Rossi told me about Anthony being one of his best friends from the Marines and about Lucy and Anthony dating each other before they went separate ways for college, so I can trust Anthony not to break Lucy's heart. But how would we convince him to stay with us?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa pointed at her husband's knee.

"When it comes to all the teenage boys in our neighborhood starting to fight over who gets take over mowing our yard, raking the leaves, and shoveling because of you not being able to do your usual outdoor chores, why don't we ask Anthony to live with us for free as long as he takes care of raking and eventually shoveling so we don't have to pick which neighbor gets to help us this year?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"I think your idea would work, but are you sure you don't want to join grandma Lydia in the matchmaking business?" asked Spencer.

"I prefer being a nurse instead of a matchmaker, but let's go tell Anthony our offer," said Clarissa as she pushed her husband's wheelchair back towards Lucy, Bridget, Evan, and Anthony, "Sorry about that, but I wanted to make sure that Spence isn't developing an infection," said Clarissa.

Lucy noticed a certain look of mischief in the parents of her charges' eyes.

"What are you two up to now?" asked Lucy.

Clarissa looked at Anthony.

"Lucy lives in the pool house at our house and is currently living in the guest bedroom inside of our house because of Spence's knee and my current pregnancy, so instead of spending nearly $1,000 a week to live in a hotel while you search for a place to live, why don't you stay in our pool house for free in exchange for helping out with yard work?" asked Clarissa.

"Are you sure?" asked Anthony.

Spencer looked at his left knee.

"When it comes to the yard work I usually do when I'm not traveling for work, we're going to need someone to help with the chores that I can't do full-time and we're already dealing with teenage boys in our neighborhood fighting over who gets to take over my usual outdoor chores for $100," said Spencer.

"And we're going to need someone to help Lucy carry groceries into the house because I'm not allowed to do any heavy lifting," said Clarissa.

Anthony glanced at Lucy before looking at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Because of how much you two are going through right now, I'll be glad to take your offer because I love the idea of helping a family in need in exchange for a place to live as long as I help out with cooking," said Anthony.

"You cook sketti like Papa Dave Ossi?" asked Bridget.

Anthony knelt down by Bridget.

"Are you talking about Lucy's cousin David Rossi, sweetie?" asked Anthony.

"Yes," said Bridget.

Spencer smiled at Anthony.

"David Rossi came out of retirement and works on the same team as me and he's supposed to come over for dinner at our house tonight," said Spencer.

Anthony smiled at Bridget.

"I do cook great spaghetti," said Anthony.

At that moment both Bridget and Evan yawned causing Clarissa to look at her husband.

"We might as well get home for n-a-p-t-i-m-e and get you to elevate your bad leg," said Clarissa before looking at Anthony, "Why don't you come home with us so you can see your temporary home before Lucy helps you gather your belongings," said Clarissa.

"I'd like that," said Anthony before looking at Spencer, "At least I'll be able to help you with your emotional well being while you recover because I focused on counseling men and women who either served in the military or law enforcement and were injured in the line of duty," said Anthony.

"Aside from talking to my Bureau therapist who will spend the next month making house calls for me, I like the idea of talking to someone else," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxx 

A few hours later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Lucy, Rossi, and Anthony were gathered around the dining room table enjoying the meal that Rossi and Anthony cooked together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I have it that Hotch knows about Alex Blake's son Ethan.
> 
> I hope you guys like my new OC Anthony Bruno because I really want Lucy to start dating again and here's a heads up that Anthony will treat Lucy right and won't take Lucy away from the Reid family.
> 
> I hope that everyone has a safe and happy new year!


	80. Medical Leave Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the delay for the first chapter of this story in 2019. Aside from intense writer's block and wanting to focus on finishing Romance by the Book first, I had my second post OP appointment that allowed me to be cleared to go back to volunteering at the hospital and going to Zumba and I do both activities twice a week. I'll write as much as I can this month before I have to take another hiatus starting on February 4th for the second attempt on surgery which will involve me to stay in the hospital for a couple of days this time and have a longer recovery.
> 
> I found out that Autism Society of Wisconsin wanted me to speak in their panel of experts during their upcoming conference in Wisconsin Dells again this year, and I said yes!
> 
> This chapter starts the day after the last chapter and I cast Kevin Costner from the movie "Hidden Figures" as Anthony Bruno.
> 
> A little bit of M-rated content at the end and I hope everyone loves Spencer's idea to help with their sexual frustration because of his injury ruining their sex lives.

Clarissa looked at her husband as she helped fasten her husband's brace on Spencer's thigh, leg, and knee before she tied converse sneakers.

"I could have tied them myself," said Spencer.

"I know, but I'm sad about having one less child's shoes to tie ever since you taught Diana how to tie her shoes," said Clarissa sadly.

Spencer smiled sadly at his wife as he thought about Diana turning six in less than four months while being grateful that he can still enjoy Bridget being as little as she is while knowing that there's a 50% chance that his unborn child is possibly a girl.

"I'm sad about how big and independent Diana's getting too, Clarissa," said Spencer.

"So you won't mind me tying your shoes until your able to get around more?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm OK with you tying my shoes as long as you promise that you won't hurt yourself or the baby when kneeling down onto the floor to tie my shoes," said Spencer firmly.

"I promise," said Clarissa as she used the arms of their master bedroom armchair to help herself stand up to her full height and rubbed her back before making eye contact with her husband, "Aside from us planning on watching "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" after the kids are in bed tonight, what do you want to do with Bridget, Evan, and me after Dr. Merrill does a house call on you?" asked Clarissa as she thought about her husband being forced to talk to a Bureau psychologist about having to do his third kill shot in the field while he has to deal with an injury that will keep him station bound until after Christmas.

"You're letting me out of the house again today?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa sat down on the armchair that was next to her husband's chair.

"I believe that getting out and about and doing activities with the kids and me will keep you from getting too depressed about your injury," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"I'm glad that I have you to help me through this latest obstacle," said Spencer.

"I told you in the hospital that we will get through this together because of us saying these words to each other 'To have and hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, and I promise my love to you' on our wedding day. Even though we're worried about our favorite nephew and former sister-in-law being in Witness Protection: Diana, Bridget, Evan, and this baby," said Clarissa as she rubbed her baby bump, "are going to remind us that the good times will always outweigh the bad and help us smile and laugh when we're worrying about Jack and Haley," said Clarissa.

Spencer rested his hand on Clarissa's 22-week baby bump and smiled when he felt a strong kick.

"Keep on growing big and strong, little one," said Spencer just as a small knock sounded on the closed bedroom door.

"Mommy, daddy, are you two decent?" asked Diana through the door.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled as they thought of Diana following their rule about knocking on their door and wait for their permission for her to enter their bedroom.

"The bedroom door is unlocked, so please come in," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Diana and Bridget who were both dressed for the day entered the room.

"Daddy and I were about to wake you up for school, Diana," said Clarissa.

"I woke up to the smell of pancakes cooking and Bridget woke up because of needing to go potty. After I helped Bridget in the bathroom, I helped get her dressed to make everything easier for you two," said Diana as she kissed her father's cheek.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other before looking at Diana with proud looks on their faces.

"Thank you for being very helpful, Diana," said Spencer before kissing Diana's cheek.

"I know that I need to be a good helper right now because of you not being able to carry or lift Bridget, Evan, and me right now, needing everything brought to you, and mommy can't do any heavy lifting because of the baby in her womb," said Diana.

Bridget walked over to her father and kissed her daddy's braced knee.

"All better?" asked Bridget.

Spencer smiled at Clarissa's brown-eyed and curly haired mini-me who was wearing a purple dress that once belonged to Diana and mismatched socks while her shoulder-length nearly black curly hair was still in a bedhead like Diana's mid-back length long curly brown hair is.

"I believe that your kiss will help me get through the day, Cricket," said Spencer as he leaned forward a bit and started to tickle Bridget's tummy causing Bridget to squeal with laughter.

"Daddddddy, pwease stop," squealed a giggling Bridget.

"OK," said Spencer just as Evan's voice sounded through one of the baby monitors.

"Mama? Dada?" asked Evan.

"We might as well get Evan up and ready for the day too," said Clarissa before looking at Diana and Bridget, "While I get Evan's diaper changed and get him dressed, daddy will comb your hair and style it the way you two want your hair styled," said Clarissa.

"Yes, ma'am," said Diana before looking at her father who was sitting comfortably in the armchair while Clarissa headed to Evan's nursery, "Do you want me to go grab everything you need so you can do Bridget's and my hair so you don't have to get up?" asked Diana.

"That will be very helpful, Diana," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her little sister.

"Can you please keep daddy company while I go grab our hairbrushes, spray bottle, and ponytail holders?" asked Diana.

"Yes, Anna," said Bridget.

As soon as Diana left the master bedroom, Bridget looked at her father.

"Anna taught me a fun song and dance, daddy," said Bridget.

Spencer smiled as he thought about Diana's motive on getting Bridget and Evan ready for preschool.

"She did?" asked Spencer.

Bridget nodded.

"Can you please sing that song to me?" asked Spencer.

Bridget nodded.

"You put your right arm in," sang Bridget as she stuck her right arm in, "You put your right arm out," sang Bridget as she pulled her right arm out.

Spencer grinned as he recognized his two-year-old singing "The Hokey Pokey".

"You put your right arm in and you shake it all about," sang Spencer and Bridget in unison as Spencer followed his youngest daughter's movements despite shaking his upper body while he stayed sitting down.

Diana who entered the bedroom with everything she needed looked at her father and little sister.

"You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around," sang Diana and Bridget in unison as they spin themselves in a circle before looking at their father, "and that's what it's all about," sang Diana and Bridget in unison.

Spencer clapped his hands.

"Great job, girls, but can I please get started on your hair before I get in trouble with mommy?" asked Spencer.

Diana and Bridget both nodded and a few seconds later Spencer was combing the tangles out of Diana's hair while Diana brushed the tangles out of Bridget's hair before he started French braiding Diana's hair into two separate French braids while Diana was able to successfully pull her little sister's hair into two pigtails thanks to her Barbie Fabulous Friends Styling Head helping her learn how to do simple hairstyles and watching her parents and Lucy do Bridget's hair.

xxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was sitting in his home library with his bad leg elevated when Dr. Merrill looked at him.

"Even though I came to assess you in the hospital, how have the past few days since your release gone for you?" asked Dr. Merrill.

"Despite dealing with pain and having to adjust to not being able to lift or carry the kids around unless one of them rides on my lap when I use my wheelchair, everything is going good because Clarissa and Lucy have found ways to make me help around the house while Diana, Bridget, and Evan find ways to entertain me without making me get up," said Spencer.

Dr. Merrill smiled as she thought about the few times she met Diana, Bridget, and Evan when she came by and checked on Spencer after Spencer was infected with anthrax.

"I knew that your family would be there for you while you recover from getting shot," said Dr. Merrill.

"Even though I have to deal with not knowing where my nephew is," said Spencer sadly.

"I know that you'll be missing your nephew, but Just think about the positive events in your life especially since your unborn son or daughter will push you to walk again," said Dr. Merrill.

"Speaking of my unborn child, I'm glad that Aaron and I finished the nursery before my shooting and Aaron's stabbing," said Spencer.

"If its OK with you, I would love to see the nursery when its time for me to leave," said Dr. Merrill as he heard Bridget, Evan, Clarissa, Lucy, and an unknown man laughing through the open window, "Who's that mystery man that went outside with your wife, Lucy, Bridget, and Evan?" asked Dr. Merrill.

"The man that's in the backyard playing with my two current youngest children, wife, and live-in nanny is Dr. Anthony Bruno. He dated Lucy in high school and was in the Marines with Rossi. Anthony is currently homeless so we opened up the pool house to him for free as long as he helps with yard work, carrying in groceries, and driving Diana to school and her extra circular activities because I can't drive, do yard work, or carry in groceries right now and Clarissa has to take it easy," said Spencer.

Dr. Merrill smiled.

"I thought that he looked familiar, and I'm glad that you're going to have someone like him around to aid with your recovery," said Dr. Merrill.

"He's been helpful since I met him yesterday, and Clarissa decided that we must get Lucy and Anthony to start dating each other again," said Spencer.

Dr. Merrill laughed as she thought about Clarissa's spitfire personality.

"Your wife is something else, Spencer," said Dr. Merrill.

"I know," smiled Spencer.

xxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was wheeling himself in his wheelchair while Clarissa pushed a double stroller that contained Bridget and Evan as they approached the shark exhibit in the National Aquarium in Washington D.C. when Bridget's eyes went wide at all the sharks swimming in the water.

"That's a lot of sharks, daddy," said Bridget.

"There are around 440 known species of sharks around the world, Bridget," said Spencer.

"Really?" asked Bridget.

Spencer nodded.

"Diana knows this fact too because I told her this fact when I took her to the aquarium before you were born," said Spencer just as Bridget noticed a shark with an interesting head shape.

"What type of shark is that, daddy?" asked Bridget.

Spencer felt his heart swell with pride as he realized that Bridget was going to be a curious child like her big sister as he recognized the shark.

"That shark is known as a hammerhead shark, Bridget," said Spencer before thinking of an interesting fact about hammerhead sharks, "There are nine different types of hammerhead sharks, Bridget," said Spencer.

"Do you know the names of the nine hammerhead sharks, daddy?" asked Bridget.

Spencer grinned as he nodded.

"Winghead shark, scalloped bonnethead, whitefin hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, scoophead, great hammerhead, bonnethead, smalleyed hammerhead, and smooth hammerhead," said Spencer.

"What type of hammerhead is the one we are seeing, daddy?" asked Bridget.

Spencer tilted his head as he studied the hammerhead shark.

"We're seeing the great hammerhead shark. The great hammerhead shark is the largest hammerhead shark that can reach 20-feet long and weigh up to 600 pounds, Cricket," said Spencer.

"Cool, daddy," said Bridget just as an elderly couple came over to them and smiled at them.

"You guys make such a beautiful family," said the woman.

"Thank you," said Spencer and Clarissa in unison.

The woman looked at Spencer.

"When it comes to hearing you educate your children about ocean species and hearing your oldest ask questions, you and your wife should have more kids because of how you are with your children," said the elderly woman.

Clarissa smiled and laughed.

"This little girl is our second child because our five-year-old daughter is at school right now and I'm 22-weeks pregnant with our fourth child," said Clarissa as she stepped from her place behind the stroller and rested her hands on her baby bump.

"Congratulations, and do you know what your having?" asked the woman.

"We chose to be surprised this time," said Clarissa.

The elderly woman tilted her head and looked at Clarissa's baby bump.

"Unless you're very petite, you look like your carrying multiples, dear," said the elderly woman.

The elderly man looked at Spencer and noticed the brace on his left knee, thigh, and leg.

"What happened to your knee?" asked the man.

"I injured my left knee in the line of duty and I'll be stuck using a wheelchair and crutches until Christmas," said Spencer.

The man tilted his head and looked at Spencer.

"Didn't our former president have your oldest daughter give you the Medal of Valor, an FBI Star, and a Shield of Bravery last year for bringing down Benjamin Cyrus's cult?" asked the man.

Spencer nodded.

"If your wondering if I'm the agent that helped bring down Benjamin Cyrus last year, I'm the agent you're thinking about," said Spencer.

"Thank you for taking the oath to protect our country," said the elderly man before walking away.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you end up earning an FBI Star for last week's events, Spence," said Clarissa.

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An hour later Spencer and Clarissa were eating lunch with Bridget and Evan when the elderly couple they encountered earlier approached them with a gift bag.

"I hope you two don't mind that we bought you your children some presents," said the elderly woman as she passed the bag to Clarissa who noticed that there were four stuffed hammerhead sharks and a book about sharks.

"I appreciate you getting the kids a book about sharks to share, but why did you buy the kids four stuffed hammerhead sharks?" asked Clarissa.

"One of them is for your unborn child and the other is for your child that's currently in school right now," said the elderly man.

Bridget who was already hugging her new stuffed hammerhead shark looked at the elderly couple.

"Thank you," said Bridget sweetly.

"Your welcome, sweetie," said the smiling elderly woman.

Evan looked at the elderly couple.

"Ank you," said Evan.

"Your welcome," said the woman before looking at Spencer and Clarissa, "Your two toddlers are very well mannered," said the woman.

Spencer smiled.

"Our oldest daughter Diana taught Bridget and Evan to say please and thank you when they were both babies," said Spencer.

"I'm a retired elementary school teacher, and I'm glad to meet parents like you two because Bridget and Evan are so well behaved while your oldest seems like a delightful girl," said the elderly woman.

"We'll let you four get back to eating lunch and congratulations on the upcoming new addition," said the elderly man before he and his wife walked away.

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Later on that afternoon, Spencer was sitting on the couch with Bridget and Evan sitting on either side of him as he read the book that the elderly couple bought for the kids when Clarissa came into the house with Diana.

"Anna!" exclaimed Bridget as she climbed off the couch while being careful of her father's bad knee and ran to her sister and hugged her.

"How was school, Diana?" asked Spencer.

Diana who was hugging her little sister smiled at her daddy.

"I had a great day," said Diana before looking at the stuffed hammerhead shark that Evan was holding and noticed another stuffed hammerhead shark on the opposite side of her father before looking at her little sister, "Did you, mommy, daddy, and Evan go to the aquarium to see Nemo, Marlin, and Dory today?" asked Diana.

"Yes and I like hammerhead sharks," said Bridget.

"Did you know that there are nine species of hammerhead sharks named winghead shark, scalloped bonnethead, whitefin hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, scoophead, great hammerhead, bonnethead, smalleyed hammerhead, and smooth hammerhead?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled while Bridget grinned and nodded.

"Daddy told me that and great hammerhead shark is the biggest hammerhead shark. The hammerhead shark can get to 20 feet long and weigh up to 600 pounds," said Bridget.

"You are correct, Bridget," grinned Diana as she held out her hand for a high five that Bridget eagerly returned before looking at her daddy, "After I finish my homework and eat dinner, can we please watch "Shark Tale" before bedtime tonight?" asked Diana.

"We can," said Spencer.

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A couple of hours later Spencer and Clarissa were cuddling on the couch with three freshly bathed children as they watched the movie "Shark Tale".

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A week later Spencer was sitting in his wheelchair behind Mrs. O' Conner's desk grading the math tests that Mrs. O' Conner gave her students when Mrs. O' Conner looked at Diana while the rest of her class were pulling out their books for silent reading time.

"Its time for you to go join Aria's class for gym class, Diana," said Mrs. O' Conner.

"Yes ma'am," said Diana as she got up from her desk and looked over where her daddy, "Do you want to come with me so you can meet my new gym teacher, daddy?" asked Diana.

Mrs. O' Conner looked at Spencer.

"I have no problem with you joining Diana, Dr. Reid," said Mrs. O' Conner.

"I'll join you, Diana," said Spencer before looking at his crutches, "Can you please grab my crutches, Diana?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as she grabbed her father's crutches before grabbing the hall pass and leaving the classroom with her father.

"I need to use the bathroom before we get to the gym," said Diana.

"That's why I needed you to grab my crutches because I need to go to the bathroom too," said Spencer.

"And it would be easier for you to use your crutches in the boy's room than your wheelchair," said Diana.

"Exactly," said Spencer.

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10 minutes later, Spencer wheeled himself into the gym while Diana walked next to him with his crutches in her arms when a man around Spencer's age came over to Diana.

"Let me grab your father's crutches, Diana," said Mr. Sullivan.

"Thank you," said Diana before noticing that all the basketball hoops in the gym were lowered and a rack filled with basketballs were out, "Because of it raining outside right now, we get to shoot basketballs, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer grinned as he thought about him and Clarissa making sure that Diana loves the sport basketball by taking her to basketball games and allowed her to watch games with them on TV.

"Awesome," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her gym teacher.

"Mr. Sullivan this is my daddy Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid from the Behavioral Analysis Unit in the FBI. Daddy is currently on medical leave for injuring his left quadricep, hamstring, and knee when he saved a doctor's life, and because of being part of the PTA he's volunteering today in my class today so he can get a day with me," said Diana.

Spencer grinned at Mr. Sullivan.

"It's nice to see you again after so many years, Travis," said Spencer.

Mr. Sullivan smiled at Spencer.

"I'm so glad to see you again, Spencer," said Mr. Sullivan before gesturing to Diana, "Congrats on Diana, Bridget, Evan, and the baby your wife's pregnant with," said Mr. Sullivan.

"Jacob told you before you moved out here?" asked Spencer.

Mr. Sullivan nodded.

"He did, and I hope you told him that you got injured in the line of duty," said Travis.

"He knows," said Spencer.

Diana looked between her father and gym teacher.

"You two know each other?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at Diana.

"Do you remember why I love basketball so much and me telling you about being in Boy Scouts?" asked Spencer.  
Diana nodded.

"You use to help your school's basketball team in high school and Parker Dunley was on the team and you did Boy Scouts to interact with other boys your age like I'm doing Girl Scouts here at school," said Diana.

Spencer and Mr. Sullivan nodded.

"My big brother Jacob was on the team that your father helped coach when he was 12 and I was on the same Boy Scout troop with your father," said Mr. Sullivan.

"Cool," said Diana.

Mr. Sullivan looked at Spencer.

"Since we use to play basketball together as kids, what do you say about shooting some hoops from your wheelchair?" asked Mr. Sullivan.

"As long as I make sure that no basketball hits my still healing knee because I just got the stitches out yesterday," said Spencer as he wheeled himself over to the basketballs and grabbed a basketball before wheeling himself towards one of the hoops and made some quick calculations in his head before throwing the basketball into the hoop.

Diana cheered as she watched the ball go through the net and as soon as she grabbed the ball she ran over to her father and gave him a high five.

"That was awesome, daddy," said Diana just as her friends Aria, Hannah, Emily, Spencer, Allison, Skylar, Tyler, Willie, Gavin, and Dewey came into the gym with a bunch of other classmates and their teacher and ran over to Spencer.

"My mommy said that you got injured in the line of duty," said Allison.

Spencer smiled at Jordan Todd's two children Allison and Gavin.

"I did, but I'll be walking again by Christmas, Allison," said Spencer.

"Someday I want to be an FBI agent like you and my mommy," said Gavin.

Spencer smiled as he shook his head before Mr. Sullivan looked at the five-year-old kids in his gym.

"Please get into your assigned places for stretching everyone," said Mr. Sullivan before looking at Spencer, "You can stretch your arms, Dr. Reid," said Mr. Sullivan.

"OK," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was sitting in his wheelchair between Diana and another student as he followed along with arm stretches while watching his daughter do jumping jacks, touching her toes, and a few other stretches before he helped Mr. Sullivan teach 15 five-year-old kids to shoot hoops.

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Later on that evening, Spencer and Clarissa were sitting up in their bed reading books when Spencer looked at Clarissa.

"When it came to watching Diana shoot basketballs in gym class today, I'm glad that we got Diana to love basketball," said Spencer.

"How good is she?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer beamed.

"She was using physics to get the basketball in the hoop every time," said Spencer as he rubbed Clarissa's 23-week baby bump, "Daddy hopes that you, Bridget, and Evan love basketball like mommy, Diana, and me someday, little one," said Spencer.

"I hope so too, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer tilted his head and looked at his wife.

"How sexually frustrated are you right now?" asked Spencer.

"I'm very sexually frustrated. I'm so glad that you killed Patrick Meyers or I would have castrated him myself for ruining our sex lives," said Clarissa.

"I don't regret taking the bullet that was meant for Dr. Barton because I saved his life," said Spencer.

"I'm glad that you saved Dr. Barton's life too, but at least you were shot above the knee and not in the chest or head," said Clarissa.

Spencer's mind started racing as he remembered the time he and Clarissa once had phone sex.

"Remember the few times we had phone sex?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"Even though it wasn't the same without you here, we still both felt satisfied in some way," said Clarissa.

"Since I took a pain pill a half hour ago, why don't you lower my boxers and we can just tell each other what to do to yourself in bed like we do when we have phone sex," said Spencer.

Clarissa grinned as she realized that her husband's idea would make sure that her husband didn't damage his still-healing knee while she wouldn't crush her husband with the extra weight she gained from her pregnancy.

"You are a genius, Spence," said Clarissa as she made sure that her husband was comfortable and made sure that her husband was situated before they started to tell each other what to do.


	81. Cute Toddlers, an Ex, and Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the delay for this chapter because I was dealing with writer's block, nasty snowstorms, and polar vortexes that brought wind chill advisories.
> 
> If you readers are having another snowstorm and polar vortex coming your way like I'm going to deal with for the next couple of days again (I dealt with a snowstorm on Tuesday and Wednesday and polar vortex yesterday, today, and tomorrow) please drive safely and stay warm!
> 
> This chapter starts a few days later on September 12th of 2009 and I hope that everyone didn't forget that I decided to cast Alexis Bledel as Clarissa and I have it that Jane Lynch still played Spencer's mom.
> 
> I hope that everyone loves the "I did not see tha coming" moment I included in this chapter.

Spencer looked at Clarissa as she helped him get ready for the day.

"I made dinner reservations for tonight at six and after dinner, we'll be going to the movies to see "Post Grad" like we originally planned to see before my shooting ruined our plans," said Spencer.

Clarissa smirked.

"Are you really wanting to see "Post Grad" with me because of me looking so much like Alexis Bledel?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer blushed.

"Maybe," said Spencer before looking into his wife's blue eyes, "I don't mind watching any romantic comedies unless it's with you and Jane Lynch looks so much like my mom," said Spencer.

Clarissa sadly smiled at her husband as she rubbed her baby bump.

"If we end up having a little girl, would you be happy if she looks like your mother while having my blue eyes?" asked Clarissa.

"When it comes to blonde hair running through both of our families, there's a chance that we could end up with a blonde-haired child," said Spencer.

Clarissa thought about the date night that her husband and oldest daughter already planned for September 18th.

"Since you won't be able to drive, would you allow me to join you and Diana on seeing "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" next week Friday?" asked Clarissa.

"Diana said that you could join us," said Spencer.

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As soon as the Reid family, Lucy, and Anthony were done eating breakfast the doorbell rang causing Spencer who was already propped up on his crutches to swing himself towards the front door and looked through the peephole to find Mrs. O' Conner.

"Who's here, daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer who was leaning on his crutches as he disarmed the security system looked at his oldest daughter.

"How about you look out the window and see for yourself," said Spencer.

"OK, daddy," said Diana as she walked over to the window and moved the curtain and grinned when she saw her teacher and Aria on the porch, "It's Mrs. O' Conner and Aria, so its safe for us to open the door," said Diana.

"Go ahead and unlock the door and open it for me, please," said Spencer.

Diana followed her father's orders and a few seconds later Mrs. O' Conner and Aria were stepping into the house.

"I'm so sorry about stopping by without calling first, but Aria and I are leaving for Colonial Williamsburg in a half hour and Aria wanted to ask you guys something," said Mrs. O' Conner.

Aria looked at her best friend and Spencer.

"Can Diana please join us and sleepover at our house tonight?" asked Aria.

"We're still planning on going to church tomorrow, so you two will see Diana after church," said Mrs. O' Conner just as Clarissa came down the stairs with Evan.

"Well this is a nice surprise," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her mother.

"Mrs. O' Conner and Aria invited me to go with them to Williamsburg today and sleepover at their house tonight and I would come home after church," said Diana.

Clarissa looked at her friend and daughter's teacher.

"We're still planning on going to church tomorrow morning too," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her parents as she started to use her eyes.

"Can I please go to Williamsburg with Mrs. O' Conner and Aria and sleepover at their house tonight?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other before Clarissa looked at Diana.

"Do you promise to behave for Mrs. O' Conner?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am," said Diana.

"Then you can go to Williamsburg with Aria and Mrs. O' Conner and sleepover at their house tonight," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at Diana.

"Let's go pack an overnight bag for you," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at one of her best friends.

"Please join me in my bedroom, Aria," said Diana.

A few seconds later Diana and Aria were following Clarissa upstairs while Spencer looked at Mrs. O' Conner who was holding Evan on her hip.

"I should probably give you money for Diana's meals and spending money," said Spencer.

Mrs. O' Conner looked at Spencer's wallet that was by the key bowl.

"Need help grabbing it?" asked Mrs. O' Conner.

"Yes please," said Spencer.

Mrs. O' Conner set Evan onto the floor and grabbed Spencer's wallet.

"How much do you want me to take out?" asked Mrs. O' Conner.

"$40 for going out to eat and souvenirs should be enough," said Spencer.

Mrs. O' Conner took two $20 bills out of Spencer's wallet and showed Spencer the money before she closed Spencer's wallet and set it down before looking at Spencer.

"Do you know if you'll be needing any more surgeries on your knee?" asked Mrs. O' Conner.

"No additional surgeries are needed, but I'll be starting physical therapy October 7th," said Spencer.

"That's great to hear, and aside from taking Diana to and from school, just let my husband and me know if you and Clarissa need any help with anything," said Mrs. O' Conner.

"I know," said Spencer just as Diana and Aria came downstairs with an old duffel bag of Spencer's while Clarissa trailed behind them with a dress on a hanger.

"Here's the dress that Diana picked out for church tomorrow," said Clarissa.

"We'll hang up Diana's dress before we hit the road," said Mrs. O' Conner just as Lucy and Anthony came into the house with Bridget and a few bags of groceries causing her to smile at Bridget, "Hello, Bridget," said Mrs. O' Conner.

"Hi," said Bridget shyly before noticing the duffel bag in Diana's hand, "Anna go bye-bye?" asked Bridget.

"Diana is joining Aria and I on a day trip to Williamsburg and then she's sleeping over at my house for the night," said Mrs. O' Conner.

"I go wit?" asked Bridget.

Spencer pouted at Bridget.

"You don't want to be daddy's little helper today?" asked Spencer.

"I will be daddy's little helper," said Bridget.

Clarissa looked at Bridget.

"Speaking of being daddy's little helper, can you get daddy to sit down on the couch?" asked Clarissa.

Bridget gave her "Hotchner glare" at her father.

"Pwease go sit on the couch, daddy," said Bridget sternly.

Spencer grinned.

"Yes ma'am," said Spencer as he swung himself towards the couch and slowly sat down while being careful of his knee.

Diana walked over to her father and kissed his cheek.

"Please have fun and I'll see you at church tomorrow, Diana," said Spencer.

"I will and I'll miss you while I'm with Aria and Mrs. O' Conner," said Diana as she took a turn to say goodbye to her mother and siblings before Anthony helped Mrs. O' Conner get Diana's booster seat and set it up in Mrs. O' Conner's car.

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Two hours later Spencer was sitting on the couch with Bridget cuddling into his right side as they watched "Little Einsteins" on TV when Evan ran over and looked at his daddy.

"Uh oh," said Evan.

Spencer grinned as he realized what game Evan was playing as he looked at his mini-me who was wearing a t-shirt that said SORRY GIRLS, MOMMY SAID I CAN'T DATE UNTIL I'M 30 while having no pants or shorts over his diaper.

"Spaghetti-O," said Spencer.

The nearly 15-month-old toddler grinned at his daddy.

"Uh oh," said Evan as drool started to dribble out of his mouth.

"Spaghetti-O," said Spencer as he grabbed a tissue and wiped the drool off of Evan's face.

"Can I pwease throw that away for you, daddy?" asked Bridget.

Spencer smiled at his two-year-old daughter who was wearing a skirt and a t-shirt that said SORRY BOYS, DADDY SAID I CAN'T DATE UNTIL I'M 30! while thinking about Diana wearing the same t-shirt too with a denim skirt.

"That would be very helpful, Bridget," said Spencer.

"Uh oh," said Evan.

Spencer grinned at his son.

"Spaghetti-O," laughed Spencer.

Bridget climbed off the couch and took the tissue from her father and ran to the kitchen before she ran back to her father and little brother who was looking at his daddy.

"Uh oh," said Evan.

"Spaghetti-O," said Spencer.

Bridget's and Evan's stomachs both growled loudly causing Evan to lift up his t-shirt.

"No no," scolded Evan as he patted his tummy causing Spencer to laugh.

Bridget looked at her father.

"I hungy," said Bridget.

"What would you like for lunch?" asked Spencer.

"Sketti-O's, please," said Bridget.

"You want Spaghetti-O's because of Evan's game of saying uh oh?" asked Spencer.

Bridget nodded while Evan grinned at his father.

"O's, pwease," said Evan just as Clarissa came down the stairs and looked at her husband and two current youngest children.

"What do you guys want for lunch?" asked Clarissa.

"Bridget and Evan both want Spaghetti-O's," said Spencer.

Evan ran over to his mother.

"Uh oh," said Evan.

Clarissa grinned at her son.

"Spaghetti-O," said Clarissa before rubbing her baby bump, "I'm glad that Bridget and Evan asked for Spaghetti O's because that's what I'm craving with grilled cheese sandwiches," said Clarissa.

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15 minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Bridget, Evan, Lucy, and Anthony were sitting at around the dining room table eating Spaghetti O's and grilled cheese sandwiches when Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Do you think you'll still be up to going to the movies this evening?" asked Clarissa.

"I should be," said Spencer before looking at Evan who was eating his Spaghetti O's with his training spoon while not caring about getting sauce all over his face while Bridget was eating more carefully than her Irish twin, "I can't believe that Evan will be 15-months-old on Tuesday," said Spencer.

"Me too, Spence," said Clarissa sadly as she rubbed her nearly 24-week baby bump, "I'm hoping that the baby I'm pregnant with is a boy because I hate how fast Evan's growing," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at Bridget.

"I'm sad that Bridget will be attending preschool in less than a year," said Spencer.

"Me too," said Clarissa just as Evan started laughing.

Spencer and Clarissa turned their heads to look at Evan who was wearing his bowl of Spaghetti O's on his head while the spaghetti rings and sauce dribbled down his grinning face.

"Oh my," gasped Clarissa as she grabbed her phone and snapped a picture of Evan.

"Evan's definitely going to need a bath before nap time," said Spencer.

Bridget laughed.

"Evan silly," said Bridget.

"He is," said Spencer.

Bridget looked at her parents.

"Why are you two no laugh?" asked Bridget.

Clarissa who was removing the bowl off of Evan's head looked at her youngest daughter.

"Even though daddy and I might think that Evan wearing his bowl of Spaghetti-O's on his head is funny, we're not laughing because laughing only encourages his behavior," said Clarissa.

Spencer who was using some wipes to clean off Evan's face from where he was sitting looked at Bridget.

"You were like this with your food when you were younger than Evan or Evan's age, but mommy and I didn't laugh because we didn't want to encourage you to do that again," said Spencer.

"OK," said Bridget as she put another spoonful of Spaghetti-O's into her mouth.

Lucy who was already done eating her lunch looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"I'll give Evan a bath and settle him down for his nap," said Lucy.

"Thank you," said Spencer and Clarissa in unison.

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20 minutes later Spencer swung himself on his crutches towards his piano and sat down on the bench when Bridget walked over to him and looked at him.

"Would you like to sit next to me while I play the piano?" asked Spencer.

Bridget nodded as her curly pigtails bounced as she scrambled up onto the piano bench and planting herself onto the right side of her father.

"What song will you pway, daddy?" asked Bridget.

Spencer tilted his head.

"Do you have any songs in mind?" asked Spencer.

Bridget thought of one of the songs that she hears her mommy ask daddy to play.

"Magic Flute, pwease," said Bridget.

Spencer smiled.

"The Magic Flute" it is," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer was starting to play "The Magic Flute" while Bridget watched her father play the piano.

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After Spencer played the songs "Kalinka", and "Fur Elise", and "Sippin' Cider Through a Straw" he looked at his youngest daughter who was still sitting next to him.

"How about I teach you how to play "Do-Rae-Me as this week's piano lesson for you," said Spencer as he took a breath before he pressed the C key on the piano, "Doe, a dear, a female deer," sang Spencer as he played the required keys.

When Spencer was finished, Bridget looked at her father.

"My turn?" asked Bridget.

"Yes, cricket," said Spencer.

Bridget placed her finger on the C key.

"Doe, a deer, a female deer," sang Bridget as she played the keys her father played.

Spencer grinned as he held out his hand.

"Great job, Cricket," said Spencer.

Bridget returned her father's high five before Spencer pressed the D key.

"Ray, a drop of golden sun," sang Spencer as he pressed the required keys.

Bridget then copied her father's movements.

"Ray, a drop of golden sun," sang Bridget.

Spencer grinned as he pressed the E key.

"Me, a name I call myself," sang Spencer as he pressed the few required keys before Bridget copied his movements.

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After Bridget was able to play "Do-Rae-Me" on her own, Spencer grinned at his daughter.

"It seems like you have an eidetic memory like Diana and me, Bridget," said Spencer.

"Rweally?" asked Bridget.

"Your repeating facts and statistics that Diana, mommy, and I have been telling you and you played "Do-Rae-Me" on the piano perfectly while remembering the words I sang to you," said Spencer as he wrapped one arm around Bridget and hugged her, "Having an eidetic memory can sometimes make you never forget bad things, but remember all the good memories that you witness, Bridget Mackenzie Reid," said Spencer before turning his head and realized that a teary-eyed Clarissa was standing behind them with the video camera out causing him to blush, "I take it you saw everything?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded as she wiped her tears with her free hand.

"There's no need to be embarrassed about me witnessing this sweet moment with Bridget because I love watching you have one on one time with the kids," said Clarissa.

Bridget looked at her mother.

"Can I pwease pway "Do-Rae-Me" for you, mommy?" asked Bridget sweetly.

"Yes, please," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Bridget was expertly playing "Do-Rae-Me" on the piano while singing the song and when she was finished she jumped off the piano bench and curtsied in her dress while her proud parents clapped.

"That was very beautiful, Bridget," said Clarissa.

"Thank you, mommy," said Bridget.

Spencer looked at Bridget.

"When did you learn how to curtsy?" asked Spencer.

"Anna teach me three weeks ago," said Bridget before yawning.

"I guess that its nap time for you, Cricket," said Spencer.

Bridget looked at her father.

"You nap with me?" asked Bridget as she worked her eyes on her father while pouting.

Spencer chuckled as he realized that Bridget had already mastered the puppy-dog eye look and pout.

"Daddy will take a nap with you, Cricket," said Spencer as he reached over and grabbed his crutches while Clarissa came over to support him.

"I just love seeing the moments Diana and Bridget have you wrapped around their fingers," said Clarissa as she made sure that her husband was steady, "You ready to go upstairs?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was laying in his bed with his left leg elevated while Bridget was curled up into his right side as he read a book to her before they fell asleep.

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Later on that evening Spencer and Clarissa were leaving the movie theater when Clarissa looked at her husband who was wheeling his wheelchair.

"Are you up to going on a stroll through the park across the street?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"I am," said Spencer before smirking up at his wife, "If my arms get too tired, my favorite nurse can push me in my wheelchair," said Spencer.

Clarissa smirked.

"Aside from the nurses that took care of you in the hospital two weeks ago, I'm glad that I'm still your favorite nurse, Spence," said Clarissa as she leaned forward a bit and kissed her husband on the lips.

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Spencer and Clarissa approached a bench where Clarissa sat down and looked at her husband.

"I hope that its OK that I need to sit down and rest my feet," said Clarissa as she took off her sandals and started to rub one of her feet.

"Its OK, Clarissa," said Spencer as he reached over and grabbed the foot that his wife was trying to massage and started to massage it causing Clarissa to tilt her head back.

"That feels so good, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I figured that," said Spencer.

Clarissa thought about the massages she was supposed to give to her husband to keep his muscles from shrinking while he works on regaining his mobility.

"I'll give you one of the best massages later on tonight, Spence," said Clarissa.

"That would be great, Clarissa," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was helping Clarissa put her sandals back on.

"Feeling like Cinderella, Clarissa?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Clarissa just as a man their age approached them and looked at Clarissa.

"I thought that it was you, Clarissa," said the man.

Clarissa scowled as she recognized her ex-boyfriend Brendan causing Spencer to watch Clarissa's usually sparkling blue eyes turn cold like his oldest brother-in-law's eyes could get as he recognized the man as Brendan Jacobs who dated Clarissa until her mom died.

"I hoped that I would never see you again after you cheated on me with Brittany while I was in the hospital recovering from the same car accident that killed my mom, Brendan," sneered Clarissa.

Spencer reached over and grabbed Clarissa's hand and squeezed it.

"I want you back so we can start over, Clarissa," said Brendan before glancing at the man who was wearing black slacks, a dress shirt, a sweater vest, a suit jacket, a tie, and glasses, "So why don't you abandon this crippled nerd so we can start dating while I show you what a real man is like," said Brendan.

Clarissa gave a feral smile as she held up her left hand to show off her engagement ring and wedding band.

"This man that you're calling a crippled nerd is my husband Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid. He's not crippled at all because he temporarily sacrificed his mobility by taking a bullet that was meant for a trauma surgeon over two weeks ago and with the help of physical therapy he'll be walking unassisted again by Christmas," said Clarissa coldly before smirking as she watched her ex-boyfriend pale at her revelation.

"How long have you two known each other?" asked Brendan.

Clarissa thought about her husband reminding her how long they knew each other.

"He has been my best friend for the eight years, eight months, and 11 days while he's been my husband for the past six years, eight months, and 11 days. He's the type of man I always wished to marry because I prefer men with more brains than brawn, knows how to treat women with respect, and is great with children. There's no way I'm leaving my intelligent and sexy husband for a colossal asshole like you, Brendan," said Clarissa coldly before looking at her husband as she took hold of his hand and squeezed it, "Baby Reid is craving ice cream, so what do you say about going to Dairy Queen for some Blizzards?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer stared at his wife with wide eyes.

"You're allowing me to eat dairy?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"I have your antacids with me," said Clarissa before looking at Brendan, "Why haven't you walked away from us yet?" asked Clarissa.

"Is this your first child?" asked Brendan.

Clarissa rested her hands on her skirt of the sundress that she was wearing causing Brendan to see a visible baby bump.

"I'm 23-weeks pregnant with our fourth child because Spence and I already have five and a half-year-old daughter, a two-year-old daughter, and a 14-month-old son together," said Clarissa as she pulled out her phone and showed Brendan a picture of her, Spencer, Diana, Bridget, and Evan together after church five days ago, "At least I found someone who was willing to fulfill my wish on having a big family while you told me that you never wanted to have kids," said Clarissa.

Brendan looked at the picture of the happy family before looking at Spencer.

"I'm sorry for calling you a crippled nerd and I'm glad that Clarissa is much happier with you while you're willing to give her what she wanted," said Brendan before gesturing to Clarissa's baby bump, "Congratulations on the upcoming new addition," said Brendan before walking away.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I hope you weren't upset about my asshole ex-boyfriend calling you a crippled nerd," said Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head while his recently trimmed ear length curly hair bounced.

"I was called much worse in high school, but I loved it when you put him in his place," said Spencer as he shifted in his wheelchair.

Clarissa looked at her husband's lap and smirked when she saw a bulge in her husband's pants.

"Naughty boy, Spence," teased Clarissa.

Spencer blushed.

"It's not my fault that you can get so sexy when you're angry," said Spencer.

"Instead of getting ice cream, I think its more important to get home and fix that problem in your pants without damaging your healing knee," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was swinging himself on his crutches as he, Clarissa, Lucy, and Anthony entered the chapel with Bridget and Evan when Reverend Alden approached them.

"How is your knee doing today?" asked Reverend Alden.

"I'm dealing with pain all the time, but Clarissa and the kids are good distractions," said Spencer.

Reverend Alden nodded.

"Good and I'm praying for your recovery every day," said Reverend Alden before smiling at Clarissa, "Aren't you entering the sixth month of your fourth pregnancy this week?" asked Reverend Alden.

"I am and I have my 24-week check up tomorrow morning before I go back to work," said Clarissa.

"Are you refusing to find out the gender?" asked Reverend Alden.

"When it comes to having two daughters and one son, we decided that we needed to be surprised if God decided to grant us another son or another daughter," said Clarissa before rubbing her lower back and looked at her husband, "We should both sit down," said Clarissa.

Reverend Alden looked at Clarissa.

"You look like your carrying multiples this time, Clarissa," said Reverend Alden.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances.

"Reverend Alden is the 10th person to tell you that you look like your carrying multiples," said Spencer.

"Do you think we should ask Dr. Larson to do an ultrasound tomorrow?" asked Clarissa.

"Only if you want to," said Spencer.

"I think we should because if I'm carrying multiples I would have to start maternity leave at 28-weeks instead of 36-weeks," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting in their usual pew with Bridget, Evan, Lucy, and Anthony.

xxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer and Clarissa grinned when Diana ran over to them.

"Did you have so much fun yesterday and last night?" asked Spencer.

"I did," said Diana as she excitably told her parents and younger siblings about what she did with Aria and Mrs. O' Conner before the growing Reid family decided to go out for lunch.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer and Clarissa were standing outside of Hotch's and Emily's brownstone when Clarissa rang the doorbell and a minute later Emily opened up the door.

"What bring you guys here?" asked Emily.

"I have my 24-week check-up and because of how Aaron is handling everything Spence and I decided that Aaron must come with us to my 24-week check up so and find out the gender of the baby to cheer him up before he spends the day with Spence, Bridget, and Evan while I'm at work," said Clarissa.

"With how he's been the past two and a half weeks, this outing will do him good," said Emily before looking at Spencer,

"How's your knee?" asked Emily.

"The swelling has been going down and my doctor believes that I'll be ready to start physical therapy on October 7th," said Spencer.

"That's great news," said Emily.

"I know," said Spencer just as Hotch exited the master bedroom and Clarissa looked at her brother who wasn't dressed for the day.

"Get dressed, Aaron," said Clarissa firmly.

"Why?" asked Hotch.

"You are coming with Spence and me to my 24-week check up. This morning Spence and I decided to find out the gender because of you being depressed about Jack being in Witness Protection," said Clarissa firmly.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"You better not argue with your sister because you told me countless of times that it's not the best idea to argue with her," said Spencer.

"OK," said Hotch as he stalked off to the bedroom.

xxxxxxxxxx

Over a half hour later Spencer was sitting in his wheelchair next to the exam table that Clarissa was waiting on while Hotch sat in a nearby chair when Dr. Larson and a technician entered the room and looked at Spencer and Hotch.

"I heard that you two gave Clarissa a hard time over two weeks ago, but I'm glad that you two are on the mend and were both up to accompanying Clarissa to this doctor appointment," said Dr. Larson.

Clarissa looked at her doctor.

"I know that you ordered an ultrasound because of me gaining more weight than usual during this pregnancy, but I want to find out the gender because of everything going on in my life right now," said Clarissa.

"OK," said Dr. Larson.

A few minutes later Clarissa was holding her husband's and oldest brother's hands as Dr. Larson squeezed some gel onto Clarissa's 24-week baby bump and a few minutes later Dr. Larson smiled at Clarissa.

"You are right about telling the nurse about you believing that you might be pregnant with multiples because Baby Reid A has been doing a great job hiding Baby Reid B," said Dr. Larson.

Spencer and Clarissa both smiled at each other.

"The twins will be a good reason why I will have to push myself in physical therapy really hard," said Spencer.

"I agree, Spence," said Clarissa before looking at her doctor, "What are the genders?" asked Clarissa.

Dr. Larson spent the next minute checking the babies before looking at Spencer, Clarissa, and Hotch.

"Evan is getting a little brother and a little sister," smiled Dr. Larson.

Spencer and Clarissa squeezed each other's hands as tears fell down their faces while Clarissa smiled at her brother.

"I hope that finding out that your getting another niece and nephew to spoil cheered you up a bit," said Clarissa.

"Even though I'm missing Jack, finding out that I'm getting a new niece and a new nephew to spoil brightened up this day a bit," said Hotch.

"So how are we going to tell everyone the news?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I have an idea, so do you think you can ask your godparents, grandparents, aunt Mary, uncle Joe, Maeve, Jacob, and Jacob's family to our house for a barbecue tonight?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at her watch.

"I better get you two home to Bridget, Evan, Lucy, and Anthony before I head to work," said Clarissa.

"Why am I going to your house?" asked Hotch.

"Bridget and Evan need to spend time with their favorite uncle and spending time with them will do you some good," said Clarissa.

Hotch shook his head.

xxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Clarissa looked at her friends and family who were all invited for a last-minute barbecue.

"I take it that everyone is wondering why we have a pinata when it's no one's birthday today?" asked Clarissa.

Evan and Lydia Reid looked at her grandson and granddaughter-in-law.

"Did you two find out about the gender of our newest great-grandchild?" asked Evan.

Spencer and Clarissa nodded as they looked at Diana, Aria, Courtney, Savannah, Abigail, and Issac.

"You six kids get to have fun beating up this pinata and if there's pink confetti that means that its a girl and if there's blue confetti its a boy," said Clarissa.

"OK," chorused Diana, Aria, Courtney, Savannah, Abigail, and Issac.

"Diana goes first," said Clarissa as she handed Diana the stick.

"No blindfold?" asked Diana.

"No blindfold this time," said Spencer.

"OK," said Diana.

A few minutes later, Diana who was having a second turn to beat the pinata broke the pinata that released pink and blue confetti causing everyone to look at Spencer, Clarissa, and Hotch who were all smiling.

"If there's pink and blue confetti, are Evan and I getting another great-grandson and another great-granddaughter to spoil?" asked Lydia.

"Yes, grandma," said Spencer causing everyone to cheer.

"I love the idea of getting another little brother and a little sister," exclaimed Diana as she hugged her parents.

Rossi looked at Hotch while Spencer and Clarissa received hugs and handshakes from everyone.

"There must be something in the water in the B.A.U. because Spencer and Derek both got their wives pregnant with twins," said Rossi causing everyone to laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /N: The names will be revealed when the twins are born. Next up is Haunted and I hope to post chapter 82 before I have surgery on February 4th.


	82. Haunted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dealt with a winter storm that dumped 12 inches of snow in my hometown yesterday and now I have to prepare myself for another polar vortex that will make the real feel end up in the -50's. So if any of you readers are dealing with a snowstorm or a polar vortex like me please stay safe and warm!
> 
> Nothing like leaving the dentist office with a numb mouth from the Novocain (A filling broke and had to get replaced ASAP because of having surgery in five days) only for my mom to tell me that my uncle might have to let my late aunt's 14-year-old Golden retriever cross the rainbow bridge and she'll have to be there for Maxwell since my uncle has a problem with putting his late sister's dog to sleep.
> 
> Its September 30th in this chapter and you readers get to experience another chapter with an angry and hormonal Clarissa when it comes to her oldest brother's actions in this chapter.

Clarissa licked her lips as she watched her husband pull on a white dress shirt and button it up causing Spencer to smirk at his 26-week pregnant wife.

"Like what you saw?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"Even though I'm still upset about you getting shot, I'm already loving one of the side-effects of you having to get around on crutches and a wheelchair for the past 34 days," said Clarissa.

"What side effect?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa ran a hand over her husband's arms and shoulders.

"Even though you already have strong arms thanks to us having to carry three kids around and spending four weeks on crutches and a wheelchair after the Hankel case nearly two and a half years ago, the next couple of months on crutches are going to buff up your arms even more like the past 34 days have did. So I'm going to have a t-shirt made for you that says PROPERTY OF CLARISSA REID SO PLEASE BACK OFF to help keep all the women who will admire you for your body instead of the full package like I do," said Clarissa seductively.

Spencer squirmed in his chair a bit as he looked at the alarm clock and thought about having to wake the kids up in 15 minutes for breakfast.

"Are you really trying to get me to have an erection at 6:45 AM in the morning on my first day back at work?" asked Spencer.  
Clarissa nodded.

"I am and if you come home tonight I have plans for you," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxx

Over a half hour later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Lucy were sitting around the dining room table eating breakfast when Bridget took in the sight of her daddy in his work clothes.

"Daddy go to work?" asked Bridget.

"Daddy has to go back to work today, so there's a chance that I might have to fly to another state to help uncle Aaron and the rest of the team with slaying a dragon from a field office or police station until my doctor clears me for field work," said Spencer.

"Do you know if uncle Aaron will be doing field work?" asked Diana.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter while being saddened at the thought of Diana turning six in less than three months.

"His doctor cleared him for field work," said Spencer.

"If you get a case today, please tell him that I want him to stay safe," said Diana.

"I will," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her mother.

"Have you and daddy come up with names for my new little brother and sister yet?" asked Diana.

"Not yet because Daddy and I made a bet about the twins either being born on your birthday or Christmas, so whoever wins the bet gets to pick the first names for the babies," said Clarissa.

"I have some suggestions," said Diana.

"What are they?" asked Spencer. "I like the name Ariel for my new baby sister. It's a Hebrew name that means 'Lioness of God". Ariel is also the name of my favorite Disney princess," said Diana. 

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances and smiled at each other before looking at Diana.

"I love it," said Spencer.

"Ariel is perfect," said Clarissa.

"Have any boy baby names in mind?" asked Spencer.

"With one of the baby name books I read, I always liked the name Caden because it means "Spirit of Battle" and my two new siblings are giving you the reason to stay positive while your on crutches, we have to deal with a bad man going after uncle Aaron, and Jack being in Witness Protection," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances.

"I think Diana helped us pick out the perfect names," said Spencer quietly.

"I think so too and because of being pregnant with twins there's a chance that I'll be going into labor much sooner, so there's a chance that the babies won't be born on Diana's sixth birthday or Christmas," said Clarissa before looking at Diana, "You just helped us pick out the perfect names for your new baby brother and sister, Diana," said Clarissa.

"I did?" asked Diana.

"You did and we can figure out middle names after the babies are born," said Spencer.

"Daddy?" asked Diana.

"Yes, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"Can you please have your special nicknames for Ariel and Caden be princess and prince because of them being twins?" asked Diana.

"Princess for Ariel and prince for Caden is perfect, bumble bee," said Spencer just as his work phone rang causing Spencer to see that it was Garcia causing him to quickly answer it, "Yes, Garcia?" asked Spencer.

"Derek and I are on your way to pick you up for work, so we'll be there in five minutes," said Garcia.

"OK," said Spencer before hanging up and looked at his wife, children, Lucy, and Anthony, "Derek and Penelope are on their way to pick me up for work, so I should probably start getting outside," said Spencer.

"Want to bring your wheelchair or no?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer thought of the arrangements that were made between his teammates of him carpooling to work with one of his teammates while Clarissa picks him up at Quantico.

"My wheelchair can stay here and when you pick me up from work can bring it along," said Spencer.

"OK," said Clarissa.

Anthony looked at Spencer.

"I'll help you get your bags outside while helping you get into Derek's truck," said Anthony.  
"Thank you," said Spencer before looking at Diana, "Have a fun day at school and Girl Scouts this afternoon, Diana," said Spencer.

"I will, daddy," said Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer was giving Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan each a goodbye kiss before Anthony helped him get into the front passenger seat of Morgan's SUV while Garcia got into the backseat.

xxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later, Garcia held down one of the chairs in her office as she watched Spencer balance on his left leg as he slowly sat down in her chair.

"Thanks," grimaced Spencer.

Garcia looked at Spencer's braced knee.

"Does it hurt?" asked Garcia.

Spencer rested a hand on his braced knee and rubbed it.

"It really only hurts when I think about it, which is pretty much all the time. Everyone at home made sure to keep me busy to distract me from the pain," said Spencer as he curiously opened the tin and quickly put a cookie in his mouth.  
Garcia saw what Spencer had in his mouth causing her to wheel her chair over to Spencer.

"No, no, no," said Garcia as she grabbed the tin while letting Spencer keep the cookie that was already in his mouth, "Get away, you," said Garcia.

Spencer finished the bit that he was chewing.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"These are for Hotch," said Garcia.

Spencer pouted.

"I get shot in the leg and I don't get any cookies," said Spencer.

Garcia pointed at the cookie that was in Spencer's hand.

"You already swiped one before I could get the tin from you," said Garcia.

Spencer thought about how his oldest brother-in-law behaves when it comes to attention.

"You know he's gonna hate the attention," said Spencer.

"It's cookies, not cake," said Garcia as she held out her bowl of suckers to Spencer, "And you'll be getting cookies from me for your birthday next week Friday," said Garcia.

Spencer thought about how his brother-in-law acted during the times he saw him during his 34-days of medical leave as he grabbed a sucker.

"Knowing my brother-in-law, he's probably gonna pretend like nothing happened, anyway," said Spencer.

"Well, it doesn't mean we have to," said Garcia.

"Clarissa and I already told him that he's not going to shut us out because Hotch and Clarissa didn't let me shut them out after Hankel," said Spencer.

Garcia smiled a bit as he thought about how Spencer is closer to Hotch out of the entire team because of Spencer being married to Hotch's sister.

"Good because I don't roll that way," said Garcia.

Spencer thought about how the nine-year anniversary of meeting Clarissa and Hotch was quickly approaching.

"I've been thinking about it? The entire time I've known my brother-in-law, I don't think I've ever seen him blink aside from the tears he released when his sister married me and when I watched him hold Diana, Bridget, and Evan for the first time," said Spencer.

Garcia squinted a bit.

"I know. It's weird," said Garcia.

Spencer finished chewing the cookie he stole and looked at Garcia.

"Classic alpha male behavior," said Spencer as he stuck his sucker in his mouth.

"Do you think he stared down Foyet?" asked Garcia.

Spencer nodded as he thought about his brother-in-law telling him what happened to him during the few days they shared a hospital room.

"He did and it saved his life," said Spencer.

"Do you think he stared the whole time, like with each stab?" asked Garcia as she mimicked stabbing with her pen.

"Because of me telling him everything that happened to me while Hankel held me hostage, he told me that he stared at Foyet the entire time," said Spencer.

"Is he OK?" asked Garcia.

"If Foyet attacked me and Clarissa and the kids had to go into Witness Protection, I wouldn't be OK. I wasn't OK for a while after the Hankel case, but with the help of family and friends, I recovered properly. Hotch's aware that he's not going to be OK for a while, but Clarissa, Emily, and I all reminded him that he still has Clarissa, the kids, Emily, and me to help him get through this latest obstacle," said Spencer just as JJ entered Garcia's lair and looked at him.

"Spence, there you are. Grab your go bag," said JJ.

"What's going on?" asked Spencer.

JJ looked at Garcia.

"Turn on the news," said JJ.

"Which one?" asked Garcia as she wheeled herself towards her computers.

"It doesn't matter," said JJ.

Garcia quickly found a live news video causing her, Spencer, and JJ to listen to a female reporter talk.

"Just after 8:00 this morning, 40-year-old Darrin Call, a lifelong resident of Louisville, assaulted customers at the pharmacy on the corner of Main and Truxton Avenue," said the reporter casing Spencer to pull out his phone and send Clarissa a text message about going to Louisville and watch the news if she could as he continued to listen to the reporter, "Eyewitnesses saw him walking East on Main Street minutes after the attack. He has not been seen since then," said the reporter.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"We're going to Louisville," said JJ just as clapped Spencer on the shoulder just as Spencer's personal phone vibrated.

I'M WATCHING THE NEWS IN THE BREAK ROOM, SO PLEASE FOLLOW MY BROTHER'S ORDERS AND TELL AARON TO STAY SAFE. I LOVE YOU! ~ CR

Spencer quickly typed a reply.

I PROMISE TO STAY IN THE STATION AND I LOVE YOU TOO! ~ SR

A few seconds later Spencer was pocketing his phone and waved at Garcia before he slowly used his crutches and the chair he was sitting in to prop himself up on his crutches before he easily swung himself out of Garcia's office and met up with JJ, Morgan, and Rossi who was holding Spencer's bags.

"I have your bags, Reid," said Rossi.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on the couch with his braced up knee being in a bent up position on the couch next to him while his right foot rested on the floor as he listened to JJ talk.

"So our point person in Louisville is Lieutenant Kevin Mitchell," said JJ as she became silent when Hotch and Emily joined them.

"Good morning," said Hotch.

Rossi looked at Hotch.

"Good to see you," said Rossi.

"You, too," said Hotch.

Garcia who was already video chatting with them looked at Hotch.

"You look well, sir," said Garcia.

"Thank you," said Hotch before glancing at his brother-in-law who was already on the couch with his braced up knee in a bent position, "Welcome back, Spencer. I know that you won't forget the rules you were given by your doctor and me for traveling with us," said Hotch as he took a seat next to JJ.

Spencer nodded as he thought about the rules about having to share a hotel room with his brother-in-law and that he was station bound until his doctor allows him to visit crime scenes and visit the morgue.

"Yes and welcome back," said Spencer.

"Thank you," said Hotch before looking at JJ, "Any other attacks?" asked Hotch.

"Um, no, not yet," said JJ.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law and teammates.

"Call's proven hard to track. He's never had a driver's license, So he's most likely still on foot," said Spencer as he tapped his file on his good knee.

"Or public transportation," said JJ.

"He's not gonna take the bus. His face is everywhere," said Emily.

"Has anyone found a stressor?" asked Hotch.

"He just lost his job. He's worked at a factory since 1990. Made appliances since forever and not a single promotion," said Garcia.

"That's a long time to be bitter," said Morgan.

"Or he doesn't care," said Spencer.

"Not if he's got a family to feed," said JJ.

"Actually, he's of the hermit variety. As far as I can tell, he's got no one. No wife, no kids, no parents," said Garcia.

"Nothing to live for," said Morgan.

"So why hasn't he killed himself yet? Sprees usually end in suicide. If he's got nothing to live for, why hasn't he ended it?" asked Hotch as he ignored the concerned looks that everyone was exchanging.

"Because he isn't finished yet. We know he has displaced anger. He took it out on the first victim," said Spencer.

"Well, the stock boy represents someone. We need to know who. Is he military?" asked Hotch.

"Negative," said Garcia.

"Well, he's lashing out for a reason. This guy's got anger, endless targets, and a gun, and he's just getting started," said Hotch.

As soon as the jet taken off, Hotch thought about the orders his sister gave him about making sure to help Spencer out by getting him anything he needs.

"Do you need any coffee right now?" asked Hotch.

"Yes please," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Hotch was handing his brother-in-law a mug.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

"I hope that I got the sugar right," said Hotch.

Spencer took a sip and nodded.

"You did," said Spencer.

"When Clarissa called me this morning she told me that your ibuprofen and homemade heating pad are in your messenger bag," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"They are and the last time I took ibuprofen was during breakfast so there's time before my next dose," said Spencer before remembering his conversation with Diana at breakfast, "Diana helped Clarissa and me pick out first names for the twins," said Spencer.

"So you and Clarissa decided to end the bet you two made about the day the twins will be born on?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"There's a chance that the twins could be born before Diana's sixth birthday, so we decided to end the bet. We only decided on first names, but we'll determine middle names after the twins are born," said Spencer.

"What names did Diana decide on?" asked Hotch.

"Ariel because of Ariel being her favorite Disney princess and Caden because of the name meaning "Spirit of Battle"," said Spencer.

Rossi nodded in approval.

"The twins give you a reason why you're going to make sure that your walking unassisted by the time they're born, so I love the name Caden," said Rossi.

Hotch quickly ran the names of the Reid children in his head.

"I hope you know that I'll be referring Ariel, Bridget, Caden, Diana, and Evan as the alphabet children because of their names starting with the first five letters in the alphabet," said Hotch.

Spencer barked out laughter.

"Knowing your sister, she'll approve that nickname because Diana insisted that my special nickname for Ariel will be Princess while Caden's nickname is Prince," said Spencer.

"Very fitting for twins," said Rossi.

"Are you and Clarissa going to invest in another crib before the twins are born?" asked Rossi.

Spencer shook his head.

"When the twins are born they'll be sharing a bassinet and crib because Clarissa's going to use her maternity leave to get Evan potty trained before working on transitioning him to a big boy bed so one of the twins can have Evan's crib," said Spencer.

"Smart idea," said Rossi.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was propped up on his crutches as he listened to Lieutenant Mitchell brief everyone in the room.

"All right. We've got checkpoints at the state line on both i-64 and i-65 and within a 20-mile radius of downtown. We think he's still on foot," said Lieutenant Mitchell.

Spencer shifted himself on his crutches a bit as he looked at everyone.

"It's been just under three hours with an average walking speed of 2.5 miles per hour, which rounds up to an approximate eight-mile radius," said Spencer before he started to make his way towards a chair on his crutches and slowly sat down.

Lieutenant Mitchell pointed at a map of Louisville.

"Now, we've concentrated here. First responders started a hard-target search of businesses and residences within that eight miles. You're gonna join 'em. You know what he looks like. Go find him," said Lieutenant Mitchell as his officers walked away as he looked at Spencer and JJ while JJ set up a laptop in front of Spencer, "We dug up all we could on Darrin Call. Even went to his apartment. Didn't find much," said Lieutenant Mitchell.

JJ looked at Lieutenant Mitchell as officers brought over a TV that contained surveillance footage of the attack closer to Spencer.

"We've got agents over there now. Don't worry, we'll fill it in," said JJ.

"What's your strategy?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

Spencer pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he focused on the footage of the attack.

"We try to figure out where he's headed next," said Spencer.

"Huh. You got a crystal ball?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

"Most spree killers are outwardly aggressive. We've studied Call's behavior, and he's defensive," said Spencer.

JJ used the laptop to zoom in on an image of the stock boy on the TV.

"First victim...stock boy," said JJ.

Lieutenant Mitchell walked closer to the TV and watched the footage of Darrin stabbing the stock boy.

"Boy, there's nothing defensive about that," said Lieutenant Mitchell.

"Actually, there is. Call doesn't react until he's touched," said JJ.

"And that's what set him off?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

"Happens every time," said JJ as she watched the footage, "Contact, then stab, contact, stab," said JJ.

Lieutenant Mitchell focused on the footage.

"So you're saying he didn't mean to hurt these people?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

Spencer thought about the murder weapon that Darrin Call used.

"He didn't go in there with a weapon," said Spencer.

Lieutenant Mitchell scoffed.  
"Well, now he's got two. I just put his face all over the news. People are gonna stop him themselves," said Lieutenant Mitchell.

"How soon can we have a press conference?" asked JJ.

"The camera crews are out front," said Lieutenant Mitchell.

"Great," said JJ as she leaned forward and grabbed her phone, "Let me call Hotch," said JJ before she walked away.

Lieutenant Mitchell looked at Spencer.

"Who's that?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

"Our supervisor. He's at the crime scene already," said Spencer.

Lieutenant Mitchell focused on the footage of Darren stabbing the stock boy.

"What is it about this kid?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

"That's what we need to figure out," said Spencer before gazing at the coffee pot as he reached for his crutches causing Lieutenant Mitchell to turn and look at him.

"You need anything, Dr. Reid?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

"I was about to go get some coffee," said Spencer.

"Let me go get it for you so you don't have to get up and need someone to carry it for you," said Lieutenant Mitchell.

"Thanks," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was adding sugar to his coffee when Lieutenant Mitchell looked at him.

"I'm hoping that I'm not overstepping any boundaries, but what happened to your knee?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

"I got shot above the left knee 34 days ago and today is my first day back at work," said Spencer.

Lieutenant Mitchell looked at Spencer's wedding band.

"I bet your wife wasn't happy about your shooting," said Lieutenant Mitchell.

"She isn't, but as a pediatric nurse she's happy about getting to take care of me while being grateful that I won't be participating in any raids or take-downs until after the babies are born," said Spencer.

"Babies?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

"My wife is 26-weeks pregnant with my third daughter and second son that my oldest daughter insisted on naming Ariel and Caden," said Spencer.

"Congratulations, and how old are your three other children?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

Spencer pulled out his phone and found a most recent picture of Diana, Bridget, and Evan together.

"Diana is five, Bridget is two, and Evan is 15-months-old," said Spencer as he showed Lieutenant Mitchell a picture of the kids.

Lieutenant Mitchell looked at the picture of a five-year-old blue-eyed and brown curly haired girl, a two-year-old with the same brown eyes as her father while having nearly black curly hair, and a toddler who looked just like his father.

"Beautiful daughters and Evan looks just like you," said Lieutenant Mitchell.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was fiddling with a Sharpie marker as he listened to Garcia talk on the phone.

"May 1, 1975, a six-year-old Darrin Call Was found roaming in the middle of nowhere and was picked up and was in state care for the first few months," said Garcia.

"Did he tell the cops what happened?" asked JJ.

"No. Because he didn't talk, not for over a year. And once he started talking, he only knew his life as Darrin Call," said Garcia.

JJ rubbed her eyes.

"That's awful," said JJ.

"So is this. Little Darrin was never claimed," said Garcia sadly.

"Maybe he wasn't from the area. There wasn't a thriving missing children's network in 1975," said JJ just as Emily joined them.

"Call is wearing Cipolla's clothing," said Emily.

Spencer looked at his soon to be sister-in-law as Emily, Morgan, Rossi, and Hotch joined him and JJ.

"You think he's lucid?" asked Spencer.

"No, most likely he's just freaked out," said Emily.

"Either way, we should update the public," said Morgan.

JJ looked at Lieutenant Mitchell.

"You should be there, too," said JJ.

Lieutenant Mitchell nodded as he pointed at all the writing and pictures of Darrin on the board.

"What is this?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

"Call's timeline," said JJ.

Lieutenant Mitchell looked at the timeline.

"He left Louisville?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

"Three times. Always came back to the same 10-block radius," said JJ.

"Why?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

Spencer looked at Lieutenant Mitchell.

"Victims are often drawn to the scene of their first trauma. Part of him wanted to escape, the other part probably struggled to find answers," said Spencer.

"Was he hospitalized?" asked Hotch.

JJ looked at the timeline.

"Uh, 1985 for two years," said JJ.

"Yeah. And again in '95 for a few months, both at the state facility in Fayette County," said Garcia.

Lieutenant Mitchell looked at Spencer, Hotch, JJ, Emily, Morgan, and Rossi.

"You know he doesn't drive. You think he'd walk all the way out there?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

"He's desperate. He'll find a way," said Rossi.

"Well, then I'll tell the sheriff in Fayette," said Lieutenant Mitchell before walking away.

"When did he start the prescriptions, Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"In 1977, and it looks like he tried them all. I've got a list. Alphabetically, Alprazolam, Clonazepam, Diazepam…," listed Garcia.

Hotch inwardly sighed as he felt his impatience continue to grow.

"Just send it," said Hotch.

"Yes, sir," said Garcia.

"His doctor weaned him off the prescription for a reason. Now, that's a big risk, so the reward must have been greater," said Morgan.

"He needs the truth," said Emily.

Rossi thought about what was missing from the psychiatrist's office.

"He took his file. He's got some answers," said Rossi.

Spencer used his good leg to turn his chair around.

"And a head start," said Spencer.

"Well, we need to catch up," said Hotch as he studied the board.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

JJ looked at her teammates.

"Records from child services has him extremely physically abused. No signs of sexual assault," said JJ.

"That's a miracle," said Garcia.

"Either way, the trauma was debilitating," said Spencer.

"Was he running from an abusive home or an abduction?" asked Rossi.

"Wouldn't there be a paper trail if it were a kidnapping?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

"Garcia, look for unsolved missing children's cases from the 1970s," said Hotch.

Lieutenant Mitchell thought about a cold case.

"Now, there was a case in Hollow Creek. Kids were dead, though. Found them in pieces," said Lieutenant Mitchell.

Hotch gave Lieutenant Mitchell a look.

"When was this?" asked Hotch.

"'75. Nobody talks about it 'cause they never found the guy. You think Call walked away from there?" asked Lieutenant Mitchell.

"It's possible. Garcia, send me everything," said Hotch.

"Done," said Garcia.

Hotch looked at Lieutenant Mitchell.

"Can you find the case file?" asked Hotch.

"I'll do what I can," said Lieutenant Mitchell before walking away.

A few seconds later Spencer was looking at a picture of Diana, Bridget, and Evan together before he looked at the ultrasound photo of his unborn son and daughter.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

JJ looked at Lieutenant Mitchell who was coming towards them with a bunch of boxes.

"Is there a suspect list?" asked JJ.

"It's in here somewhere," said Lieutenant Mitchell.

Spencer who was reading what Garcia sent him on his Bureau issued laptop, looked at everyone.

"He was known as the Hollow Creek Killer. Three bodies were found, some never identified," said Spencer sadly.

JJ who was reading the report gasped.

"Oh, god, he used lime to dispose…," said JJ before she couldn't finish.

Spencer quickly noticed something.

"There's a survivor," said Spencer.

Rossi who was reading one of the files looked at Spencer.

"Call?" asked Rossi.

"No, a 12-year-old boy named Tommy Phillips. Parents said he'd been missing for two weeks, Came back a different kid," said Spencer as he thought about how much he has changed after Hankel.

"Of course he did," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at the laptop in front of him.

"Let's see. The family left Louisville after Tommy told police where to find the bodies. He also said the suspect was a white man in his 30s and drove a red pickup truck," said Spencer.

"We need to find Tommy," said Hotch as he pressed his phone against his ear.

"He'd be 46 now. His parents probably changed his name and got as far away as possible," said Rossi.

"Garcia can find him," said Hotch.

"Don't get your hopes up," said Rossi.

"Garcia, everything you can find on a Tommy Phillips" ordered Hotch.

Spencer looked at the report on his laptop.

"The victims had cuts," said Spencer.

JJ looked at Spencer while Hotch focused on the whiteboard.

"The stock boy's blade is what set him off in the pharmacy. If this is what Call's been running from, it's no wonder he's blocked it out," said JJ.

"Since he's clean now, there's no medication to block his memories and he wants answers. Where would he go?" asked Spencer.

Hotch walked over to his brother-in-law and JJ.

"To what he knows," said Hotch.

"He doesn't know anything. That's the problem," said Lieutenant Mitchell.

"He's beginning to," said Hotch as he gestured to the whiteboard, "1975, Sterner Orphanage. It's where he became Darrin call," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was going through files while his brother-in-law was by him just in case he needed anything grabbed for him when Hotch looked at his teammates.

"So what do we know?" asked Hotch.

"There were only four suspects in the Hollow Creek Case and they're all dead," said Rossi.

"The kids were taken in 1973, '74, and '75," listed Emily.

Spencer thought about Diana already being home from school for the day.

"And all on the way home from school," said Spencer.

"Different school districts," said JJ.

"He waited for them to be alone," said Hotch.

"That takes patience. He must have had time off in the afternoons," said Emily.

"He lived or worked near the schools," said Hotch.

"That's a lot of doors to knock on," said Morgan.

Rossi turned his head and looked back at Hotch.

"You think Call's going back there?" asked Rossi.

"I think there's a good chance," said Hotch.

"I'll tell Mitchell," said JJ before she started to walk away.

Morgan walked towards the boards.

"Where's the secondary location? He needed seclusion to do what he did," said Morgan just as the land-line in front of Spencer rang.

Hotch leaned forward to answer the phone and put it on speaker.

"Go ahead, Garcia. You're on speaker," said Hotch.

"I found Tommy. He goes by James Thomas Anderson now," said Garcia.

Emily turned around to look at the phone.

"Is he local?" asked Emily.

"One county over. Address and bio are coming...now," said

"Thanks, Garcia," said Hotch before hanging up.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was swinging himself towards the table on his crutches while Rossi looked at his teammates.

"His own kid? No wonder he was never claimed," said Rossi.

"How did the father explain his son just disappeared?" asked Spencer as he reached the chair he was sitting in earlier.

"Could have said he ran away," said Morgan while Spencer started the process of slowly sitting down.

JJ thought about her 10-month-old son.

"The mother would have reported him missing," said JJ.

"Maybe he said the boy died," said Emily.

"She'd want a funeral," said JJ.

"What if there wasn't one? Morgan, call Garcia. Ask her to check death records From 1969 to 1975," said Hotch.

"For who?" asked Morgan.

"For the mother," said Hotch.

A few minutes later Morgan walked over with his phone.

"Guys," said Morgan.

"OK, so Doris Jarvis was married to Bill Jarvis. He owned a machine shop just outside the city," said Garcia.

Spencer squinted a bit.

"That could be the secondary location," said Spencer.

"It closed in 1980. He hasn't done anything since. I guess he laid low. He had a red pickup until 1976 when he bought a black one. I know that because that's what he was driving When he was arrested for DUIs. He was locked up from '77 to '80, and I'm sending his picture now," said Garcia.

Spencer pressed a key on his laptop to upload the photo causing Emily to look at the photo.

"And that could certainly be Darrin Call's father," said Emily.

"Where's Jarvis now?" asked Hotch.

"In the same house. 1457 Hitchens Avenue," said Garcia.

Hotch looked at Emily, Morgan, and Rossi and motioned them to follow him.

"Let's go," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxx

Over three hours later Spencer was flying home from Louisville with his teammates when he sent Clarissa a text message.

I'M CURRENTLY FLYING HOME. SO DO YOU WANT ME TO COME TO THE B.A.U. AND PICK ME UP? ~ SR

A few seconds later Clarissa responded.

I'M LEAVING THE HOUSE IN FIVE MINUTES TO HEAD TO THE B.A.U. TO PICK YOU UP AND EMILY CALLED ME AND TOLD ME WHAT HAPPENED. SO I'M REALLY FUCKING PISSED AT AARON RIGHT NOW, SO I HAVE TO GIVE AARON A FEW CHOICE WORDS OF MY OWN. ~ CR

Spencer shook his head as he replied.

I'M UPSET WITH AARON ABOUT HIS ACTIONS TOO BECAUSE THE KIDS MIGHT HAVE NEVER SEEN UNCLE AARON AGAIN. ~ SR

A few seconds later Clarissa replied.

I'M IN MY MINIVAN AND I'M NOT BRINGING ANY OF THE KIDS WITH ME. ~ CR

Spencer smiled as he looked over at Emily who was sitting next to him while glaring at her fiancé.

"Clarissa's on her way to the B.A.U. to pick me up and we're going to be witnessing my wife be pissed and hormonal at her brother," whispered Spencer.

"I'm glad that Clarissa's going to call out her brother over his actions and I'm waiting until we get home to talk," whispered Emily.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer followed his teammates into the bullpen on his crutches only to find Clarissa standing by his wheelchair.

"Welcome back, Spence," said Clarissa as she gestured to her husband's wheelchair that she brought along, "Please sit in your wheelchair, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am," said Spencer as he allowed his wife to help him sit in his wheelchair before she attached his crutches to the stand that was built in.

Clarissa glared at her oldest brother.

"Aaron Hotchner, even though everyone knows that your're dealing with PTSD, I heard what you did and I'm so fucking pissed off at you right now," said Clarissa as she walked over to her brother and slapped him in the face while being grateful that no one who witnessed her slapping her brother came to arrest her, "That's for taking your vest off and going on a possible suicide mission," snapped Clarissa.

"I'm sorry," said Hotch.

"I know that your missing Jack like Spence and I are, but you also have Diana, Bridget, Evan, Savannah, Baby Girl Reid, and Baby Boy Reid to think about instead of trying to go on a fucking suicide mission," said Clarissa angrily as tears fell down her face before looking at her husband, "Because of me not being able to handle seeing my oldest brother anymore tonight, are you ready to go home?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Spencer before looking at his teammates, "I'll see you guys tomorrow," said Spencer.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"Should Hotch and I pick you up tomorrow morning?" asked Emily.

"That would be great," said Spencer.

Clarissa grabbed her handles of her husband's wheelchair.

"I'll push your wheelchair because your arms must be tired from swinging yourself on your crutches from the tarmac to here," said Clarissa.

"That would be great Nurse Reid," said Spencer before waving goodbye to his teammates while Clarissa pushed him towards the elevator.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer entered his house with Clarissa to find Diana, Bridget, and Evan sitting on the couch with Lucy and Anthony watching "The Bee Movie" and he smiled when Diana's, Bridget's, and Evan's faces landed on his own face.

"Daddy!" exclaimed Diana.

"Daddy!" exclaimed Bridget.

"Dada!" exclaimed Evan.

A few seconds later Spencer was sitting on the couch allowing Evan to plop himself down on his good knee while Diana and Bridget sat down on either side of him.

"Aren't you three suppose to be in bed right now?" asked Spencer.

"When mommy told us that you were coming home from Louisville, we all wanted to wait up so you can tuck us in read us a bedtime story in person," said Diana.

Clarissa looked at her three children.

"Then let's head to Diana's and Bridget's bedroom so it can be easier for daddy to read a bedtime story to you guys before I put Evan in his crib," said Clarissa.

"OK!" chorused Diana, Bridget, and Evan.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting on Bridget's bed reading "Good Night Moon" to Diana, Bridget, and Evan. After all three kids were asleep, he gave Diana and Bridget each a goodnight kiss before Clarissa carried a sleeping Evan to Evan's nursery where Clarissa allowed Spencer to kiss Evan goodnight before she placed the sleeping 15-month-old toddler into his crib.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were both naked in bed as they told each other what to do to themselves before they took a shower together and fell asleep in their bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Next up is Reckoner, and even though Jack is in Witness Protection his birthday isn't happening during Reckoner in this universe because I decided to have his birthday be October 28th because I didn't want Haley to give birth to Jack at 34-weeks. So the next chapter will deal with Spencer's 28th birthday instead of Spencer, Clarissa, and Hotch missing Jack on his fourth birthday.


	83. Reckoner & Spencer Turns 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With there being a wind chill warning in my hometown that brought temperatures feeling up to -50 degrees in my hometown, I had a lot of time to write the past two days because of being stuck indoors because of the risk for frostbite. If any of you readers are dealing with the same polar vortex as me, I hope you readers are staying warm!
> 
> This is my last chapter for a while because of having surgery in four days and the next couple of days will be busy when it comes to stocking up on groceries, hanging out with friends the day before my surgery, cleaning my room, and washing my sheets before surgery. I'm planning on taking my laptop with me to the hospital because I'm going to be hospitalized for a few days thanks to this surgery having to be open surgery instead of laparoscopic surgery. If any of you readers want me to send a PM to let you readers know that I'm OK after surgery, please let me know.
> 
> Jack doesn't turn four in this chapter.

Spencer was propped up on his crutches as he stood between his brother-in-law and US Marshal Sam Kassmeyer while Garcia sat in front of her computers as he watched a video of his nearly four-year-old nephew playing on a swing.

"I can't believe how much he has grown since the last time I saw him," said Spencer softly.

Garcia turned her head and looked at Spencer and Hotch who were focused on watching their son or nephew in the video.

"Any closer and the image will distort," said Garcia softly.

Hotch looked at Sam.

"How is Jack?" asked Hotch softly.

"He's really smart. Had us in tears. Great kid," said Sam.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Even though Jack is related to you by marriage, I believe that Jack became really smart because of you and Diana teaching him everything," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled.

"He's always asking me questions because he believes that I'm the smartest man in the world," said Spencer causing some chuckles.

Sam looked at Spencer.

"He's been showing us the sleight of hand tricks you taught him. When I asked him to show us how he did it, he told the other US Marshals and me that a magician never shares his secrets," said Sam.

Spencer chuckled.

"That's my Jack-Attack," said Spencer before smiling at the memory of Jack asking him to teach him slight of hand tricks over a month before Foyet attacked his brother-in-law, "He begged me to teach him slight of hand tricks so he could impress his friends in preschool when he watched me teach Diana a bunch of tricks a month before Foyet attacked Aaron," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Sam.

"Haley?" asked Hotch.

Sam sighed as he realized what Hotch was asking him while remembering that Hotch moved on from Haley.

"To be honest, we're moving them to a halfway house," said Sam.

Spencer and Hotch exchanged glances as they wondered what happened as they both looked at Sam.

"I thought you had found a permanent location," stated Hotch.

"Haley made a number of phone calls to her mother. It's all good, but to be safe, we have to move them," said Sam.

Hotch held out his hand and shook hands with Sam.

"Sam, thank you," said Hotch.

"I promise you, No harm will come to them. You just concentrate on getting Foyet," said Sam before looking at Spencer as he reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a homemade card, "Jack told me that he wanted me to tell you happy birthday and he decided to make you this card while he'll be giving you a gift when he comes home," said Sam.

"Please give it to my brother-in-law because I can't look at it right now," said Spencer.

Sam nodded as he passed Hotch the card and walked away while Hotch opened the card and found a folded up piece of paper and passed it to Garcia as he recognized Haley's writing as he started to read the card out loud.

"Mommy is dictating this letter for me because I can't write or spell many words yet. Happy birthday, uncle Spencer. Aside from missing daddy; I miss you, Auntie Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Baby Reid. I'm practicing the magic tricks you taught me and I'll show you my progress when I'm home from my vacation. I hope you have a good birthday even though Sam told me that you're still getting around on crutches. I love you, uncle Spencer. Love Jack," read Hotch as he glanced at the picture that Garcia was holding up for Spencer.

Spencer smiled as he looked at the picture of him, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan that Jack drew.

"I miss Jack every day, Aaron," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law as they continued to watch the video of Jack.

"I can't believe that Jack will be four in 21 days," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Me too, and it sucks that I won't be getting a birthday hug and kiss from Jack on Friday," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was sitting on the couch with his bad leg stretched out in his brother-in-law's office working on his consults when Hotch who was looking out the window looked at his brother-in-law.

"If we get a case today, you'll be staying here with Garcia so you don't miss your first physical therapy session," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded as he grimaced when he heard a crack of thunder.

"I understand," said Spencer.

"You're not going to argue?" asked Hotch.

"I'm not because I'll be getting to go home Clarissa and the kids tonight if you guys have to stay overnight. Plus that means I'll be home on my birthday in two days too," said Spencer.

"I'm hoping that we're home by Friday so we can celebrate your 28th birthday because I'm excited to see the look on your face when you open up your birthday gift from me," said Hotch.

"And if you guys aren't home by then; Clarissa, the kids, and I will celebrate my birthday on Friday evening while we have another celebration when you guys get back," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was watching his brother-in-law watch the thunderstorm that was currently happening from his window when Rossi entered his brother-in-law's office.

"You got a second?" asked Rossi.

"Sure, what is it?" asked Hotch.

Spencer was about to get up with his crutches when Rossi looked at him.

"Because of your brother-in-law allowing you to hang out in here you can stay, Reid," said Rossi before looking at Hotch as he continued to make his way towards Hotch, "A case just came in," said Rossi.

"I'll be right there," said Hotch.

"Actually, I need to talk to you. It's on Commack, Long Island," said Rossi.

"That's your home town," said Hotch.

"Yeah. and if it's OK, I'd rather stay behind," said Rossi.

Spencer and Hotch looked at each other with matching frowns on their faces as they thought about Rossi going to be disappointed about having to travel with the team.

"Why?" asked Hotch.

"It was a different life, one I left 30 years ago. I'm in no hurry to go back," said Rossi.

Hotch sighed as he glanced at his brother-in-law before looking at Rossi.

"Well... Any other day, I'd say stay," said Hotch before gesturing to his brother-in-law, "Want to tell Dave why he'll have to travel with the team this time?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at Rossi.

"I start physical therapy this afternoon and Hotch decided that I can't miss this appointment. I'm sorry that my injury is causing you to go home today, but I promise you that I'll make it up to you," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"You don't have to make it up to me because I blame Patrick Meyers for your injury," said Rossi.

A few seconds later Spencer was propping himself up on his crutches before he, Hotch, and Rossi left Hotch's office and headed to the conference room while Hotch looked at JJ.

"What have we got?" asked Hotch as he, Spencer, and Rossi sat down in their chairs.

JJ stood up and walked to the monitor.

"Ben Vanderwaal was killed in Commack, Long Island, last night, shot at close range, once in the heart, once in the head, .22 caliber shell," said JJ.

Morgan looked at the file in his hands.

"They found hair and blood traces from Ben Vanderwaal's wife Heather," said Morgan.

"But not Heather?" asked Rossi.

"No, she's still missing, presumed dead. The caliber and placement of the bullets match that of two previous victims," said JJ as she pulled up a picture of a woman, "The first, Rita Haslat. Eight months ago she went missing from her home in New Jersey. Four weeks later, she was found in a trash bin," said JJ.

Emily pointed at a picture of Rita.

"She went from that to this in under three weeks? She's totally emaciated," said Emily.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"Ligature marks on her wrists and ankles indicate she was constrained," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at the pictures.

"One in the heart, one in the head- same as Vanderwaal," said Morgan.

"Sounds more like an execution," said Hotch.

"Then why cut off Vanderwaal's hands postmortem?" asked Spencer.

Rossi looked at JJ.

"What about the third victim?" asked Rossi.

"Bill Levington," said JJ as she pulled up a picture of Bill, "His appearance was certainly altered," said JJ.

Emily realized what happened to Bill.

"His genitals were missing," said Emily.

"Though the method of mutilation is different in each crime, clearly there's a signature. The question is, what? Wheels-up in 20 minutes," said Hotch before looking at his brother-in-law, "You already know the drill," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded while Morgan looked at him.

"What drill?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked at JJ, Emily, Garcia, and Morgan.

"I'll be working from here today because I have my first physical therapy appointment this afternoon and Hotch decided that I can't miss my first physical therapy appointment," said Spencer.

"Who's going to drive you to physical therapy?" asked Morgan.

"Clarissa is because she's now working from 8 AM until Noon until she starts maternity leave on November 2nd," said Spencer.

"Why is she working part-time right now?" asked Rossi.

"Ever since finding out that Clarissa's pregnant with twins, Children's National wants her to take it easy. Her boss told her that her job will be waiting for her when she's ready to return to work after Ariel and Caden's births," said Spencer before looking at Garcia, "With remembering how you didn't like having Gideon work with you in your lair after a sky diving incident went wrong for him, I promise you that'll I behave. Clarissa had me bring my wheelchair today so I can be a bit more independent even though I might need some occasional help," said Spencer.

"I don't mind helping you out one bit, Boy Wonder," said Garcia.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting in his wheelchair as he squeezed one of the stress balls that he grabbed from his desk to fiddle with when Garcia got JJ on the phone.

"Garcia," said JJ.

"We've been getting to know Heather Vanderwaal. I can't tell you her favorite Beatle, but I can tell you she was living la Vida unhappy," said Garcia.

"What did you find?" asked JJ quietly.

Garcia nodded at Spencer to speak.

"Her ex-husband took her daughter Allison out of school mid-term. After that, Heather cut a check for $5,000 to a place called Lewis, Bell, & Peters six days ago," said Spencer.

"Law firm?" asked JJ.

"Family law," said Garcia.

"Thanks," said JJ before hanging up.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"You're already behaving much better than Gideon did when Hotch grounded him here," said Garcia just as Spencer's phone vibrated causing Spencer to see a picture of Bridget and Evan together, "A picture of the kids?" asked Garcia.

"Just Bridget and Evan because Diana is at school," said Spencer before sighing sadly, "Aside from being sad about Bridget being two and Evan being eight days away from turning 16-months-old, I can't believe that Diana will be turning six in December," said Spencer.

"Me too," said Garcia.

Spencer looked at a picture of nearly four-month-old twins Hank and Barbara.

"I hope you know that you should cherish Hank and Barbara being as small as they are because they'll eventually be going to school like Diana is," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer and Garcia were video chatting with Hotch when Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Isn't my sister suppose to be on her way to take you to physical therapy right now?" asked Hotch.

"Clarissa should be here in 30 minutes," said Spencer.

"After physical therapy is over, just go home to Clarissa and the kids for the night," said Hotch.

"Are you sure?" asked Spencer.

"No one knows how you're going to feel after physical therapy, so just go home and have a relaxing evening with the family and ride with Garcia to Quantico in the morning," said Hotch.

"Yes sir," said Spencer before seeing a confused look on Detective Hardesty's face, "Agent Hotchner is my brother-in-law. I'm working from Quantico because of getting shot above the left knee six weeks ago and my doctor cleared me to start physical therapy today," said Spencer.

"Ouch and how old are your kids?" asked Detective Hardesty.

"My oldest daughter Diana will be six in 75 days, my second child Bridget is two, my son Evan will be 16-months-old in eight days, and my wife is 27-weeks pregnant with my third daughter and second son," said Spencer just as Morgan spoke up.

"The removal of the hands is as specific as Rita Haslat's condition was when she was found," said Morgan.

Garcia pointed at another picture.

"Just as specific as the removal of Bill Levington's genitals," said Emily.

"There's a message in the mutilations the unsub wants us to know," said Hotch.

"We got something here that might help us with that," said Garcia causing Hotch to move the computer, "Bill Levington was involved in a serial rape case, all involving minors, and it never went to trial," said Garcia.

"Rita Haslat?" asked Hotch.

Garcia nodded at Spencer to speak.

"A former social worker attained said former status when she was fired from the DCFS for gross negligence. In one of her cases, a seven-year-old boy starved to death," said Spencer sadly.

"Which explains why Haslat was so emaciated when she was found," said Emily.

"If all the victims were indicated in crimes against children, then we've found a connection," said Morgan.

"One of the unsubs has access to the crimes of the victims and probably works in the justice system. Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"On it," said Spencer and Garcia in unison before they laughed.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Over 90 minutes later Spencer was laying on a table at a rehab place that specializes in physical therapy for law enforcement or military members who are injured in the line of duty as his physical therapist introduced him to Spencer and Clarissa.

"My name is Andy and its such an honor about being chosen to aid you in your recovery Dr. Reid because I'm a fan of your published work," said Andy.

"Really?" asked Spencer.

Andy nodded.

"I was a police officer until I got shot in the knee. I ended up getting a knee replacement on the spot causing my days of working in the field to be done, so I decided to go back to school and become a physical therapist for law enforcement members who have weight-bearing injuries like yours," said Andy before looking at Clarissa, "Dr. Trader's notes stated that you'll be giving birth around the time he estimated that your husband should be walking unassisted again if he applies himself to recover quickly?" asked Andy.

Clarissa nodded.

"I'm 27-weeks pregnant with our third daughter and second son," said Clarissa.

Anthony whistled.

"I have five kids with my own wife, so you two are brave," said Andy before smiling a bit, "How old are your two daughters and one son?" asked Andy.

"Diana will be six on December 21st, Bridget turned two in August, and Evan will be 16-months-old on the 15th," said Spencer.

"Diana, Bridget, and Evan will be good motivations for you to walk again like your unborn son or daughter, so I hope they can come along to some of your future appointments and cheer you on," said Andy.

Spencer smiled.

"They will be coming to future appointments because Diana insisted on being my personal cheerleader," said Spencer before Andy decided to check Spencer's range of motion before he, Spencer, and Clarissa started to work out a recovery plan.

xxxxxxxxx

Later on that night, Spencer woke up to his work phone ringing, and a few seconds later Spencer answered his phone.

"Reid here," said Spencer groggily.

"I'm sorry that I woke you up, but my friend Ray could use your help on a crossword puzzle question," said Rossi.

"I was asleep, but I don't mind helping your friend," said Spencer.

"Here's Ray," said Rossi.

"Crossword question. 10 letters. Crater creator," said Ray.

Spencer quickly thought of it.

"10 letters, crater creator. Arctangent," said Spencer.

"Did you get that?" asked Rossi.

"Damn, he's smart," said Ray before hanging up.

"I'm sorry for waking you up again," said Rossi before hanging up.

A few seconds later Spencer fell back asleep.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was sitting next to Garcia in Garcia's lair as he and Garcia video chatted with Rossi.  
"I've concentrated on the last three cases. They've left the freshest e-prints," said Garcia.

"Great," said Rossi.

Spencer shook his head.

"Not really. Over 100,000 cases pass through Long Island court," said Spencer.

"Who had eyes on those files?" asked Rossi.

"Literally hundreds and hundreds of people," said Garcia.

"Change track. Focus on the enforcer. Mob-related murder trials on long island the last 10 years. We're looking for a hitman," said Rossi.

Garcia did some typing.

"Hey, there are 93 mob trials in the last 10 years," said Garcia.

"Put aside any trials that resulted in a conviction. Weed out mistrials and arraignments," instructed Rossi.

Spencer quickly did some typing and found what he was looking for.

"Uh, 19," said Spencer.

"Were any of those on trial suspected of being hitmen or enforcers?" asked Rossi.

"Three," said Spencer before Garcia found something.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, this totally slipped the net. Tony Mecacci, his case was judged a mistrial, but check out his suspected victim," said Garcia as she pulled up a picture for Rossi to see.

".22 caliber, right?" asked Rossi.

"Bull's-eye," said Garcia.

"Cross-match our profile of the planner against all those connected with this trial," said Rossi.

Spencer quickly did some typing and found what he and Garcia were supposed to find.

"Let's see, prosecuting lawyer Garrett Daniels, Judge Boyd Schuller, criminal defense lawyer Paul-," said Spencer before Rossi interrupted him.

"Wait, wait. Did you say Judge Schuller?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah, here's a photo," said Spencer as he sent Rossi a photo of Judge Schuller before Hotch noticed a look on Rossi's face.

"What's wrong?" asked Hotch.

Emily noticed that Rossi's face was in shock.

"Do you know him?" asked Emily.

"No. but I knew his wife. Two years ago she was driving home from work and she was killed by a drunk driver," said Rossi.

Spencer closed his eyes as he tried to keep the flashbacks from the times that he was told that his parents, uncle Daniel, Aunt Ethel, and uncle Gordon were killed by drunk drivers.

"That could be the tragedy," said Spencer as he glanced at Garcia with a sympathetic look on his face.

"She was the love of his life, that's for sure," said Rossi.

Garcia quickly found some information on Judge Schuller.

"12 months ago, Judge Schuller took a leave of absence due to health issues," said Garcia.

Spencer who was already finished reading the information looked at the web camera on the computer in front of him.

"He was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He has six months to live," said Spencer.

Garcia exchanged looks with Spencer.

"And that's when the killing started," said Garcia.

Detective Hardesty looked at everyone.

"You don't seriously think judge-," said Detective Hardesty before Rossi interrupted him.

"Judge Schuller is the planner. Yes, I do," said Rossi grimly.

"Fits the profile," said JJ.

"And Tony Mecacci is most likely Bosola the enforcer. What have you got on Bosola?" asked Rossi.

Garcia looked at her computers.

"Uh, he went off the grid after his last trial," said Garcia.

"JJ, put out a statewide APB and release Mecacci's photo to the media," said Hotch.

"Judge Schuller's a highly-respected man. We can't just walk in there and accuse him of serial murder," protested Detective Hardesty.

"Then I'll go to the attorney general and petition the chief justice if I have to," said Hotch.

Rossi noticed Judge Schuller.

"And maybe not," said Rossi as he stood up.

"I believe you're looking for me," said Judge Schuller.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting in his wheelchair next to Garcia who was typing on her keyboard as she tried to find some information on Bosola.

"Oh-oh, we've got gobs of two-way traffic going on, which means someone is trying to bounce us out," said Garcia

"OK, Bosola didn't come cheap, so Judge Schuller had to have made Some pretty substantial transactions," said Emily.

"Got wire transfers to a Cayman Island bank and that's where the trace ends," said Garcia.

"How many, how much?" asked Emily.

"June, he debits numerations of $9, 999 every few days, a total of four, he takes a break for a few weeks until he makes his final transaction for the same magic number," said Garcia.

"Anything less than $10,000 keeps the IRS off your trail," said Spencer.

"I know that, too," said Garcia.

"So, the final payment must be for proof of death. That makes $50,000 the price of a kill," said Emily.

"He did that three times over a period of 12 months, but two days ago, he raided his account for $100,000 all in one hit," said Garcia.

"He also closed all his accounts and handed his entire estate over to a victims support group," said Spencer just as all the information that Garcia pulled up on her computers disappeared.

"Someone who isn't suffering from too many brainiacs in the high-tech kitchen just bounced us out," said Garcia.

"Good job, guys. Thanks," said Emily before signing off.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Four hours later Spencer was propped up on his crutches when Hotch, JJ, Emily, Morgan, and Rossi entered the bullpen.

"Welcome back guys," said Spencer before looking at JJ and thought about hearing about what happened to Judge Schuller causing JJ to get showered with blood, "Are you OK?" asked Spencer.

"I'm not OK right now, but I will be when I get home to Will and Henry," said JJ.

Spencer looked at Rossi.

"Clarissa and Lucy ordered me to bring you home with me for dinner and I already taken care of your consults on your desk," said Spencer.

"Thank you and I'll go home with you because I know not to argue with your wife or my cousin," said Rossi.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"How about you and Dave leave now and because of tomorrow being your birthday, why don't you take tomorrow off to spend the day with Bridget and Evan," said Hotch.

"Are you sure?" asked Spencer.

"Tomorrow is Friday, so you deserve a three-day weekend for your birthday," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law, JJ, Emily, Garcia, and Morgan.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow when you guys join Clarissa, the kids, my grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins, and me for Shabbat, cake, and presents tomorrow," said Spencer before he and Rossi left the bullpen.

xxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer woke up to Diana, Bridget, and Evan giving him kisses and as soon as he had his glasses on he smiled at his three children.

"What's with the wake-up call?" asked Spencer.

"Happy birthday, daddy," said Diana.

"Happy birthday, daddy," said Bridget.

Nearly 16-month-old Evan looked at his father and signed 'Happy birthday' like his oldest sister taught him.

"I see you learned how to sign "happy birthday", tadpole," grinned Spencer.

Diana looked at her father.

"Because of today being a half day at school today, mommy is allowing me to stay home because of uncle Aaron giving you today off," said Diana.

"Awesome," said Spencer just as Clarissa appeared in the bedroom.

"I also took today off too," said Clarissa before looking at Diana, Bridget, and Evan, "Why don't you three go downstairs and get your shoes on so we can go out for breakfast," said Clarissa.

20 minutes later Clarissa was driving Spencer, Diana, Bridget, Evan, and herself to their favorite diner for breakfast.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A half-hour later Spencer was eating his pancakes, breakfast sausage, and scrambled eggs as he looked at Clarissa who was eating a larger portion of the same breakfast as him.

"So what are we going to do today before Shabbat at our house tonight?" asked Spencer.

Diana grinned at her father.

"Because of it raining today, we're going to the National Aquarium here in D.C.," said Diana.

"Cwush. Swirt," said Evan.

Spencer grinned at Evan.

"You want to learn about sea turtles like Crush and Squirt from "Finding Nemo"?" asked Spencer.

Evan nodded as his growing brown curly hair bounced a bit.

"Yes, Dada," said Evan.

xxxxxxxxxx

Over two hours later, Spencer was sitting in his wheelchair with Evan on his good knee as he smiled at the sight of a wide-eyed Evan watching the sea turtles swim.

"Even though you're too young to remember what I'm going to tell you, there are seven species of sea turtles around the world," said Spencer.

Bridget who was holding her big sister's hand turned and looked at her father.

"What are the seven species?" asked Bridget.

Spencer smiled at Bridget.

"Hawksbill sea turtle, Loggerhead sea turtle, Leatherback sea turtle, Green sea turtle, Olive Ridley sea turtle, Flatback sea turtle, and Kemp's Ridley sea turtle," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her little sister.

"Sea turtles can't retract their heads and legs into their shells like regular turtles can," said Diana.

"What can sea turtles eat?" asked Bridget.

Spencer and Diana exchanged glances as they thought about the word omnivore being on top of their tongue while Diana thought about her father telling her that the man that's going after her uncle Aaron and sent her former aunt and cousin Jack into witness protection was profiled as an omnivore before Spencer looked at Bridget.

"Depending on their species they can eat jellyfish," said Spencer.

"Crabs," said Diana.

"Mollusks," said Spencer.

"Seaweed," said Diana.

"Algae," said Spencer.

"Snails," said Diana.

"And sponges," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her father.

"What's the scientific name for the sea turtle?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled.

"Chelonioidea," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her little brother and little sister.

"Sea turtles are either labeled endangered or threatened because of bad men and women poaching their eggs, light pollution on the beach affecting baby sea turtles that just hatched, and abandoned fishing nets can cause sea turtles to get tangled in them," said Diana.

Bridget looked at her father.

"Can you pwease put the bad people who hurt sea turtles in a long timeout, daddy?" asked Bridget.

Spencer smiled and shook his head.

"I wish I can do that, Cricket, but it's my not my job to arrest people who hurt animals," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her little sister.

"When it comes to your fascination of ocean species, you can always study to become a marine veterinarian or marine biologist and work at places like SeaWorld," said Diana.

Bridget nodded.

"OK," said Bridget before looking at her parents, "Can we pwease go to SeaWorld right now?" asked Bridget.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other before Spencer looked at Bridget.

"Not today because there are three SeaWorlds that are stationed in either San Diego, California, San Antonio, Texas, and Orlando Florida," said Spencer.

"Can we pwease go to one of the three SeaWorlds someday?" asked Bridget.

Clarissa smiled at Diana and Bridget.

"We can go to one of the three SeaWorlds someday," said Clarissa as she exchanged glances with her husband about needing to talk later.

Spencer who realized what his wife was thinking about nodded.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Bridget and Evan were taking afternoon naps in their respective bed or crib while Diana went last minute grocery shopping with Lucy and Anthony while Clarissa was helping Spencer with his at home physical therapy exercises.

"Because of how helpful Diana and Bridget have been during the past six weeks, we must reward the girls with a trip to Walt Disney World and SeaWorld in Orlando next summer," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded in agreement.

"If we book the tickets now and talk to our bosses about taking this vacation time around Bridget's 3rd birthday, we can surprise the trip to the girls on Christmas Day," said Spencer.

Clarissa nodded in agreement.

"Having this vacation happen around Bridget's 3rd birthday is perfect because Evan will be two and Ariel and Caden will be seven-months-old when we go on this trip, Spence," said Clarissa as she grabbed her laptop off the coffee table, "Let's book these tickets now and we order t-shirts or Mickey Mouse hats to give the girls on Christmas Day and tell them that we're going to Walt Disney World and SeaWorld around Bridget's birthday," said Clarissa.

"Instead of booking plane tickets, we should probably drive ourselves to Florida because we would need to invite Lucy and Anthony on this trip so they can help us out with the kids while we would have strollers, car seats, and booster seats to bring with us too," said Spencer.

"Good thinking, Spence," said Clarissa as she typed her password into her computer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were booking tickets for Walt Disney World and Sea World and booking hotel suites before they emailed their respective bosses about booking a trip to Florida who quickly responded about granting their week-long vacation to Florida causing Spencer and Clarissa to quickly order t-shirts and Mickey Mouse hats online.

xxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer who already opened up birthday gifts from Clarissa, his children, his grandparents, aunt Mary, uncle Joe, Maeve, Jacob and his family, and his teammates before Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"I asked for your gift to be opened last because I believe that this gift will be your favorite," said Hotch.

A few seconds later Spencer opened up a small box and his eyes went wide when he saw two round trip first class plane tickets, a pamphlet for a hotel, gift certificates for a restaurant, and two tickets to attend Dr. James Fallon's lecture in about a month as he looked at his brother-in-law.

"You got me tickets to attend Dr. Fallon's guest lecture next month?" asked Spencer excitably.

Hotch nodded.

"You mentioned that you always wanted to attend Dr. Fallon's lecture and he called me about one of your recent papers and invited you to his lecture," said Hotch.

"Out of you and Sean, you are definitely my favorite brother-in-law because you know me well," said Spencer before he examined the second plane ticket and noticed Clarissa's name on it causing him to quickly do the math and look at his wife.

"You'll be almost 33-weeks pregnant when we go on this trip and your doctor told you no flying after the 32nd week of this pregnancy," said Spencer.

"I know, but Dr. Larson already gave me permission to go on this trip with you as long as I use a wheelchair at both airports, get the babies checked both times after we land, and I take it easy during that trip," said Clarissa before smiling a bit, "Consider this trip as a way to celebrate our seventh wedding anniversary a few weeks early because I'll be 35-weeks pregnant when we celebrate our wedding anniversary," said Clarissa.

Spencer stood up with his crutches and made his way towards his brother-in-law.

"It's going to be hard to hug you because of my crutches, Aaron," said Spencer.

Hotch chuckled as he stood up and pulled his brother-in-law into a gentle hug.

"Happy birthday, Spencer," said Hotch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: No birthday sex for Spencer this time because of his knee and Clarissa being 27-weeks pregnant with twins. When it comes to SeaWorld and Walt Disney World, I never been to Disneyland or Walt Disney World, but I've only been to the SeaWorld in San Antonio, Texas during August of 2003 when I was nine-years-old. So its going to be interesting to write the chapter or chapters about this big family vacation that will happen.


	84. Hopeless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm officially back from my hiatus! Surgery was very successful this time and I'm recovering very well for someone who had open abdominal surgery 23 days ago. So thank you everyone who offered to pray for my recovery. I posted a Spencer/Lila Archer story called Spencer's Done which deals with the aftermath of season 14's finale and season 15 won't exist, so please check it out and read it.
> 
> Clarissa is 28-weeks pregnant in this chapter and Tamera Barnes doesn't get involved with Morgan at all in this universe because saw his wedding band when Morgan first interviewed her.

Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Lucy, and Anthony were eating dinner when Spencer looked at his oldest daughter.

"Are you looking forward to having your early birthday slumber party on Halloween?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as she thought about her parents asking her if it would be OK to bump up her birthday slumber party to October 31st because of her mother being 37-weeks pregnant on the day of her planned slumber party or Ariel and Caden might already be born and home from the hospital by then and they didn't want Ariel and Caden to ruin her birthday party.

"I am, daddy," said Diana.

"With Halloween being 18 days away, have you thought about this year's costume theme for us?" asked Spencer.  
Diana tilted her head and thought about all the comic books that she's been reading with her father and looked at her father.

"Can you please be Superman because of you being a real-life superhero without all the supernatural powers, daddy?" said Diana.

Spencer grinned.

"I'll be Superman for you," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her mother.

"Can you be Superman's wife Lois Lane?" asked Diana.

Clarissa smiled as she thought about the maternity skirts and blouses that she recently bought to accommodate her growing stomach.

"I can," said Clarissa.

Anthony looked at the nearly six-year-old girl who was becoming like a granddaughter for him the past two months.

"What will you be, Diana?" asked Anthony.

"I'll be Wonder Woman because her civilian name is Diana like mine," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled.

"Good choice," said Spencer.

"Would you like Bridget to be Supergirl while Evan is Superboy?" asked Clarissa.

"I was going to suggest that Bridget be Supergirl while Evan is Superboy," said Diana.

"Since we figured out Halloween costumes, have you finalized who you want to attend your early birthday slumber party?" asked Spencer.

"Courtney, Aria, Hannah, Allison, and my cousins Savannah and Abigail," said Diana.

"Are you sure that you want to include your cousins in your festivities?" asked Spencer.

"I believe that it would be polite of me to invite Savannah and Abigail despite Savannah being eight and Abigail being nine because they're my newly found cousins and I'm still getting to know them," said Diana.

"That's very sweet of you, Diana," said Clarissa.

"If I see Jordan Todd at Quantico tomorrow, I'll let her know that you invited Allison to your early birthday slumber party," said Spencer.

"OK, daddy," said Diana before looking at her parents, "Can we please watch "Aristocats" tonight?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa grinned at the thought of watching one of the classic Disney movies from their childhood that they bought on DVD over a year ago.

"We sure can," said Clarissa just as Evan started laughing causing Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Lucy, and Anthony to turn their heads to Evan who had his bowl of goulash over his head while sauce, vegetables, and macaroni noodles dribbled down his ear length curly brown hair.

"Evan silly," said Bridget.

Diana looked at her little sister.

"He sure is," said Diana.

"Before we even sit down to watch "The Aristocats", we're definitely going to be giving you guys a bath while mommy and I take showers before we even start watching "The Aristocats"," said Spencer.

Evan turned his head and glared at his father.

"No bat," said Evan firmly.

Spencer looked at his wife who was giggling.

"It seems like Evan gave us his first "Hotchner glare"," said Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"I know and I can't wait for Aaron to find out," said Clarissa as she grabbed her phone and looked at Evan, "You'll be getting a bath," said Clarissa.

Evan glared at his mother who quickly took a picture of her soon to be oldest son.

"No," said Evan.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Even though Evan is turning 16-months-old in two days, I wonder if the terrible twos are starting early for Evan?" asked Clarissa.

"Maybe," said Spencer.

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45 minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan were in the living cuddling as they watched "The Aristocats" and laughed as six-year-old Merton walked into the room and turned his head and looked at the TV and started meowing at the sight of four cats on TV.

xxxxxxxx

After the movie was over and the kids were tucked in bed, Clarissa looked at her husband as she helped him get positioned into bed.

"Aside from "The Little Mermaid" and "Cinderella", "The Aristocats" was always one of my favorite Disney movies when I was a kid," said Clarissa.

"I always liked "Babar", but "The Aristocats" was a close second because I always wanted a cat despite uncle Gordon being allergic," said Spencer.

"I always wanted a cat too, but mom was allergic too," said Clarissa.

"I'm glad that Bridget and Evan are at the ages where they have the attention span to watch Disney movies," said Spencer.

"Me too," said Clarissa before giggling at the memory of Spencer and Diana singing "Everybody Wants to be a Cat" together, "and Bridget and Evan were right about you and Diana being silly when it came to mimicking the singing voices when "Everybody Wants to be a Cat" was playing," said Clarissa.

Spencer smirked.

"I believe that your silly while you belt out Bon Jovi, Cyndi Lauper, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and songs from "Grease" and "Grease 2"," teased Spencer.

Clarissa gave her 'Hotchner glare' to her husband.

"Just for that comment, aside from planning that we go to one of our favorite bars for karaoke night and we sing "You're the One That I Want" together for a future date night when I'm no longer pregnant, we're going to sing "You're the One that I Want" together at Aaron's and Emily's wedding reception in May," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was exiting one of the lecture halls at the academy with Rossi when Jordan Todd approached them.

"That was a great lecture," said Jordan.

"Thank you," said Spencer and Rossi in unison.

Jordan looked at Spencer's left leg that wasn't touching the floor.

"Allison said that Diana told her that you already started physical therapy," said Jordan.

Spencer nodded.

"I have and I have another physical therapy session this afternoon," said Spencer.

"Good luck," said Jordan.

"Speaking of Diana, she told me that she's hoping that Allison can attend her early birthday slumber party on the 31st," said Spencer.

Jordan grinned.

"Gavin is already sleeping over at a friend's house that night, so you definitely have my permission for Allison to sleepover at your house because my husband and I can have a date night without our five-year-old twins at home," said Jordan just as JJ approached them.

"We have a case in Southeast D.C., so we have to get going to the crime scene," said JJ.

Jordan looked at Spencer, Rossi, and JJ.

"Good luck and stay safe," said Jordan before walking away.

"I'm coming with?" asked Spencer.

JJ nodded.

"Hotch told me that you got cleared by your doctor to visit crime scenes, so let's get going," said JJ.

A few minutes later Spencer was getting into the front seat of the SUV that already had Morgan in the driver's seat while his brother-in-law spotted him.

"You good?" asked Hotch.

"Yes," said Spencer as he accepted his crutches from his brother-in-law before his brother-in-law shut the front passenger door for him.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer pivoted himself out of the SUV while resting his good leg onto the ground before he placed his crutches under his armpits.

"Detective Andrews?" asked JJ.

Detective Andrews nodded.

"Hi. Jennifer Jareau," said JJ as Spencer started to quickly swing himself towards his teammates as JJ started introductions, "These are agents Rossi, Morgan, Hotchner, Prentiss, and Dr. Reid," said JJ as Spencer approached them.

"Thanks for getting here so fast," said Detective Andrews.

"What can you tell us?" asked Rossi.

Detective Andrews pointed to the blood on the street.

"Looks like one of the victims was attacked when he got out of his car. Meaning whoever did this probably used his keys to get inside and surprise the other victims," said Detective Andrews.

"Who found the bodies?" asked Morgan.

Detective Andrews gestured to a woman who was talking to one of his officers.

"The cleaning woman. She's giving her statement now," said Detective Andrews.

Hotch looked at the stairs that led into the house where the murder victims were currently in and thought about how his brother-in-law wasn't ready to go up and down stairs like that.

"Dave, would you, Morgan, and Prentiss go inside. We'll cover out here," said Hotch.  
Detective Andrews sighed as Morgan, Emily, and Rossi started to go up the stairs.

"I know you're all used to this, but, uh, it's a hell of a sight in there," said Detective Andrews.

Everyone stayed silent for a moment before Emily, Morgan, and Rossi entered the house and a few minutes later Hotch was crouching down as he looked at the blood stains on the sidewalk while JJ looked at Detective Andrews.

"The neighbors see anything?" asked JJ.

"Oh, you know, the patrol cars are even doubled in this area because of the vandalism- nothing," said Detective Andrews.

Spencer who was still propped up on his crutches while keeping his left foot off the ground looked at his brother-in-law, JJ, and Detective Andrews.

"The unsub would have to be extremely fast and efficient," said Spencer.

"Look at this. there's a pool of blood here and then drops as the victim moves toward the door. How big was the victim?" asked Hotch.

"6'1", 6'2". Why?" asked Detective Andrews.

"Well, if he was strong enough to move under his own power, you'd expect signs of a struggled." said Hotch as he straightened up to his full height, "And if not, there'd most likely be drag marks," said Hotch.

JJ quickly realized something.

"He was carried," said JJ.

"That's a lot of dead weight for one person to move alone," said Hotch.

Spencer lifted up his right crutch and pointed at the porch.

"There's no pool of blood on the porch, which means they didn't have to set him down to open the door," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on the edge of a table massaging his healing knee as he listened to JJ talk about past vandalized scenes as she showed pictures of the crime scenes.

"September 3rd, 15 luxury cars had their windows smashed. September 14th, a new upscale clothing boutique was vandalized. September 24th, two different restaurants, both catering to a wealthy clientele, had their front windows smashed and their interiors torn apart, and finally, October 1st, a newly renovated townhome was ransacked before the family could move in," said JJ.

"So they went from attacking public property to a private residence, but no victim," said Emily.

Hotch who had taken the remote from JJ looked at his teammates.

"The question is, what makes them move from that...to this?" asked Hotch as he showed the latest crime scene pictures.

"The vandalism targets were all symbols of the neighborhood's changing makeup and economy. Maybe there's something specific about these victims that set the unsubs off," said Morgan.

"I've spoken to the victims' family members. They've agreed to come in and help however they can," said JJ.

Hotch looked at Garcia.

"Garcia, check social networking sites. See if these unsubs have coordinated these attacks online," instructed Hotch.

Garcia nodded.

"If they dare tweet, I shall flush them out like a bird dog, sir," said Garcia.

Spencer noticed something on the map that was pinned up on the bulletin board causing him to start the process of standing up with the aid of his crutches.

"We need to be asking how these unsubs manage to not stand out in this neighborhood," said Rossi.

Spencer started to swing himself towards the bulletin board.

"Each of these crime scene locations are a representation of new wealth and status, but the area surrounding the crime scenes are still populated by long-time residents who are slowly being pushed out," said Spencer.

"That's a lot of disenfranchised people who are all part of the neighborhood makeup," said Morgan as he watched Spencer make his way back to his original spot, "Most likely these unsubs don't stand out because they're probably local themselves," said Morgan.

"I don't know. I'm with Rossi. I mean, anger I get, but this much violence? We're looking at at least three men with an incredible amount of rage. Where do you hide that?" asked Emily.

Hotch looked at the clock before looking at Spencer.

"When is Clarissa picking you up for physical therapy?" asked Hotch.

"Clarissa should be here in 20 minutes because she wants to go out for an early lunch before my appointment at 1," said Spencer.

"Why don't you take the rest of the day off after therapy and spend the afternoon with my sister, Bridget, and Evan until Diana gets out of school," said Hotch.

Spencer's eyebrows furrowed.

"What about the case?" asked Spencer.

Hotch pointed to Spencer's knee.

"Your knee is more important right now and you can easily work from home if we need you before tomorrow," said Hotch.

"OK," said Spencer.

Xxxxxxxxxx

20 minutes later Spencer was settling himself into the front seat of Clarissa's minivan when he heard two familiar voices from the backseat.

"Hi daddy," said Bridget.

"Hi, Dada," said Evan.

Spencer turned his head and grinned at Bridget and Evan.

"You two decided to join mommy and me for my physical therapy session?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Bridget.

"Yes, Dada," said Evan.

Bridget looked at her mother.

"I hungy," said Bridget.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I was thinking about going to McDonald's because I'm craving their milkshakes and chicken nuggets," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled as he shook his head.

"Wherever you want to go works for me," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer smiled as Andy approached him, Clarissa, Bridget, and Evan.

"Good afternoon, Andy," said Spencer.

"Good afternoon Spencer and Clarissa," said Andy before smiling at Bridget and Evan who were holding their mother's hands, "My name is Andy, and you two must be Bridget and Evan," said Andy gently.

Bridget nodded.

"I Bridget," said Bridget as she pronounced Bridget correctly.

Evan nodded.

"I Van," said Evan.

Bridget looked at Andy.

"Diana at school," said Bridget.

"I figured that because my kids are currently at school right now too," said Andy.

"You'll meet Diana soon because one of my upcoming physical therapy sessions is scheduled on a day that Diana has a half day at school," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "Diana did have a half day on my birthday last Friday and she got to miss school that day because our bosses gave us my birthday off," said Spencer.

"We got to see sharks and turtles on daddy's birfday," said Bridget.

Andy smiled just as he started to lead Spencer, Clarissa, Bridget, and Evan to the large room where an exam table was ready for Spencer.

"You did?" asked Andy.

Bridget nodded as Andy thought about Spencer and Clarissa telling him that Bridget was turning out to be a genius like Spencer and her big sister Diana.

"How about you tell me about what you learned about sharks and turtles while your daddy changes into the shorts I told him to bring," said Andy.

"OK," grinned Bridget.

As soon as Spencer headed towards a room where he could change into some shorts, Bridget started to shyly tell Andy a few facts she learned about sea turtles before Spencer came out of the room and sat down on the table and allowed Andy to start checking the range of motion in his bad knee.

"I see that you've been doing the stretches I showed you to do because your range of motion is better than Monday," said Andy.

Spencer nodded.

"Clarissa is strict about me doing my exercises in the mornings and evenings while my brother-in-law makes sure I do my stretches at the office," said Spencer.

"Good," said Andy.

"Can daddy carry me yet?" asked Bridget as she worked her eyes on Andy while pouting.

Anthony smiled a bit at Bridget's cuteness before shaking his head a bit.

"It's going to be a couple of weeks before your daddy can carry you or your siblings, sweetie," said Andy.

The nearly 16-month-old toddler tilted his head and looked at Andy.

"Why?" asked Evan.

Andy looked at the two toddlers who had the same eyes as their father.

"Your daddy has to master walking around the room while bearing weight on his left leg for a few weeks first before I can see if he can handle walking with one crutch," said Andy.

"Then can daddy carry me?" asked Bridget.

"I'll have your daddy carry you two one at a time first in front of me before I give him the OK to carry one of you," said Andy.

Spencer looked at his two current youngest children.

"As soon as I'm walking around with no crutches or a cane and Andy gives me permission, I'll carry both of you at the same time because my goal is to be walking unassisted by the time Ariel and Caden are born," said Spencer.

"OK," said Bridget and Evan in unison before they watched Andy massage Spencer's knee for a bit.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was getting out of the front seat of the SUV that his brother-in-law drove while Morgan and JJ got out of the backseat before Hotch looked at a stressed out Detective Andrews.

"Did anybody see anything?" asked Hotch.

"It's in the middle of the damn parking lot," said Detective Andrews.

"What about the security cam?" asked JJ.

"It's only on the door," said Detective Andrews gruffly as he pointed to the back door.

JJ turned her head to look at the door while Morgan noticed an officer comforting a crying woman.

"Who's the lady over there?" asked Morgan.

"Manager. She discovered the bodies when she came by to open up for the breakfast crowd," said Detective Andrews.

"I'll go talk to her," said JJ before walking away.

Spencer looked at the two covered up victims.

"Any idea who the victims are? Judging by the driver's license, one of them's a waitress here. It says Jessica Miller, and the other one's probably Doug Taylor," said Detective Andrews.

Morgan looked at Detective Andrews.

"You can't tell for sure?" asked Morgan before he crouched down.

"Honestly, you can't make an I.D. by looking at them," said Detective Andrews as he pointed at the bodies.

Morgan uncovered the covered up woman and sighed at the gruesome head wounds.

"Hotch," sighed Morgan.

Hotch realized what Morgan was asking him to do because of his brother-in-law not being in the condition to crouch down and look at bodies yet as he walked over to the male victim and uncovered the body.

"They're definitely getting bolder. These kills were in public," said Spencer.

"If this is supposed to be about symbolism, it's not anymore. This is a blue collar restaurant, the victim is a waitress," said Morgan.

"There's no ideology behind this. It's about violence and power," said Hotch.

Detective Andrews looked at the crushed up beer cans that were scattered around the bodies.

"They actually sat here and drank beer after the murders," said Detective Andrews.

"They're telling us that they don't care," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about the western shows that he and Clarissa sometimes watch together.

"They're like those outlaws that ride into town and let you know the only way to stop them is by killing them," said Spencer.

"If that's what they want, I know plenty of cops who'd be happy to oblige," said Detective Andrews angrily.

Hotch sighed.

"Detective, we need to keep our heads," said Hotch.

Detective Andrews looked at Hotch.

"Meaning what?" asked Detective Andrews.

"Meaning that this level of nihilism, this randomness, it can have a mirror impact," said Hotch.

"Are you warning me not to go after some kind of revenge?" asked Detective Andrews angrily.

"All I'm saying is this level of brutality is almost like a challenge from the unsubs, trying to drag everyone down to their level. And it's a natural reaction," said Hotch calmly.

"I'm just doing my job," said Detective Andrews before walking away.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law, JJ, and Morgan.

"Let's head back. We've got our profile," said Hotch.

Spencer quickly used his crutches to help himself pivot a bit before he quickly swung himself towards the front passenger seat of the SUV and balanced himself as he opened up the front passenger seat door and slowly got himself in while his brother-in-law spotted him.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Clarissa shook her head as she looked at the cover page of The Washington Chronicle and saw the headline about a riot in Dupont Circle where Spencer likes to go play chess.

"I wonder if any of the teenagers involved with this are from our church or synagogue?" asked Clarissa.

"I don't know yet," said Spencer.

Diana who was pouring maple syrup on her pancakes looked at her father.

"If you weren't injured, would you have been there last night to arrest everyone involved?" asked Diana.

"I most likely would," said Spencer.

"If any of the teenagers from our church or synagogue are involved with vandalizing Dupont Circle, there's no way I'm letting them around Diana, Bridget, Evan and eventually Ariel and Caden anymore because they're not setting a good example for the younger children," said Clarissa firmly before groaning as she felt Ariel and Caden kick multiple times, "Alyssa was right that feeling twins kick is much worse than one baby," grumbled Clarissa as she got up and hurried to the first floor bathroom.

xxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was sitting at the round table with his teammates as JJ looked at everyone.

"I talked to the beat cops. They're getting word out to local businesses to keep an eye out for anyone who seems agitated by the news of last night's riot," said JJ.

Rossi who was standing looked at his teammates and Garcia.

"By now, Andrews has to know that none of those kids are the unsubs," said Rossi.

Hotch who was sitting on low filing cabinet looked at his teammates and Garcia.

"Then he's bound to beef up police presence in the Southeast. We should be there, too. The faster we can react, the more we can help," said Hotch.

Garcia looked at Rossi.

"Do you think the unsubs know about the riot?" asked Garcia.

Rossi thought about the newspaper he received and how much vandalism he saw.

"Front page news. I don't know how they can't," said Rossi.

Garcia turned her head towards Spencer.

"And if the profile's right?" asked Garcia.

"Their reaction's gonna be quick and it's gonna be brutal," said Spencer.

"Basically, it's like knowing that lightning is gonna strike but not being able to pinpoint where," said Emily as she pointed at a map of D.C.

xxxxxxxxxx

Later on that night, Spencer entered his house on his crutches to find Clarissa sitting on the couch watching the news causing him to look at his wife.

"Why are you still up?" asked Spencer as he quickly locked up his revolver in its safe before he made his way to the couch and slowly sat down next to Clarissa.

Clarissa rubbed her 28-week pregnant stomach.

"Ariel and Caden were kicking a lot and messing with my bladder, so when I saw your text about JJ giving you a ride home I decided to wait up for you so I can spot you up the stairs," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled a bit as he thought about his wife insisting that someone always spots him when he goes up and down the stairs since he refused to have a stair lift installed in his house.

"I appreciate you waiting up for me then," said Spencer before he focused on the news story about the riot in Dupont Circle for a minute, "When Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden become teenagers I hope that we enforce strict curfews and monitor their cell phone and internet usage so we can make sure that they don't participate in any riots like the one my teammates had to deal with yesterday," said Spencer.

Clarissa nodded in agreement.

"I second that because having teenagers who get in trouble with the law would affect yours and Aaron's reputations. When it comes to that riot in Dupont Circle, did of the teenagers from our church or synagog participate in that riot?" asked Clarissa.

"None of them were," said Spencer.

"Good," said Clarissa before yawning, "We should get some sleep because the kids already voted on tomorrow's family fun day," said Clarissa.

Spencer smiled as he thought about the next day being Saturday and having the weekend off.

"What activity did Diana, Bridget, and Evan vote on us doing tomorrow?" asked Spencer.

"Diana, Bridget, and Evan wants to go to the zoo tomorrow and I invited Mary and Savannah to join us," said Clarissa.

"Even though you're going to force me to use my wheelchair at the zoo, I'm in on going to the zoo with you, Mary, the kids, and Savannah tomorrow," said Spencer.

"The kids will be excited when they find out that you're able to join us tomorrow," said Clarissa.

"I know," said Spencer just as Evan's voice sounded through the baby monitor.

"Mama?" asked Evan.

"We might as well see what he wants before you shower and we get in bed," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer and Clarissa were slowly standing up before Clarissa looked at her husband who situated his crutches underneath his armpits.

"You good?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Two minutes later Clarissa was opening up the door of Evan's nursery and turned on the light to find a naked Evan standing outside his crib.

"Evan Aaron Reid, how did you get out your crib and why are you naked?" asked Spencer.

"I go poo poo," said Evan as he pointed at his diaper on the floor before pointing at the wall.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at the wall that Evan pointed at causing their eyes to go wide at the sight of feces smeared all over the lower part of the wall and feces covered Evan's hands as the smell of feces reached their noses. 

"Oh my gosh," said Clarissa.

Spencer wrinkled his nose and looked at Clarissa.

"Even though Evan just turned 16-months-old yesterday, terrible twos definitely started eight months early," said Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"When it comes to him glaring, saying no to baths and naps, and now he's starting to create big messes for us to clean up," said Clarissa as she rubbed her 28-week baby bump, "Do you regret getting me pregnant again before Bridget turns three and Evan turns two?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head.

"No," said Spencer.

"We might as well wake Lucy up so she can help us clean up this mess while you and Evan get into the shower," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Evan were in the shower together while Lucy cleaned up Evan's mess and after Spencer and Evan were in their pajamas, Spencer read Evan a book in Evan's rocking chair before Clarissa placed a sleeping Evan into his rocking chair before Spencer and Clarissa headed to bed as they talked about the possibility of starting to potty train Evan soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope that I got everyone smiling and laughing at Evan's antics in this chapter.


	85. Cradle to Grave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When it comes to this story having over 500 reviews, I want to thank everyone who takes the time to review because getting reviews get me to smile while inspiring me to write faster.
> 
> I'm glad that everyone enjoyed the scene of Spencer and Clarissa finding out that Evan smeared his feces on the wall in his nursery. Even though Diana, Bridget, and Evan are usually well behaved and well mannered children, they do have their moments of misbehaving.
> 
> I just found out that Luke Perry who played Benjamin Cyrus during the episode Minimal Loss died from a stroke today, so rest in peace Luke Perry.
> 
> Warning: One of the Reid children does choke on food in this chapter while another child chokes on food behind the scenes.

Clarissa was grabbing a bag of grapes from the fridge only for Bridget to quickly open up the bag and took a grape.

"Bridget, let daddy and I cut the grape before you eat it," said Clarissa.

Bridget giggled as she quickly popped the grape into her mouth and accidentally swallowed it before she could chew it. A few seconds later Bridget's face started to turn red as she started to choke.

"Is Bridget having an asthma attack?" asked Diana as tears started to fall down her face.

Spencer quickly wheeled his wheelchair to Bridget and turned the toddler so her back could be facing him as he wrapped his arms below Bridget's ribs and started thrust it five times with his hands while Clarissa quickly comforted Diana and Evan who were crying in fear as they watched the grape come out of Bridget's mouth while Bridget started to cry.

"Thank you, Spence," said Clarissa as tears fell down her face.

Spencer who was pulling Bridget onto his lap hugged the two-year-old girl.

"You're going to be OK, Bridget," soothed Spencer.

Diana who was already calmed down, looked at her father as she removed her glasses and wiped her tears.

"What did you just do to get that grape out of Bridget's throat, daddy?" asked Diana.

"What I just did to get Bridget to stop choking was the Heimlich maneuver. The Heimlich maneuver involves you thrusting the choking person's abdomen five times in intervals until whatever is lodged in a choking person's throat to come out," said Spencer before looking at Bridget who had calmed down a bit, "When it comes to what just happened to you, are you not going to steal a grape that isn't cut up into small pieces anymore?" asked Spencer in a soft and yet stern voice.

Bridget nodded.

"Yes, daddy. I sorry, daddy," said Bridget.

"It's OK, Cricket," said Spencer.

Diana tilted her head and looked at her parents.

"With watching the Heimlich maneuver be performed on Bridget to save her life, can you two please teach me how to do the Heimlich maneuver and CPR?" asked Diana as she pronounced Heimlich maneuver perfectly both times.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances.

"It wouldn't hurt to teach Diana just in case something happens to her siblings when no adult is nearby and she's the only one nearby," said Spencer quietly.

Clarissa nodded.

"Since we both had to learn the Heimlich maneuver and CPR for our jobs while getting re-certified every couple of years, I agree that we should teach Diana, Spence," said Clarissa before looking at Diana, "Why don't you go grab one of your giant teddy bears that we can use as a dummy for the Heimlich maneuver and CPR since you should never perform either of those life-saving techniques on a human being unless they're really choking or you don't feel a pulse on an unconscious person," said Clarissa.

"Yes, ma'am," said Diana as she looked at her father, "Do you need me to grab you anything while I'm upstairs, daddy?" asked Diana.

"I'm fine, Diana," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were teaching Diana how to do the Heimlich maneuver and CPR with one of Diana's giant teddy bears.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was checking out a blog that his friend Howard Walowitz from his MIT days told him to check out when Morgan looked at him.

"Reid, what did I miss?" asked Morgan.

Spencer used his good leg to turn his office chair around and looked at Morgan.

"Oh, man, you're not gonna believe this. Some moron just posted a blog called "What Would Carl Sagan Do?"," said Spencer dryly.

Morgan inwardly shook his head as he looked at his phone.

"No, Reid, the case," said Morgan.

Spencer furrowed his eyebrows.

"What's the case? What are you talking about?" asked Spencer.

"These emails from Hotch. "take a look at this, " "new case to review."," read Morgan.

Spencer's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Emails from Hotch? I didn't get any emails from Hotch, did I?" asked Spencer as he quickly checked his email and saw nothing from his brother-in-law, "Nothing," said Spencer before Morgan hurried towards Hotch's office.

A few seconds later Spencer was sending Clarissa a quick text message before he grabbed his crutches and got himself situated on his crutches before he quickly hobbled to the stairs and slowly climbed up them just as Hotch and Morgan exited Hotch's office and Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"I was just about to come and see if you needed any help up the stairs," said Hotch.

"I managed fine while knowing that everyone else in the bullpen kept an eye on me," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting at the conference table when JJ showed everyone a picture of a blonde hair and blue eyed young woman.

"Kristie Taylor, runaway, drug addict, reported missing from Farmington, New Mexico three years ago. Yesterday, she turned up off a freeway outside of Rio Rancho," said JJ.

Spencer looked at the ME report in front of him.

"Sexual assault combined with ligature marks on her wrists and ankles. She was asphyxiated," said Spencer.

JJ pulled up another picture.

"Three victims in five years. All the women are connected by marks. He likes chains," said JJ.

"Definite sexual sadist. He sticks to his type. 16- to 19-year-old girls, all blond," said Emily.

"Hangs on to them for a while, too," said Spencer before he noticed a pattern, "Look at this. Average of two years between abducting them and killing them," said Spencer.

"Low body count, long time frame. This guy's in control of his urges," said Morgan.

"Too controlled. Sadists need new victims, new ways to torture. There are a lot of guys out there who like chains. Are we sure this is the same unsub?" asked Rossi.

"Kristie Taylor's autopsy report also indicates a second connection between these victims," said JJ.

Spencer looked at the report in front of himself and his eyes went wide as he thought about the fraternal twins that Clarissa's currently 29-weeks pregnant with.

"She was pregnant," said Spencer.

"She'd given birth. Very soon after, the unsub killed her," said JJ grimly.

"How soon after?" asked Morgan.

"Minutes," said JJ quietly.

"This unsub isn't your typical sexual sadist," said Hotch as everyone looked at him, "Captivity and assault we've seen before. What we haven't seen is this signature- the role he forces these women to fulfill before he kills them. Motherhood," said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was sending Clarissa a text message.

I'M GOING TO NEW MEXICO. I PROMISE TO FOLLOW YOUR BROTHER'S ORDERS WHILE I DO MY PHYSICAL THERAPY EXERCISES. I LOVE YOU AND THE KIDS. ~ SR

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on the ledge bending his bad knee when Emily looked at her teammates.

"So why would a sexual sadist make women carry his children?" asked Emily as she moved her hair out of her eyes.  
Spencer who was now rubbing his bad knee looked at his teammates.

"Gary Heidnik kept a harem in a dungeon. His goal was to create a large family as a replacement for his own broken home," said Spencer as he thought about already having three kids with Clarissa while Clarissa is currently 29-weeks pregnant with their fourth and fifth children.

"Josef Fritzl kept his daughter in a cell in his own house, and they had several kids together," said Morgan as he stirred his coffee.

Rossi who grabbed himself a bottle of water exited the kitchenette.

"Squalid conditions are part of a control fantasy these men had," said Rossi as he sat down.

"If he's keeping these women in a similar location, He'd need a lot of privacy," said Spencer.

"He probably built it himself. Makes him good with his hands," said Morgan.

Hotch who had finished up a phone call and sat down, looked at his teammates.

"Why blondes, and what significance do they have to him?" asked Hotch.

"Maybe, uh, the woman who rejected him or the woman who wouldn't bear his children?" asked Emily.

"If that were true, he'd be the same age as these girls- late teens. This unsub is too skilled for that," said Rossi.

"His own mother, then? She could be a runaway, just like these victims," said JJ.

"Which makes his compulsion Psych 101- Killing his mother over and over again for giving birth to him," said Morgan.

"Yeah, but then why wait until after she gives birth? Now he has a body and a baby to get rid of," said Rossi angrily.

"That troubles me, too. We found the mothers but not the infants," said Hotch.

"Uh, I hate to say this, but what if the women are just a means to an end? What if the babies are really the ones he's exploiting?" asked Emily.

"If Kristie Taylor just surfaced, it means he has her baby right now," said JJ.

Hotch looked at JJ.

"JJ, check with the parents. See if there are any similarities in the runaways' patterns, where the unsub's finding them," said Hotch before looking at his brother-in-law and fiancee, "Reid and Prentiss, go to the latest dump site. We need to look at victimology. How he treats these women in the final moments of their lives might tell us what he's doing to the children," said Hotch.

At that moment Spencer's personal cell phone rang causing his eyebrows to furrow when he saw that it was Clarissa calling him causing him to answer the phone.

"Are you, the babies, and the kids OK?" asked Spencer.

"We're all OK, but I just got an interesting phone call from Diana's principal that I couldn't hold back from telling you about until you call to hear about Diana's day at school," said Clarissa.

Spencer's eyebrows furrowed as he remembered that Diana is supposed to eat lunch with her former classmates from kindergarten while her third-grade classmates are at gym class as part of the school's way to make sure that Diana interacts with kids her own age instead of spending all day with her third-grade classmates.

"Is Diana OK?" asked Spencer.

"She is and so is her friend Hannah," said Clarissa.

Spencer thought about the newly turned six-year-old girl that was in the same preschool class while Diana was currently in the same class as Hannah's big sister Mackenzie while they all go to the same synagogue.

"What happened to Diana and friend Hannah?" asked Spencer.

"Diana was eating lunch with her friends when Hannah forgot to chew her meatball and started to choke on it. Before a cafeteria monitor could rush over, Diana who was sitting next to Hannah started doing the Heimlich maneuver on Hannah and got the meatball out before a teacher could assist," said Clarissa proudly.

Spencer smiled.

"That's my bumble bee for taking the lesson we gave her seriously yesterday," said Spencer.

"Because of Diana's quick thinking, Principal Wilke wants our blessing to get Diana a $100 gift card for Barnes and Noble to reward her for her quick thinking to save a friend's life," said Clarissa.

"Principal Wilke definitely has my blessing and what can we do to reward Diana ourselves?" asked Spencer.

"Maybe we should let her invite two more friends to her early birthday slumber party next week Saturday?" asked Clarissa.

"I approve your idea on allowing Diana to invite two more friends to her slumber party because she insisted on inviting Abigail and Savannah to her party instead of two more friends her own age," said Spencer before looking at his watch, "I'll be landing soon, and I promise you that I'll call as soon as Diana gets out of school for I can praise her for her actions," said Spencer.

"Please follow Aaron's orders and do your physical therapy exercises," said Clarissa.

"Yes ma'am," said Spencer.

"I love you," said Clarissa.

"I love you too," said Spencer before hanging up.

Aaron looked at his brother-in-law.

"What did Diana do that will cause her to be rewarded with inviting two more friends to her slumber party next week?" asked Hotch.

"You guys know that because of Diana's classmates having gym class when her former preschool classmates are eating lunch, the school decided that Diana will eat lunch with her former classmates from preschool while her classmates are in gym?" asked Spencer.

Hotch, JJ, Emily, Morgan, and Rossi nodded.

"Its part of Washington International School's way of making sure that Diana interacts with kids her own age," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Diana was eating lunch with her friends when one of her best friends started choking on her lunch, so Diana quickly took action by performing the Heimlich maneuver on her friend before a staff member could come and do the Heimlich maneuver," said Spencer.

"When did my niece learn the Heimlich maneuver?" asked Hotch.

"Yesterday Bridget swiped a grape that wasn't cut up for her and ended up choking on it. I ended up doing the Heimlich maneuver on Bridget in front of Diana and Evan. After I explained the Heimlich maneuver to Diana, Diana ended up insisting on being taught on how to do the Heimlich maneuver just in case any of her siblings choke on anything when an adult isn't around. So Clarissa and I gave in and taught Diana the Heimlich maneuver and CPR on one of her giant teddy bears" said Spencer.

"Is Bridget OK now?" asked Hotch.

"Bridget's fine and Clarissa and I believe that she learned her lesson about eating food that isn't cut up for her," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "So because of Diana's quick thinking, Principal Wilke is going to get Diana a $100 gift card for Barnes and Noble while Clarissa and I will let Diana invite two more friends to her early birthday slumber party next week Saturday," said Spencer.

Hotch thought about the two trundle beds that were in Diana's and Bridget's room that Spencer and Clarissa bought so Diana's friends would never have to sleep on the floor when Diana has a slumber party.

"What's going to happen to Bridget during Diana's slumber party?" asked Hotch.

"Bridget and Evan will be sleeping over at my godmother's house," said Spencer.

Hotch and Emily exchanged glances before Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Emily and I would be glad to take in Bridget and Evan too," said Hotch.

"Alex wants to spend time with Bridget and Evan, so how about you two take in Bridget and Evan the next time Diana has a slumber party," said Spencer.

"What about Ariel and Caden if the next slumber party that Diana has is after my newest niece and nephew are born?" asked Hotch.

"Only if they're old enough to be away from Clarissa for a night," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

Spencer was balancing himself on his good leg while his bad knee was in a bent position as he used the police car that he had a map laying on to stabilize himself while Emily ducked underneath the crime scene tape and looked at the desert before looking at Spencer.

"There are no tire tracks. The body wasn't dumped that far from the road. This guy doesn't care about them, not enough to even hide them very well," said Emily.

"That's why this doesn't make any sense. Dump sites reveal something about the unsub, you know? At the very least, a geographic familiarity, a place he knows he won't get caught," said Spencer as Emily joined him.

"OK, so he knows this road," said Emily.

"Yeah, except he abducted Kristie in Farmington and then dumps her here in Rio Rancho. It's a 175-mile drive," said Spencer.

"Why drive that far just to dump a body by the side of the road?" asked Emily.

"A forensic countermeasure? Covering his tracks by sheer distance?" asked Spencer as he looked at Emily through his prescription sunglasses.

Emily sighed.

"So the geographical profile won't do us much good," said Emily.

Spencer shook his head.

"No, it will, just not with the victims. We profiled that it's the babies that he's interested in. That's where he'll reveal himself," said Spencer.

Emily nodded at Spencer's logic.

"The adoption company he sells through and whatever network of resources he uses," said Emily.

"He makes shortcuts there for convenience. No one's gonna drive 100 miles for diapers or for a public notary for legal paperwork. If the babies are in the system, they'll lead us to him," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Emily was driving Spencer and herself to the police station when Emily looked at Spencer.

"Speaking of diapers, will Evan start potty training soon so you and Clarissa only have to deal with two babies in diapers after the twins are born s?" asked Emily.

"Clarissa and I are already talking about potty training Evan soon because of him already removing his diaper when its wet or full of feces," said Spencer.

"When it comes to his diapers, have you and Clarissa ever dealt with your kids smearing their feces on the wall like some of my friends from my school days had to deal with?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded.

"Diana did it a few times when she was 16-months-old and who has definitely started the terrible twos when it comes to refusing naps, baths, and glaring like his mother, sisters, and Hotch, Evan escaped his crib and smeared his feces on the wall on Friday," said Spencer.

Emily laughed.

"When it comes to Evan starting the terrible twos eight months early, do you regret getting Clarissa pregnant with babies four and five this soon?" asked Emily.

Spencer shook his head and pointed at his knee.

"Clarissa and I don't regret conceiving babies four and five because Ariel and Caden are huge motivations for me to push myself through physical therapy," said Spencer.

"How is physical therapy going?" asked Emily.

"With the progress, I'm making, my doctor and physical therapist believe that I'm going to be ready to bear weight on my left leg with the aid of crutches and a brace next week," said Spencer.

"That's great," said Emily.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was sitting at the conference table with JJ and Rossi as he listened to Garcia talk about adoption agencies on the phone.

"OK, know this- most adoption folks are like the nicest, most dedicated people in the world. There are, however, one or two skeezy ones," said Garcia.

Spencer removed his hand from his chin so Garcia could easily hear him.

"How skeezy?" asked Spencer.

"Super skeezy. I've got a spreadsheet from one of them expecting compensation for the baby I'm having," said Garcia just as Morgan joined them with a cup of coffee.

"Something you want to tell me, Penelope?" asked Morgan.

Spencer JJ, Emily, and Rossi all turned their heads and looked at Morgan and wondered if Morgan and Garcia were expecting again.

"I'm not expecting another Baby Morgan right now, and that's the sad part, my prince. As much as I love Hank and Barbara, the genetically perfect offspring of Penelope Garcia-Morgan and Derek Morgan wouldn't fetch top dollar," said Garcia sadly as Emily joined them.

"Who does?" asked JJ.

"White babies are in higher demand than minorities. Boys are more popular than girls, at least this year, anyway. And then there's the Swedish supermodel rule," said Garcia.

"The what?" asked a confused Emily.

"If I were to deliver a blond-haired, blue-eyed bundle of joy, I'd be set for life. I would," said Garcia.

Spencer and JJ exchanged glances as Spencer thought about his niece Savannah having blonde hair and blue eyes while JJ thought about Henry having blonde hair and blue eyes like her.

"Garcia, did the baby's DNA turn up in New Mexico's adoption records?" asked Hotch.

"No. There are no hits on her profile. And it is a her, by the way," said Garcia.

"This unsub could still be selling babies, just not through the system," said Rossi.

"That's gonna make him a lot harder to catch," said Spencer tiredly.

Hotch took in the sight of his tired agents and thought about the current time in Washington D.C.

"All right. It's late. Let's get some rest. We'll hit this fresh in the morning," said Hotch.

"Garcia out," said Garcia before hanging up.

Emily who was the closest to Spencer's crutches quickly picked up Spencer's crutches and straightened them up while Spencer used the chair he was sitting in to help himself stand up before he placed the crutches underneath his armpits and started to follow his female teammates on his crutches.

xxxxxxxxxx

After Hotch helped his brother-in-law get in and out of the shower and Hotch took a shower himself, Hotch looked at his brother-in-law who was going through his copies of the case files.

"When it comes to Diana and Bridget being perfect mixtures of you and my sister and Evan being a clone of you, are you wondering about who Ariel and Caden will look like more?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"I'm wondering about who the twins will look like more almost all the time. One of the twins could inherit my brown hair while the other twin could inherit either yours and Clarissa's nearly black hair, auburn hair like my grandma Lydia had, and blonde hair like my mom, uncle Gordon, and Sean. When it comes to hair, one of them could end up with either Clarissa's and Sean's blue eyes, my eyes, grandma Lydia's blue eyes, and even your brown eyes," said Spencer.

Hotch's lips twitched up a bit as he thought about Spencer's long lost family that Spencer tracked down after the last case in Spencer's hometown.

"Have you talked about this with your Aunt Mary or cousin Maeve about this already?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"I have, but I don't care about who they end up looking like more as long as they're born healthy," said Spencer.

Hotch nodded in agreement before looking at the clock.

"Do you need anything like water or something from the vending machine before I get some sleep?" asked Hotch.

"Some water would be great please, and I'm sorry that you have to be what Diana calls my personal servant tonight," said Spencer.

Hotch's lips twitched up a bit as he thought about the times he watched Diana and Bridget wait on their father the past two months.

"Its OK, Spencer. Everyone prefers to fetch you anything you need so you don't hurt yourself while trying to do everything yourself," said Hotch before smiling a bit, "Besides, you already told me that your doctor and physical therapist believes that you'll be ready to bear weight on your left leg which is very good in my book because you'll be getting one step closer to walking again unassisted," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"If I'm able to bear weight on my left leg next week, I know that the kids will be happy about me being one step closer to getting to carry them around again," said Spencer.

"They will be," said Hotch before he got up to fetch his brother-in-law a bottle of water while deciding to buy his brother-in-law a bag of pretzels.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was sitting in front of a map that contained the 'Four Corner' states.

"So all the mothers were abducted and dumped in New Mexico, but he keeps the babies in Arizona," said Spencer as he pointed at the state of Arizona.

"He knows the police with stop looking at the state line," said Rossi.

"The adoption agency's gonna be our best lead to the unsub," said Hotch before looking at JJ, "Who handled the case?" asked Hotch.

"That's bombshell number two. She didn't go through an agency. She was dropped off anonymously at a church," said JJ.

Emily sighed as Spencer thought about the times that Clarissa telling him about the times that Reverend Alden stopped by with a baby that was dropped off at the door of their church and brought the baby to Children's National to be looked over or the times that a baby was dropped off at Children's National.

"Hospitals and churches are safe havens. You can drop a baby off, no questions asked," said Emily.

"Child protection services would look for the closest relative," said Morgan.

Spencer nodded in agreement about how lucky he was about his aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon already living in Las Vegas when his parents were killed by Lou Jenkins even though he would have told CPS where his aunt and uncle lived if they didn't live in Nevada or CPS would have searched for any other surviving family.

"Another search that ends at the state line," said Spencer.

"And if CPS doesn't find one, the baby will go into foster care, which is what happened to Lisa. She was lucky. The adoption process happened within a month," said JJ.

"So, this unsub had the opportunity to make money off this infant," said Rossi as he glanced at a picture of Lisa, "He doesn't, drops it off at a church because he knows the state will take good care of it," said Rossi.

"That's awfully considerate," said Emily.

"Outside the murders, nothing about this unsub's behavior profiles like a sexual sadist... As I wrote," said Morgan as he scratched his neck while Hotch glanced at him.

Spencer nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Morgan's right. It's the actions of a caretaker, a mother," said Spencer.

"Could our unsub be a woman?" asked JJ.

"Uh, only a man would torture his victims this much. Men get off on this kind of violence. women don't," said Emily.

"He could be married, though, his wife being a passive participant, taking care of the moms," said Morgan.

"And the babies," added Spencer.

"All right. We need to split up. We'll give the profile to the Arizona and the New Mexico state police. Rossi, Reid, and Prentiss, I want you to head to Phoenix. Morgan, you're here with me. We'll finalize the profile," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

After arriving in Phoenix, Arizona and helping Emily and Rossi give the profile, Spencer was propped up on his crutches as he worked on his geographical profile when Rossi joined him.

"What's this?" asked Rossi.

"It's the pattern I've been looking for," said Spencer as he pivoted himself on his crutches so he could make eye contact with Rossi, "The unsubs hid their tracks with the mothers, but they weren't so careful with the abandoned babies," said Spencer.

"Did you find more children?" asked Rossi.

"DNA-wise, no, but deductively, yes," said Spencer before pointing at the files that he asked Emily who offered to be his personal assistant to get for him, "I gathered all the records for all infants who entered into foster care in a two-week window following each mother's death. Then I narrowed it down to babies that were abandoned at churches. This is where the guesswork begins. Monica's Winmar's daughter was abandoned at a Presbyterian church. Let's assume the unsub, or the wife at least, is Presbyterian. That means all other unwanted children are gonna be left at the same denomination, right?" asked Spencer as he hobbled a bit to get closer to his geographical profile as he reached with the marker that was already in his hand and started to draw a triangle on the map, "That narrows it down to three babies left at three different Presbyterian churches all within this 20-mile radius. This is where they live," said Spencer as he pointed at the neighborhoods that are in the comfort zone he created.

Rossi who was quickly going through the files looked up at Spencer.

"These kids you deduced to- Have you looked at their files?" asked Rossi.

"No. Right now I've only been tracking churches. Why?" asked Spencer.

"Because you just uncovered another pattern," said Rossi.

"What pattern?" asked Spencer.

"They're keeping the boys while abandoning the girls at churches," said Rossi.

Spencer quickly thought about Diana, Bridget, and his unborn daughter while he looked at Rossi.

"Even though I'm happy that I have a son and another son on the way, I love Diana, Bridget, and even Ariel so much that I wouldn't have the heart to put them up for adoption if we weren't happy about having a daughter instead of a son," said Spencer.

Rossi nodded as he thought about the times he watched Spencer interact with Diana and Bridget.

"I know," said Rossi before thinking about the twins that Clarissa's currently 29-weeks pregnant with, "When it comes to Diana and Bridget having you wrapped around their fingers, do you hope that Ariel has you wrapped around her little finger when she's born too?" asked Rossi.

Spencer nodded.

"I hope and Clarissa hopes that Caden has her wrapped around his finger like Evan does," said Spencer.

xxxxxx

Later on that night, Spencer quietly hobbled into Diana's and Bridget's bedroom on his crutches and smiled at the sight of his daughters sleeping peacefully in their trundle beds. A few seconds later Spencer hobbled towards Diana's bed and sat down on it while not caring that Diana woke up as she felt her bed sink down. As soon as Diana had her glasses on, she grinned when she realized that her father was home.

"Your home, daddy," said Diana.

"Just got home five minutes ago, bumble bee," said Spencer just as Bridget woke up in her own bed and grinned when she realized that her daddy was home.

"Daddy," said Bridget as she scrambled out of bed and climbed into her big sister's bed and gently hugged her father, "I miss you, daddy," said Bridget.

"Daddy missed you two girls, Evan, mommy, and Ariel and Caden too," said Spencer.

Diana thought about her nearly seven-year-old Maine Coon cat and four-year-old Bichon Frise dog.

"Merton and Daisy too?" asked Diana.

Spencer softly chuckled.

"I missed Merton and Daisy too," said Spencer before looking at Diana's alarm clock, "You two girls need to go back to bed because it's 1 AM and you two girls need more sleep," said Spencer.

Bridget looked at her daddy.

"I need to go potty," said Bridget.

Diana looked at her little sister.

"I'll take you because I have to go too, and when we're done you can sleep with me, Bridget," said Diana.

Spencer smiled at Diana.

"That's very nice of you, Diana," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "When it comes to finding out that you saved Hannah's life by doing the Heimlich maneuver at school, mommy and I decided to allow you invite two more friends to your slumber party next week Saturday, we're going to go out for breakfast before school today," said Spencer.

Diana grinned at the idea of getting to invite two more friends to her early birthday slumber party.

"Can we please go to IHOP?" asked Diana.

"We're going to IHOP," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Diana and Bridget.

"Now let's go use the bathroom and get back into bed because you two girls and myself need more sleep," said Spencer in a soft and yet stern voice.

"Yes sir," said Diana and Bridget as they got out of Diana's bed.

A few minutes later Spencer was tucking Diana and Bridget into Diana's bed and gave each girls a kiss before both girls instantly fell asleep after they told him that they love him. A few seconds later, Spencer exited Diana's and Bridget's bedroom on his crutches and headed to Evan's nursery only to find Evan standing outside his crib causing the 28-year-old father to shake his head.

"Dada home," said Evan as he ran to his father and hugged his father's good leg.

"What will mommy and I do with you because this is the fifth time you escaped your crib, tadpole," said Spencer as he made his way to Evan's rocking chair and slowly sat down in it before he leaned forward and picked up his 16-month-old son and settled him onto his lap.

"Big boy bed?" asked Evan.

"You want a big boy bed like Diana and Bridget having a big girl bed?" asked Spencer.

Evan nodded as his growing curly brown hair bounced.

"I'll talk to mommy about getting you a big boy bed like your sisters' bed," said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Evan as he clapped his hands.

"And talking can wait until later because we should all be in bed right now," said Clarissa.

Evan looked at his mother.

"I seep wit Mama and Dada," said Evan as he started to use his eyes on his mother.

"Do you promise to be careful with daddy's knee and your little brother and sister?" asked Clarissa as she rested her hands on her 29-week baby bump.

Evan nodded as he climbed off his daddy's lap and walked to his mother and kissed his mother's growing baby bump.

"I wuv abies," said Evan before his kissed his mother's baby bump again, "Ev see abies soon," said Evan.


	86. Walking, Sleepover, & The Eyes Have It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because of how well my second post operation doctor appointment went two days ago, I got cleared to return to volunteering at the hospital and going to Zumba a week early tomorrow because of how well I recovered! Aside from being happy about getting to follow my usual routine again, I'm sad that I'll be having less time to write three days a week when it comes to volunteering at the hospital on Mondays and Thursday mornings and going to Zumba on Thursday evenings and Friday mornings.
> 
> When it comes to having to dissect a cow's eye in seventh grade science, The Eyes Have It really creeps me out. So I hope that everyone enjoys the pure cuteness I include in the beginning of the chapter when it comes to Spencer reaching a milestone in this chapter.

Spencer grinned when he saw Diana and Bridget wearing cheerleading skirts with t-shirts that said GO DADDY while holding pom poms in their hands while Evan wore a frog costume.

"I assume mommy put you three up to being my cheerleaders and mascot today?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as her curly pigtails bounced.

"Mommy said that you were going to try and bear weight on your left leg due to the new brace Dr. Trader got you fitted for and Bridget, Evan, and I decided that we needed to cheer you on," said Diana.

Spencer smiled at his three children.

"I'm glad that you three are here to cheer me on today," said Spencer.

 

After Spencer did his stretches and allowed Andy to put his new brace on him, Andy smiled at Spencer.

"After I show you how I want you to walk on your crutches, let's see how you handle bearing weight on your left leg while you walk around the room on your crutches," said Andy as he took hold of Spencer's crutches, "Just watch me and then you'll try," said Andy.

"OK," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer started to slowly walk around the room while Diana raised up one of her pom poms.

"Give me a G," said Diana as she dropped her pom poms.

"G," said Bridget and Evan in unison while Diana did a cartwheel.

Spencer laughed.

"Nice cartwheel, bumble bee," said Spencer as he took two steps with the aid of his crutches.

"Give me an O," said Diana.

"O," said Bridget and Evan in unison.

"Give me a D," said Diana before she did another cartwheel.

"D," said Bridget and Evan in unison.

"Give me an A," said Diana.

"A," said Bridget and Evan in unison.

"Give me a D," said Diana.

"D," said Bridget and Evan in unison.

Bridget quickly did a somersault causing Spencer to laugh as he took another few steps.

"Give me D," said Diana.

"D," said Bridget and Evan in unison.

Diana looked at her little brother and sister.

"Give me a Y," said Diana.

"Y," said Bridget and Evan in unison.

"What does that spell?" asked Diana.

"GO DADDY!" cried Diana, Bridget, and Evan in unison before Diana did another cartwheel while Bridget did another somersault.

Spencer who was halfway around the room smiled at his three kids as he continued taking steps.

"That was an amazing cheer, munchkins," said Spencer.

Diana, Bridget, and Evan grinned at their father.

"You're doing a great job, so keep on going, daddy," said Diana.

"I will because of Clarissa and I teaching you three kids to never give up," said Spencer as he continued to slowly walk around the room.

When Spencer reached the examining table where Clarissa was sitting by while Diana, Bridget, and Evan stood by her, Diana grinned up at her daddy.

"You made it around the room, daddy," said Diana.

"I know, bumble bee," said Spencer.

Clarissa slowly stood up and waddled to her husband.

"I'm so proud of you, Spence," said Clarissa as she pecked her husband on the lips.

"I knew that you and the kids would have faith in me for reaching this milestone in my recovery," said Spencer.

Andy looked at Spencer.

"Speaking of milestones in your recovery, what do you think about going out to the parking lot and try out driving?" asked Andy.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"If you're able to walk around the room while bearing weight on your bad leg, I have faith in you for being able to handle driving again, Spence," said Clarissa before rubbing her 30-week baby bump and groaned when she felt a kick, "Don't forget that this is my last week of driving before I get too big to get behind the steering wheel," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his physical therapist.

"Let's go try out driving, Andy," said Spencer.

Diana looked at Andy.

"Am I allowed to sit in the backseat?" asked Diana.

Andy shook his head.

"Even though you, Bridget, and Evan did an amazing cheer to get your daddy to walk around the room, I'm sorry to say that you can't join us because your daddy and I don't know if he can handle driving until he tries, sweetheart," said Andy.

Clarissa reached into her purse and passed Andy the keys to her and Spencer's minivan.

"You'll need these," said Clarissa.

"Thank you, Clarissa," said Andy.

A few minutes later Spencer was getting into the front passenger seat of Clarissa's minivan.

 

20 minutes later Spencer and Andy approached Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan.

"How was driving for the first time in two months, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer grinned.

"I got the all clear to drive," said Spencer.

"That's great and we'll invite Aaron and Emily to go out for pizza to celebrate this evening," said Clarissa before looking at her watch and looked at Andy, "Can Spence leave yet?" asked Clarissa.

"Do you two have somewhere to go?" asked Andy.

"We have my 30-week check up and ultrasound in an hour, and Spence will show you a copy of the ultrasound at tomorrow's appointment," said Clarissa.

"Then why don't you guys get going and I'll see you tomorrow, Spencer," said Andy.

Spencer looked at his wife as he gave her his best puppy-dog eyed look.

"Can I please drive?" asked Spencer as he pouted at his wife.

"You can as long as you don't teach Ariel and Caden to use their eyes to get what they like since you already taught Diana, Bridget, and Evan," said Clarissa.

"I can't make any promises," said Spencer as he winked at Diana who giggled.

 

An hour later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan were in Dr. Larson's office when Dr. Larson and an ultrasound technician entered the room.

"It's nice to see the whole family here this time," said Dr. Larson.

"I had a half day at school today, so I got to stay home from school because we all had our eyes checked, daddy had physical therapy, and mommy made sure to schedule her 30-week ultrasound for today," said Diana.

Dr. Larson looked at Spencer and noticed a new brace on Spencer's left knee.

"What's up with the new brace on your knee?" asked Dr. Larson.

Spencer smiled.

"I got cleared to bear weight on my left leg and drive an hour ago, so I was given this brace to help me get used to bearing weight on my left leg again," said Spencer.

"That's great," said Dr. Larson before smiling at Diana, Bridget, and Evan, "How are your eyes?" asked Dr. Larson.

"I needed a bit stronger prescription," said Diana.

"I need glasses like mommy and daddy," said Bridget.

"Me too," said Evan.

Clarissa looked at her gynecologist.

"Bridget and Evan both needed glasses," said Clarissa.

Dr. Larson smiled as he looked at Bridget and Evan.

"There's nothing wrong with needing glasses because I wear glasses too," said Dr. Larson before smiling at Diana, Bridget, and Evan, "Are you three ready to see your new little brother and sister on this computer?" asked Dr. Larson as he pointed at the monitor.

"Yes," said Diana, Bridget, and Evan in unison.

A few seconds later Clarissa was lifting up her shirt and a few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa smiled as they watched Diana, Bridget, and Evan look at their little brother and sister on the computer before Diana who had Evan on her lap tilted her head and pointed at one of the babies.

"I see a clubbed foot, Dr. Larson" said Diana as she pointed at one of the feet.

Dr. Larson quickly zoomed in and studied the foot before checking to see which baby was going to have the clubbed foot before looking at Diana.

"Good eyes, Diana," said Dr. Larson before remembering the name that was chosen for Baby Boy Reid as he looked at Spencer and Clarissa, "Please don't get too upset about Caden having a clubbed foot because a clubbed foot is an easy condition to treat with casting called the Ponseti method and surgery if the Ponseti method doesn't work," said Dr. Larson.

Clarissa shook her head.

"I'm not upset about Caden having a clubbed foot because I've witnessed babies and children get treated for clubbed foot and clubbed feet when I help out in the orthopedic ward at Children's National and they end up walking, running, playing sports, and dancing just fine," said Clarissa.

Diana nodded in agreement.

"My favorite figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi was born with clubbed feet and figure skating was part of her physical therapy routine," said Diana before looking at her parents, "Can Caden do figure skating after his foot gets successfully treated and he's old enough to go ice skating for physical therapy?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances before Clarissa looked at her oldest daughter.

"Only if Caden wants to because it's his choice on what he wants to do as a physical activity to stay active," said Clarissa.

Dr. Larson looked at Bridget who was happily sitting on her father's lap.

"Have you decided if you want to do a sport or dance class yet?" asked Dr. Larson.

Bridget nodded as she thought about the Shirley Temple movies she watched with her big sister.

"I dance like Shirley Temple when I go to preschool," said Bridget.

Dr. Larson smiled.

"So you're going to take tap dancing lessons?" asked Dr. Larson.

Bridget nodded.

"Yes," said Bridget.

Spencer smiled at Dr. Larson.

"Clarissa and I have videos of Bridget dancing along to Shirley Temple's dance routines in her movies," said Spencer as he grabbed the smartphone that Clarissa convinced him to buy for his personal phone and pulled up a video he made of Bridget following along with the scene of Elizabeth Blair tap dancing on the piano in "Curly Top".

After the video was over, Dr. Larson smiled at Bridget.

"You did a beautiful job, Bridget," said Dr. Larson.

"Thank you," said Bridget sweetly.

Dr. Larson looked at 16-month-old Evan.

"Have any special interests you like to follow someday?" asked Dr. Larson.

Evan nodded as his curly brown hair bounced.

"Ainting and Asketall," said Evan.

"You want to paint and play basketball when you're older?" asked Dr. Larson.

"Yes," said Evan.

Clarissa looked at Dr. Larson.

"Before Spence hurt his knee, Evan enjoyed watching Spence occasionally join other members from the church in a basketball game during fellowship hour," said Clarissa before shaking her head, "And Evan has already been showing an artistic side when it came to removing his diaper that was full of feces and painted his feces on the wall two weeks ago," said Clarissa.

Diana giggled causing Spencer to look at Diana.

"Don't laugh because you did that when you were 17-months-old too," said Spencer.

 

Later on that evening, Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan entered the pizzeria that they agreed to meet Hotch and Emily at when Hotch's face broke into a rare smile as he saw his brother-in-law walk towards him and Emily on his crutches.

"You made progress in your recovery," said Hotch as he lifted up Bridget and placed her into one of the highchairs he requested while Emily placed Evan into the second highchair.

Spencer nodded.

"Diana, Bridget, and Evan were very good cheerleaders as I made my way around the room, and I got the all clear to drive from my physical therapist too," said Spencer.

"I'm proud of you, Spencer," said Hotch.

"So how are you going to take the kids trick or treating on Saturday if you're given the all clear to bear weight on your left leg?" asked Emily.

"Andy told daddy that he shouldn't use his wheelchair anymore because it's important for him to walk on his crutches so he can start regaining muscle usage in his bad leg and knee," said Diana.

"I'll also be having to increase my physical therapy sessions this week too," said Spencer.

"At least we're office-bound this week because of the jet going in for maintenance and Rossi going on a week-long book tour, so there will be no issue about you taking more time off this week for your knee," said Hotch.

Emily looked at Clarissa.

"How was your 30-week check up?" asked Emily.

"Ariel and Caden are developing right on schedule even though it's been discovered that Caden has a clubbed foot," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law and Emily who both had worried looks on their faces.

"Clarissa and I aren't too worried about Caden having a clubbed foot because clubfoot and bilateral clubbed feet are both common birth defects that can easily be treated with the Ponseti method and surgery. Luckily we have the money and resources to make sure that Caden gets the best care so he can live a great life," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her uncle Aaron.

"Did you know that figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi was born with clubbed feet and figure skating was one of her physical therapy routines?" asked Diana.

"I did not know that, Diana," said Hotch just as a waitress came over to take their orders.

xxxxx

Five days later Lucy was taking a few pictures of Spencer who was propped up on his crutches was wearing a Superman costume, Clarissa was posing as Louis Lane was dressed up in a skirt, maternity blouse, and a suit jacket, Diana dressed up as Wonder Woman, Bridget dressed up as Supergirl, and Evan dressed up as Superboy. When Lucy was done, she looked at Diana.

"Let's get a picture of you with your friends and cousins before your parents take you, your siblings, friends, and cousins trick or treating," said Lucy.

"OK," said Diana.

A minute later Lucy was taking a picture of Diana, Savannah dressed up as Kit Kitterage from the "American Girl" series, Abigail dressed up as Ariel from "The Little Mermaid", Aria dressed up as Cinderella, Hannah dressed up as Belle from "Beauty and the Beast", Allison dressed up as Aurora from "Sleeping Beauty", Courtney dressed up as Bubbles from "The Powerpuff Girls", Skylar dressed up as Snow White from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", and Isabel dressed up as Alice from "Alice in Wonderland".

"Say cheese," said Lucy.

"Cheese," said Diana, Savannah, Abigail, Aria, Hannah, Allison, Courtney, Skylar, and Isabel.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were taking their three kids and the nine girls that Diana chose to invite to her early birthday slumber party trick or treating around three blocks before Alex Blake arrived to take in Bridget and Evan for the night.

xxxxxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer knocked on Diana's bedroom door and a few seconds later Diana was letting her father into her room causing Spencer to take in the sight of the drawers on Diana's and Bridget's trundle beds already being pulled out so two girls can each share one of the four beds before he took in the sight of the in-progress Uno Attack game while noticing that Diana also had the games Chutes n Ladders, Twister, chess, checkers, and mancala out.

"Having fun, girls?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

"Yes, uncle Spencer," said Savannah.

"Yes, Spencer," said Abigail.

"Yes, uncle Spencer," said Courtney.

"Yes, Dr. Reid," said Aria, Hannah, Isabel, Skylar, and Allison in unison.

Spencer looked at Aria, Hannah, Isabel, Skylar, and Allison.

"You girls can call me, Spencer," said Spencer before focusing on his oldest daughter, niece, second cousin, and Diana's friends from school and church, "I'm letting you girls know that bedtime is in 30 minutes," said Spencer firmly.

"Do we have to go to bed in 30 minutes, daddy?" asked Diana.

"Skylar's, Hannah's, and Allison's parents are picking them up at 7:30 AM tomorrow morning because of going to church or other family obligations and it's currently 9 PM right now," said Spencer firmly.

"OK, daddy," said Diana.

xxxxxxxxx

A half-hour later Spencer and Clarissa were tucking in Diana and Savannah who were sharing Diana's bed, Aria and Courtney who were sharing the trundle drawer on Diana's bed, Allison and Skylar who were sharing Bridget's bed, Hannah and Isabel who were sharing the trundle underneath Bridget's bed, and Abigail who was sleeping in a cot that Anthony brought in for Abigail.

"Good night, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite, girls," said Clarissa.

"If you girls need anything, Clarissa and I will be in the master bedroom while Lucy is in the guest bedroom," said Spencer as he stood up from Diana's bed and propped his crutches underneath his armpits.

"OK, daddy," said Diana before looking at her parents, "Thank you for letting me have an early birthday slumber party," said Diana tiredly.

"Your welcome, bumble bee," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were getting into their pajamas when Clarissa looked at her husband.

"When it comes to us going trick or treating around three blocks with 11 kids, how's your knee feeling?" asked Clarissa.

"Doesn't hurt too much, but we both know that the more I walk on my bad leg the faster I'll be walking unassisted again," said Spencer.

"Want to take some ibuprofen before I massage your knee?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes please," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer accepted ibuprofen from his wife before Clarissa started to massage his knee.

"Not too swollen," said Clarissa as she continued to massage her husband's knee.

"As soon as your done massaging my knee, I'll massage your feet and lower back," said Spencer.

Clarissa smiled gratefully at her husband.

"Thanks, Spence," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer had Clarissa's feet on his lap as he massaged his wife's feet.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Two days later Garcia looked at Spencer, Emily, and JJ as she thought about her husband being acting unit chief for the last week and how they were about to have their first case with her husband as acting unit chief since Strauss had her husband, Spencer, Hotch, JJ, Emily, and Rossi be office for a week after the case in New Mexico and Arizona because of the jet going in for maintenance, Spencer increasing his physical therapy sessions as he transitioned to bearing weight on his left leg, JJ wanting to spend more time with Henry, Rossi going on a small book tour, while her husband and Hotch had to do additional paperwork when it comes to Morgan's temporary promotion and Hotch stepping down, and herself wanting to spend some more time with hers and Morgan's four-month-old twins Hank and Barbara.

"So, did anyone explain why Hotch is stepping down?" asked Garcia.

Spencer and Emily exchanged glances as they

"All Morgan said this morning is that it's happening," said JJ as she turned to look at Morgan, and Chief Strauss, "And it's business as usual," said JJ.

"So we're just supposed to move forward without any discussion?" asked Emily.

Spencer looked at his female teammates.

"After Foyet, I think we'd have to be ready for anything," said Spencer.

JJ and Garcia each gave Spencer and Emily sympathetic glances as they thought about Spencer having to deal with his only nephew being in Witness Protection and oldest brother-in-law being attacked by Foyet while Emily has to deal with her fiance getting attacked and her soon to be step-son being in Witness Protection.

After a few more minutes of talking, Morgan came over to them.

"Guys. Grab Rossi," said Morgan.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting at the round table as JJ looked at everyone.

"This is Megan Chertow and her friend Bina Sukarto, both 17, found two nights ago in a parking garage, carotids severed," said JJ as she showed another picture of a man, "This is John O'Heron, 61. He was found dead in a wooded area four days ago, blunt force trauma to the head," said JJ.

"Different M.O.," said Rossi.

"And completely different victimology," said Emily.

"How are the cases linked?" asked Rossi.

"Their eyes have been removed," said JJ.

Spencer inwardly grinned.

"Oh, he's an enucleator," said Spencer.

A shocked JJ looked at her teammates.

"There's a name for this?" asked JJ.

"It's a rare subset of criminal behavior, but there have been case studies of assaultive enucleators," said Hotch.

"The overwhelming majority of them suffer from diagnosed mental disorders," said Emily.

"And they're usually males, lack social skills, their kills are disorganized and sloppy," said Spencer.

"The typical enucleator gouges the eyes out, but he doesn't normally take them with him," said Morgan.

"This guy did?" asked Emily.

"We need to figure out why," said Morgan.

"There are noticeable shifts from the first to second murder. He goes from killing in seclusion to a public place," said Rossi.

"And he escalated from one victim to two," said Hotch.

"What concerns me most is there are less than 48 hours between the murders. That's why I chose this case," said Morgan.

"And from what we know about enucleators, they're almost always multiple repeat offenders," said Hotch.

"Exactly. which means he's going to need to kill again soon. All right. Let's meet on the plane in 30," said Morgan.

Spencer looked over where his brother-in-law placed his crutches.

"Can someone please grab me my crutches?" asked Spencer.

"Sure," said Hotch as he quickly headed towards his brother-in-law's crutches.

A few seconds later Spencer was using the armrests of his chair to help himself stand up before he placed his crutches underneath his armpits and started to slowly walk.

"Any pain while bearing weight?" asked Hotch.

"None at all," said Spencer.

"At least you're one step closer to getting to carry the kids around again," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Which I'm excited about," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer got Clarissa on the phone.

"Have a case, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm going to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma," said Spencer.

"If this case is a bad one, don't forget that I'm always available to talk until 12-weeks after Ariel and Caden are born," said Clarissa.

"Are you OK with being on maternity leave now?" asked Spencer.

"Even though I'm sad about being forced to start maternity leave at 30-weeks because of carrying multiples, I'm glad that I'll be getting to spend more time with Bridget and Evan while Diana's at school before Ariel and Caden are born," said Clarissa before she and Spencer spent a few minutes talking before Spencer spoke to Bridget and Evan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Emily looked at her teammates as they flew to Oklahoma.

"The color of all the victims' eyes are different so that probably doesn't factor into victimology," said Emily.

"It's more likely what he sees in the eyes. Case studies show that most enucleators suffer from delusions," said Spencer.

"They hear voices and see things in people's eyes. Usually something evil. They're driven to enucleate to destroy the devil," said Rossi.

"It points to someone who may have been institutionalized and recently released," said Hotch.

"I'll have Garcia start looking," said JJ as she pulled out her phone.

"All right, so talk to me. What makes these attacks so different?" asked Morgan.

"With victim one, there were multiple blunt force strikes to the head. A more personal kill," said Hotch.

"And he disposed of the body, maybe as a forensic countermeasure," said Emily.

"The next murders seemed less personal, more opportunistic," said Rossi.

"I think we need to look at why the first victim was bludgeoned and dumped," said Morgan.

"Perhaps the unsub knew him," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Emily.

"Prentiss, I want you to go to the disposal site, see if you can figure out why he was dumped there. Rossi, you and I are gonna go to last night's crime scene," said Morgan.

JJ looked at Morgan.

"Actually, uh, the girls' families asked to speak to our team leader," said JJ.

Morgan glanced at Hotch for a moment before looking at his teammates.

"All right," said Morgan before remembering that Spencer was currently on crutches and needs someone to be with him at the station, "Um... OK, in that case, Rossi, you can handle the crime scene solo. JJ, you're with me, and, Hotch, Reid, I want you to get into John O'Heron's life, see if anything at all points to a personal motive," said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey. Phil Brantley," said Lieutenant Brantley as he shook hands with Hotch, "Appreciate you all coming," said Lieutenant Brantley.

"Agent Hotchner," said Hotch before gesturing to his brother-in-law, "This is Dr. Reid. You'll meet the rest of the team later," said Hotch as he quickly turned an office chair around for his brother-in-law before he accepted a file from Lieutenant Brantley.

"Excellent," said Lieutenant Brantley as he placed a file onto the table for Spencer who was starting the process of sitting down as he walked to the map, "OK, here's where the first body was found, just outside of town. And last night's murders were here. And that's about 22 miles apart," said Detective Brantley.

Spencer rested a hand on his knees and looked at Lieutenant Brantley.

"That's unusual," said Spencer.

Lieutenant Brantley looked at Spencer and Hotch in shock.

"What?" asked Lieutenant Brantley.

"Serial killers usually have a smaller kill zone," said Hotch just as Spencer's work phone rang.

Spencer quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the caller ID.

"It's our technical analyst," said Spencer as he quickly answered his phone and put it on speaker, "Hey, Garcia, you're on speaker phone," said Spencer.

"So, I looked up recently released mental health patients who have a history of eye gouging, eye assault, and other gross things you can do to eyes and sockets. And there's no bingo for Okie City residents," said Garcia.

"Any other recent attacks involving assaults on eyes?" asked Hotch.

Garcia quickly did some typing.

"There's one nine months ago. He's not your guy 'cause he's in jail," said Garcia.

"We'll call you later," said Hotch before he walked to the board.

"10-4, breaker breaker," said Garcia.

"Bye," said Spencer before hanging up.

Lieutenant Brantley looked at Hotch.

"You think he's fresh out of an asylum?" asked Lieutenant Brantley.

"Either that or he's been held somewhere and he's now free," said Hotch.

"We've seen eye assaults before, you know, bar brawls, rage, domestic abuse cases. But nothing like this. What the hell's he doing with the eyes?" asked Lieutenant Brantley.

"He could be collecting them as a trophy of some sort," said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his brother-in-law and Lieutenant Brantley.

"They wouldn't keep long as trophies. Eyes are 80% vitreous humor, which is essentially water. After a few hours, they begin to get cloudy and wilt," said Spencer.

Lieutenant Brantley looked at Spencer.

"Any other theories?" asked Lieutenant Brantley.

"There have been cases where after enucleation, mental patients have consumed the eyeballs," said Spencer.

"Are you serious?" asked Lieutenant Brantley dryly.

Spencer nodded while Lieutenant Brantley looked at Hotch.

"Do you believe him?" asked Lieutenant Brantley.

Hotch nodded just as Spencer's personal phone vibrated causing him to grin when he saw a picture of  
Bridget and Evan each wearing their first pair of glasses while Clarissa was sporting her new pair of glasses.

JUST PICKED UP BRIDGET'S AND EVAN'S FIRST PAIR OF GLASSES! LUCY WILL BE TAKING DIANA AND ME TO PICK UP DIANA'S NEW PAIR OF GLASSES WHEN SHE GETS OUT OF SCHOOL WHILE YOU'LL BE PICKING UP YOUR NEW GLASSES WHEN YOU GET HOME. ~ CR

"A picture of Bridget and Evan?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded as he looked at his brother-in-law.

"Remember the time I took off last week when it came to Clarissa, the kids, and I having to get our yearly eye exams?" asked Spencer.

Hotch nodded.

"Bridget and Evan were showing signs of needing glasses," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Clarissa sent me a picture of her, Bridget, and Evan wearing their new glasses. Diana will be getting her new glasses after school while I'll be picking mine up after this case," said Spencer as he passed his phone to his brother-in-law.

Hotch smiled a bit as he took in the sight of his niece and nephew wearing their first pair of glasses.

"When it comes to Evan's first pair of glasses, I assume that your new pair of glasses will look like Evan's?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"When it comes to Evan being a clone of me, Clarissa insisted that Evan and I get glasses that look nearly identical," said Spencer.

"Will my sister send me a picture of Diana in her new glasses later?" asked Hotch.

"She will," said Spencer before he noticed a confused look on Lieutenant Brantley's face, "I've been married to Agent Hotchner's sister for six years, 10 months, and 27 days," said Spencer.

"OK, and how old are your kids?" asked Lieutenant Brantley.

"Diana will be six in December, Bridget is two, and Evan is 16-months-old," said Spencer before grinning a bit, "and my wife is 31-weeks pregnant with my second son and third daughter," said Spencer before he and his brother-in-law decided to focus on the case.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law as he wrote on the whiteboard.

"O'Heron's friends say he has a history of drunken behavior, but they don't know anybody with a grudge against him," said Hotch as he walked closer to his brother-in-law.

Spencer looked at the case file in front of himself.

"He was last seen leaving a bar. Bartender on duty said he left without incident," said Spencer.

"Where did he go after that?" asked Hotch.

Before Spencer could answer, Emily and Rossi joined them.

"I checked out the disposal site where John O'Heron's body was dumped. It's a remote farm road. The unsub didn't just stumble on it, he knows it," said Emily.

"We need a list of people who work or live near the area," said Hotch.

"I got a bad feeling about this guy," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at Rossi.

"Why is that?" asked Spencer.

"He chose that parking garage. He was patient. He hid and waited for the right victims and the right time and place. He blitzed them. It was all strategic," said Rossi.

"That sounds way too organized for a typical enucleator," said Emily.

"Add to that his lack of a cooling-off period between kills, it's not gonna be easy to get ahead of him," said Rossi just as Lieutenant Brantley joined them.

"I just got off the phone with the M.E. she says there's something we should see," said Lieutenant Brantley.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Are you up to going to the M.E.'s office?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Hotch grabbed Spencer's crutches and passed them to his brother-in-law who was already starting the process of standing up.

"I'm ready when you are," said Emily.

"I'm ready," said Spencer as he took a few steps with the aid of his crutches.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on a stool while Doctor Ruiz looked at him and Emily.

"The eyeball is held in the socket by six different muscles, fatty tissue, and the optic nerves," said Doctor Ruiz as she held up a picture of John's head, "These are pictures of John O'Heron's eye sockets. See the optic nerves protruding?" asked Doctor Ruiz.

Spencer quickly noticed what Doctor Ruiz saw.

"Trauma. They were ripped out," said Spencer.

Doctor Ruiz looked at Spencer.

"Maybe with fingers," said Doctor Ruiz as she uncovered Bina's head a bit causing Emily to open Bina's eyes while Doctor Ruiz turned on a flashlight, "Now compare this to my body on the table. Smooth inside, no bruising, no sign of trauma. Optic nerves retracted into the muscle and they have a clean edge," said Doctor Ruiz.

"So you're saying these were cut out?" asked Emily.

Doctor Ruiz nodded.

"With a sharp-edged tool. He managed to avoid cutting the sockets or the eyelids. This was precise work," said Doctor Ruiz.

"The kind of work only a doctor could do?" asked Emily.

Doctor Ruiz scoffed.

"All I'm saying is that with both of these girls, it was a clean excision," said Doctor Ruiz.

Emily nodded.

"OK, so he was crude with the first victim, surgical with the others," said Emily.

"The amount of effort he's going through to remove the eyes now, he wouldn't destroy them," said Spencer before looking at a few jars on a shelf, "He's keeping them," said Spencer.

xxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was rocking himself in an office chair while JJ addressed Garcia on the phone.

"Hey, Garcia. so we have the list of local doctors, but we need to back it up one step," said JJ.

"Where shall I splice, my pretties?" asked Garcia.

Spencer inwardly smiled as he realized that Garcia gave a bit of a "Wizard of Oz" reference.

"Give me a list of all doctors who've had infractions like malpractice suits," said Spencer.

"Got it. Bouncing your way," said Garcia as she started to type.

"Narrow it down to eye specialists," said Spencer.

Garcia continued to type.

"Whoo, that's still a lot of names," said Garcia.

"We'll chip away when we know more," said Spencer.

As JJ was about to hang up, Garcia quickly spoke up.

"Hey, wait. Before you hang up, how's my Morgan doing?" asked Garcia.

"Fine," said Spencer.

"I know the man is fine. How's he holding up as head honcho?" asked Garcia.

"Well, he's stressed, but he's on top of it," said JJ before thinking about one of the agents on the sixth floor that has an office and is about to retire, "Speaking of which, there is something you could do for him," said JJ.

"Name it," said Garcia.

Spencer and JJ started to explain what they wanted Garcia to do and when Spencer and JJ were finished, Garcia spoke up.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer, JJ, and Rossi were in Lieutenant Brantley's office when JJ looked at Spencer and Rossi.

"Hunting's a big part of this city's culture," said JJ.

"Yeah, hunting animals is. What triggered him to start hunting humans?" asked Spencer.

Rossi who was pacing stopped pacing.

"This guy is taking people's eyes, so he's definitely disturbed. What bugs me is that people like this Usually unravel, get sloppy," said Rossi.

"And this guy's only getting better," said Spencer.

JJ looked out the window and saw Hotch, Emily, and Morgan.

"They're back," said JJ as she walked to the door so she could talk to Morgan.

xxxxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was sitting in a chair when Rossi explained Morgan's theory to Spencer and JJ. When Rossi was finished, JJ looked at Rossi.

"A taxidermist?" asked JJ.

"Morgan might be onto something. The unsub's collecting sets of eyes that need to be flawless," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at JJ and Rossi.

"Because he's preserving them as a trophy of some kind," said Spencer.

"We said he was a hunter. What do hunters collect for trophies?" asked Rossi.

Spencer shifted in his chair.

"What if we're wrong about him being a doctor? It makes sense. A taxidermist has all the skills and supplies Needed to preserve eyes and other body parts," said Spencer.

"Do they know how to surgically remove eyes like this?" asked JJ.

Spencer nodded.

"Yeah, they have anatomy knowledge. They have to cut through muscle, tissue, and nerves In order to remove hide. It's the exact same thing for eyeballs," said Spencer just as JJ's phone rang.

JJ quickly grabbed her phone and put it on speaker.

"Garcia, you're on speaker," said JJ.

"Comrades, I cross-referenced this John O'Heron with Okie City animal stuffers. Turns out he wrote a $250 check as some sort of deposit for Lloyd's Wild Game Shop six weeks ago. Now, this place is scant miles from the farm road where our first victim was dumped," said Garcia.

"Does Lloyd have a record?" asked Spencer.

Garcia started to type.

"Uh...Lloyd Bulford has one recent record from the city, and it is…," said Garcia before sighing as she found a death certificate, "A death certificate. He died four weeks ago," said Garcia.

"Of what?" asked JJ.

"Emphysema," answered Garcia.

Rossi reached into his suit jacket to grab his phone.

"Any employees with criminal records?" asked Rossi.

"He's got no employment records at all. He has a 28-year-old son named Earl who lives with him who has a petty crime record and three counts of animal cruelty," said Garcia.

Rossi started to dial Morgan's number.

"Garcia, get everything on the son," said Rossi.

"Okey-dokey," said Garcia.

At that moment Rossi got Morgan on the phone.

"Morgan, we may have someone," said Rossi as he walked away.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on the table while giving his bad knee a break from its brace as he finished up a phone call that Morgan asked him to do.

"All right, thank you so much," said Spencer as looked at Rossi, "The woman at the Bleaker address hasn't seen him today," said Spencer as he put the phone into a cradle.

Rossi who didn't get an answer at all looked at Spencer.

"No response at the other residence," said Rossi before hanging up.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Later on that night, Spencer quietly entered his and Clarissa's bedroom on his crutches just as Clarissa exited the master bedroom.

"I'm so glad that I have only nine weeks left because Ariel and Caden are really messing with my bladder," grumbled Clarissa.

Spencer hobbled towards the bed and sat down before resting his hand on Clarissa's 31-week baby bump.

"Can you two please be nice to mommy? Daddy can't do that much because of being on crutches right now," said Spencer firmly before he felt two kicks.  
Clarissa laughed.

"I doubt that Ariel and Caden will want to settle down now because they just heard your voice," said Clarissa.

"I might as well tell them a bedtime story before I get in the shower," said Spencer before he started to read "The Foot Book" by Doctor Seuss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm leaving this chapter here. When it comes to Caden having a clubbed foot, I'm very familiar with clubbed foot and bilateral clubbed feet because I was born with severe bilateral clubbed feet and did the Ponseti method from when I was three days old until I had tendon lengthening and bone reconstruction surgery when I was six-months-old. I haven't had any surgery on my feet since I was seven-months-old and I've been living a healthy and active life despite getting diagnosed with a bleeding disorder a decade ago has caused me to make changes when it comes to physical activities even though I have dealt with wearing Ankle Foot Orthotics, a partially torn Achilles tendon, while getting diagnosed with arthritis in my feet since becoming an adult.


	87. The Performer Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spencer knows what "Twilight" is and what B.F.F. means thanks to Clarissa.

Spencer looked at Diana as he, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Lucy, and Anthony ate breakfast together.

"Since Mrs. O' Conner, Mr. O' Conner, and Aria are on vacation in London, United Kingdom right now, would you like me to drive you to school today, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"Yes please, daddy," said Diana before looking at her father's crutches, "What time do you have physical therapy today, daddy?" asked Diana.

"10 A.M., and I don't have to show up at work until 1 PM today," said Spencer before looking at Clarissa, "Are you up to going with me?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"Yes," said Clarissa.

Bridget who had just about finished cleaning off her plate of cut up pancakes looked at her daddy.

"I come with?" asked Bridget.

Spencer smiled at Bridget.

"You can come with, Cricket," said Spencer.

Evan who had maple syrup all over his face looked at his daddy.

"Me too?" asked the nearly 17-month-old toddler.

"You can come too, tadpole," said Spencer before looking at the time on his phone and looked at Diana, "We'll leave the house in a half hour," said Spencer firmly.

"Yes, sir," said Diana.

xxxxxxxxxxx

90 minutes later Spencer was sitting on the couch with Clarissa sitting on his right side as they watched their Irish twins play with blocks together when Spencer looked at his soon to be oldest son.

"Do you want to cuddle with daddy, tadpole?" asked Spencer.

Evan turned his head and blew a raspberry at his daddy causing Clarissa and Bridget to giggle before Clarissa looked at her husband's mini-me.

"Do you want to cuddle with mommy, baby boy?" asked Clarissa.

Evan nodded as he scrambled up to his feet and climbed onto the couch and curled into his mommy's side.

"I kiss Mama," said Evan.

Clarissa smiled as she moved her head so her nearly 17-month-old son could give her a sloppy kiss on the cheek before Evan blew a raspberry at his father.

"You're such a mommy's boy, baby boy," said Clarissa as she wrapped an arm around Evan who rested one of his hands onto her baby bump, "Are you going to see if your little brother and sister will kick?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, Mama," said Evan just as his eyes went wide when he felt his little brother and sister kick causing Clarissa to groan, "Abies kick," said Evan.

"I know," said Clarissa before looking down at her son, "Are you excited about getting a little brother and little sister to play with?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, Mama," said Evan.

Spencer looked at Bridget who was now reading "The Cat in the Hat" out loud.

"Are you excited about getting another little brother and a little sister to play with?" asked Spencer.

"Yes,' said Bridget as she got up and walked over to her parents and rested her hand on her mother's 32-week baby bump and smiled when she felt a kick, "Hi babies," said Bridget and smiled as she felt another kick.

"I think that Ariel and Caden love your voice," said Spencer.

Clarissa groaned when she felt Ariel and Caden kick.

"They love hearing your voice too, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at Bridget.

"Since Evan is cuddling with mommy, do you want to cuddle with daddy before its time to leave for physical therapy?" asked Spencer.

Bridget gave her daddy a dimpled smile.

"Yes, daddy," said Bridget as she scrambled up onto the couch and settled herself next to her father while being careful of her father's bad knee, "I love you, daddy," said Bridget.

Spencer's heart swelled.

"I love you too, Bridget," said Spencer as he leaned to his left side and kissed Bridget's head.

At that moment Evan looked at his parents.

"A. B. C. D. E. F. G," sang Evan as he signed each letter causing Bridget to join in with singing the alphabet song with her little brother.

When Bridget and Evan were done, Spencer looked at his wife.

"When it comes to Diana, Bridget, and Evan turning out to be geniuses like me, are you ready to possibly deal with six geniuses in this house if Ariel and Caden take after me too?" asked Spencer.

"I knew what I was getting myself into when I approached you nearly nine years ago, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I can't believe that the nine-year anniversary of us meeting is happening in 21 days, Clara," said Spencer as he kissed his wife.

"Me too, Spence," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband again before Bridget looked up at her parents.

"Ewwww," said Bridget.

Spencer broke out of his kiss with Clarissa and scooped up Bridget and started to pepper her with kisses causing the two-year-old girl to giggle while Evan laughed at his daddy's and big sister's antics causing Clarissa to follow her husband's antics with Evan causing the nearly 17-month-old toddler to giggle.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer was standing between the parallel bars with his hands tightly on the railings of the bars when Andy who was steadying Spencer's gait looked at Spencer.

"Let's see if you can handle walking to Bridget and Evan," said Andy as he pointed at Bridget and Evan who were standing at the end of the parallel bars.

"OK," said Spencer as he slowly took a step while hanging onto the bars.

30 seconds later Spencer reached the other side where he accepted his crutches from Andy while Bridget and Evan each took turns hugging their daddy.

"You did great, but now I want you to try walking back to your starting point while only hanging onto the parallel bar with your right hand," said Andy.

"Are you going to see if I'm ready to walk with one crutch yet?" asked Spencer.

"That's the plan, but please don't get upset if I decide that you have to walk with two crutches for a bit longer," said Andy.

"OK," said Spencer as he pivoted himself on his crutches before he stepped onto the platform and handed Andy his right crutch before he grabbed the bar on his right side before Andy took his left crutch.

"Are you ready?" asked Andy.

Spencer nodded.

"Yes," said Spencer as he took a couple of steps before he started to sway on his bad leg causing Andy to quickly grab him before he could fall down.

"Are you OK?" asked Andy.

"I am, and thank you for catching me before I could fall," said Spencer before looking at Bridget and Evan and sighed, "I know that I have to reach the other side of the parallel bars while holding onto the rail with my right hand before you can clear me to walk around with one crutch and carry one child around again," said Spencer.

"What matters is that you tried and there's always a chance that you can make it to the other side successfully on Thursday and be cleared to walk with one crutch before you and Clarissa leave for California on Friday morning," said Andy.

Bridget looked up at her daddy.

"You did good, daddy," said Bridget before her stomach growled causing her to look up at her daddy, "I hungy for Cracker Barrel," said Bridget.

"You want to go to the Cracker Barrel for lunch before I head to work for the afternoon?" asked Spencer.  
Bridget nodded.

"Yes, daddy," said Bridget.

Andy smiled.

"With there being only five minutes left in your appointment, you can leave now," said Andy before looking at Spencer, "Don't try getting around on one crutch yet, but keep on walking on your crutches and doing the exercises I showed you to do to strengthen up your knee," said Andy.

"I will, and I'll see you on Thursday," said Spencer.

10 minutes later Spencer was driving Clarissa, Bridget, Evan, and himself to the Cracker Barrel for lunch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later, Spencer was sitting at the round table with his teammates.

"The latest victim is Tara Farris, 20. She's the third victim in two weeks. All found on freeway off-ramps by commuters," said JJ as she started to pass out case files.

"Well, he's not hiding them," said Hotch.

"An L.A. freeway during morning rush hour? He wants them found," said Rossi.

"Quickly," said Morgan.

"Well, they're still dressed. That minimizes the shock value," said Emily.

"Maybe he's concerned for them," said Spencer as he accepted a file from JJ, "Thank you. Think he wants them taken care of?" asked Spencer.

"No signs of sexual assault on any of the victims," said JJ.

Rossi took in Tara's appearance in the picture.

"Look how pale she is," said Rossi.

JJ looked at her teammates.

"All of them were severely hypovolemic. Tara had less than a pint of blood in her," said JJ.

Spencer who had quickly read the M.E. reports looked at his teammates.

"Look at this. The first two had more than three pints each. If exsanguination is the goal, the unsub is definitely becoming more proficient," grimaced Spencer.

JJ pulled up another picture of Tara's arm from the crime scene.

"This is new. Tara's the only victim to have a written message," said JJ.

Hotch read what was written on Tara's arm.

"The Liar." read Hotch.

""The" liar. That's strange, isn't it? Not a liar or just liar," said Emily.

Morgan looked at a picture of Tara.

"So what did you lie about, Tara?" asked Morgan.

JJ pulled up more pictures of the victims' necks from the crime scenes.

"All of the victims appear to have been strangled and then bled out through identical wounds in the throat," said JJ.

Emily realized what the wound marks could represent.

"Wait-seriously, are those supposed to be fang marks?" asked Emily.

"All of the wounds on the victims were covered in saliva. Human saliva, as though-," said JJ.

Spencer's eyes went wide.

"Someone drank their blood," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was pulling out his phone to call Clarissa only to hear Diana's voice.

"Hi daddy," said Diana.

"Where is your mother?" asked Spencer.

"She's in the bathroom because of complaining about Ariel and Caden messing with her bladder and asked me to watch her phone, Bridget, and Evan," said Diana.

"How was school today?" asked Spencer.

"I helped my classmates learn their multiplication tables again today while the substitute Mr. Willard made sure to give me the advanced work that deals with triple digit multiplication problems that Mrs. O' Conner was going to give me today," said Diana.

Spencer smiled as he thought about how Mrs. O' Conner always made sure that whoever is her substitute gives Diana the advanced work that she needs.

"What's 233 times 300?" asked Spencer.

"69,900," answered Diana quickly.

Spencer grinned.

"That's correct," said Spencer before thinking of another multiplication problem, "What's -300 times 233?" asked Spencer.

"Negative 69,900," answered Diana.

"That's correct, and do you remember why the answer is a negative number instead of a positive?" asked Spencer.

"A positive times a negative equals a negative number while a negative number times a negative number equals a positive number," answered Diana just as she heard Clarissa's voice in the background.

"Is that daddy on the phone?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes, mommy. Here's mommy, daddy," said Diana.

A few seconds later Clarissa spoke up.

"Since it's only 4 PM, I guess that your calling us to let you know that you just got a case?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm going to Los Angles, California," said Spencer.

"Don't forget to find time to meet up with Parker and Lila and congratulate them about their engagement," said Clarissa.

"I will try to find some time to meet up with them for a meal," said Spencer as he spent the next couple of minutes talking to Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan before he headed to the jet with his teammates.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on the couch with his bad leg crossed over his good leg when JJ concluded a phone call.

"OK. OK, thanks," said JJ before hanging up and looked at her teammates, "So they've already set up a task force in Los Angeles," said JJ as Morgan took the spot next to Spencer.

Rossi thought about the Lila Archer case from over a year and a half ago.

"This isn't their first serial case," said Rossi dryly.

JJ looked at Hotch.

"You remember Detective Owen Kim?" asked JJ.

Hotch nodded as he thought about his brother-in-law and Clarissa becoming good friends with Lila Archer because of Spencer convincing Parker to ask Lila out.

"From the stalker case," said Hotch.

"I do remember that case and I'm happy to say that Parker and Lila are engaged to be married and they're planning on meeting with Clarissa and me for a meal when we fly out to California to attend Dr. Fallon's lecture this weekend," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law and thought about how Spencer and Clarissa set up Spencer's childhood best friend up with Ethan while knowing that Spencer and Clarissa were trying to set up Lucy with her old high school sweetheart Anthony.

"You and Clarissa are really thick as thieves when it comes to playing matchmakers," said Hotch.

Spencer smirked.

"I know," said Spencer before looking at his teammates, "We should focus on the case because I'm hoping to make this Thursday's physical therapy session so I can hopefully move down to one crutch," said Spencer causing everyone to smile.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"All right, so tell us about blood-drinkers, Reid," said Morgan.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"Human blood consumption, or clinical vampirism, is known as Renfield's syndrome, named after the insect-eating character in Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula."," smiled Spencer.

"Are they sadists?" asked Emily.

"Not necessarily. Pain to the victim is usually only a byproduct. Blood is the focus. Renfield's syndrome is usually accompanied by varying levels of schizophrenia and occasionally more classic cannibalism if the condition evolves," said Spencer.

"Classic cannibalism. Lovely job we have," said Rossi sarcastically.

"I will say this- true cases are exceedingly rare," said Spencer.

"That's comforting. Sort of," said JJ.

"Renfield's may be rare, but vampires are anything but. And there's a huge subculture in Los Angeles of the red-drinking undead," said Garcia as she used her fingers to add quotation marks at the end.

"Why is that not a surprise?" asked Rossi sarcastically as he looked at the pictures that Garcia was showing them.

"Garcia, all these people drink blood?" asked Morgan.

"Au contraire. They mostly just dress up like Prentiss did in high school and they make believe," said Garcia while Emily noticed Spencer smirking at her, "It's all kinds of delicious," said Garcia.

"It's not the same thing at all. as a matter of fact, we should refer to this unsub as a vampirist, not a vampire. And they would be attracted to the subculture merely for its professed worship of blood," said Spencer as he mimicked a Dracula voice that he would use when he read a child-friendly version of "Dracula" to Diana.

"OK, I'm going to continue spelunking through the various online sites, see if anything jumps up and bites me," said Garcia as she took a drink of tomato juice.

Morgan looked at his wife.

"Thanks, baby g-," said Morgan before remembering that he and his wife have to be more professional now, "Thanks, Penelope. Stay close," said Morgan firmly.

Garcia smiled at her husband.

"Yes, sir. Garcia out," said Garcia before she signed off.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"You guys, one more thing- vampirists are coveters. They most generally always have some sort of relationship with the victim, even if it's tangential. And they're likely to become obsessed. They've almost certainly crossed paths in some way," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Have you read "Dracula" to Diana yet?" asked Rossi.

Spencer nodded.

"I have since there are versions that are toned down for children," said Spencer.

"What other books have you read to Diana?" asked JJ.

"Harry Potter", "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe", "Mr. Popper's Penguins", "Little Women", "Anne of Green Gables", "A Little Princess", "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", "Charlotte's Web", "A Wrinkle in Time", "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," and a bunch of other classic children's' literature," said Spencer.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"I recently bought some new books for Diana and they're in my go bag, so I'll give you them to read before you give to Diana," said Hotch.

Spencer smiled.

"I'm glad that you're following the rule that Clarissa and I have when it comes to books," said Spencer.

"You read a book that Diana wants to read first?" asked JJ.

Spencer nodded.

"Even though Diana can read up to 19,000 words per a minute and reads at a sixth grade reading level, everything that Diana wants to read is monitored because of her age even though Clarissa is planning on reading the "Alice" series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor when Diana, Bridget, and Ariel are each nine-years-old," said Spencer.

Hotch nodded.

"I remember about Clarissa loving those books growing up," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"Clarissa actually convinced me to read them when she told me about her favorite book series and I've been surprising Clarissa with each new book in the "Alice" series when a new book is released every year," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer followed his brother-in-law and teammates on his crutches while JJ approached Lieutenant Owen Kim and shook his hand.

"Hi, Lieutenant Kim. Agent Jareau," said JJ.

Lieutenant Kim nodded as he remembered JJ's nickname.

"JJ, of course. I remember all of you," said Lieutenant Kim as he made his way towards Hotch and shook his hand, "Agent Hotchner," said Lieutenant Kim before looking at Spencer, "Reid," said Lieutenant Kim.

Spencer used his right arm and armpit to squeeze his crutch to balance himself as he shook Lieutenant Kim's hand before Lieutenant Kim allowed him to put his right hand back on the handle of his crutches as Lieutenant Kim shook hands with Morgan, Rossi, and Emily.

"Morgan. Rossi. Prentiss. Welcome back to the left coast," said Lieutenant Kim before gesturing to the room that he set up for the team that helped him over a year and a half ago, "We already have a room set up full of glass boards, case files, and extremely bad coffee," joked Lieutenant Kim.

"We've worked with a lot less," said Emily.

Hotch looked at Lieutenant Kim.

"Agent Morgan's in charge now. It's his show," said Hotch before noticing the confused look on Lieutenant Kim's face, "Long story," said Hotch as he noticed that his brother-in-law finally reached the room.

"I know you like to start with the freshest information and work your way back. So Tara's apartment has been processed and sealed in case you want to go there. And her body, along with that of the first two girls, is at the morgue with an M.E. Waiting there for your call," said Lieutenant Kim.

"All right. JJ, get set up here and then hook up with Garcia. Send her the witness information so she can start cross-referencing with the first two victims," said Morgan before looking at Spencer, "Reid, I want you to go through all the case files, set up a preliminary profile based on what you already know about the psychopathology. And the rest of us, let's find out what we can on Tara," said Morgan.

As soon as Hotch, Emily, Morgan, and Rossi left the room, Spencer looked at Lieutenant Kim as he sat down.

"I take it that you want to see a picture of the baby that Clarissa and I were expecting last year?" asked Spencer.  
Lieutenant Kim nodded.

"Yes," said Lieutenant Kim.

A few seconds later Spencer was passing his phone to Lieutenant Kim.

"Diana will be turning six next month, Bridget is two-years-old, and Evan will be 17-months-old on Sunday," said Spencer.

Lieutenant Kim smiled at the picture of a school-aged little girl and two toddlers who all wearing glasses as they sat between their smiling parents on the couch.

"Evan is definitely a splitting image of you and I can see that you and your wife are expecting again," said Detective Kim.

Spencer nodded.

"I'm hoping that Caden is a splitting image of his mother while Ariel is a perfect mixture of Clarissa and me or looks like Clarissa," said Spencer.

Lieutenant Kim quickly connected the dots.

"You and Clarissa are expecting twins this time?" asked Lieutenant Kim.

Spencer nodded.

"Clarissa is 32-weeks pregnant with twins and Diana was the one to pick out the names especially since Caden means "Spirit of Battle" and he and his twin sister are giving me the reason to push myself through physical therapy so I can make sure to walk unassisted by the time they're born," said Spencer.

"How long have you been on crutches?" asked Lieutenant Kim.

"I've been on crutches for 75 days since I got shot above the left knee," said Spencer.

"That's a long time to be on crutches," said Lieutenant Kim.

"The bullet did a lot of damage, but because of the progress I made in my recovery, I'll most likely be getting around on one crutch while getting to carry one of the kids with my free arm on Thursday," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

JJ looked at Spencer as she picked up a photo of Tara.

"So we're looking for a connection between the witnesses," said JJ as she pinned a picture of Tara onto the clear board.

Spencer blinked rapidly as he realized that he wanted to remove his contact lenses as soon as possible.

"When vampirists become obsessed, they aren't likely to find a random victim. If we can find a cross-relationship, someone in all the victims' lives, that'll be incredibly helpful," said Spencer.

JJ looked at a list of Tara's friends.

"Gina King knew Tara the longest. They apparently had some classes together," said JJ.

"Let's get all the information we can on that relationship. As a matter of fact, get me everything you can on all of Tara's friends," said Spencer.

"All right. In the morning I'll track them down and do some follow-up," said JJ.

"That's fine," murmured Spencer.

xxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was watching the news as he settled himself into an office chair that he raised for himself to sit on.

"This is Chase Manning, News Chopper 12, over the 101 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley. Apparently, a second body in as many days has been found near an off-ramp," said Chase.

"So much for keeping the media out," said JJ dryly before looking at her phone, "Penelope?" asked JJ.

"Are we in yet?" asked Garcia.

JJ looked at the laptop that once belonged to Tara.

"All yours," said JJ.

Garcia sighed.

"I always feel skeevy going through someone's life like this," said Garcia sadly.

JJ looked at Tara's laptop.

"OK, so everything looks like it's password protected, so you might not even be able to-," said JJ before realizing that Garcia was already logged in, "You're in already, aren't you?" asked JJ.

"The password was Cullen," said Garcia.

JJ nodded as she thought about the "Twilight" series.

"Of course," said JJ.

Spencer stopped writing on the board and looked at JJ.

"Clarissa once forced me to read the "Twilight" series with her before she dragged me to see "Twilight" with her in theaters with her. I didn't enjoy reading the books and seeing the movie "Twilight, but Clarissa made it up to me by allowing me to pick what book for us to read next together," said Spencer.

"At least Clarissa makes sure that you always don't read technical books," said JJ.

"I still read fictional books in foreign languages though," said Spencer.

"OK, I'll see what I can dredge. My love is strong," said Garcia.

"OK, thanks," said JJ before hanging up and looked at Spencer, "How's the profile coming?" asked JJ.

"I don't know. I never really feel ready, you know?" asked Spencer.

"It'll be fine. I am gonna go talk to Tara's B.F.F. before the media requests come in and it gets too crazy," said JJ.  
"Speaking of B.F.F., I should probably call Clarissa and check on her and see how her 32-week check up went," said Spencer.

JJ pouted.

"Even though Clarissa is your wife, I'm not your B.F.F.?" asked JJ.

"Even though Clarissa has been my wife for 2,537 days, she's been my B.F.F. for 3,267 days," said Spencer before remembering where JJ was about to go, "Should I go with you?" asked Spencer.

"No. You have a profile to deliver," said JJ.

"If you don't want me to come with you, you should ask an officer to accompany you as backup," said Spencer.

"I don't have to, Reid," said JJ as she grabbed Spencer's phone and dialed a number.

"What are you doing with my phone?" asked Spencer.

"Derek, hey, um, Spence is ready for the profile," said JJ as she ignored Spencer silently telling her no while she listened to Morgan talk, "Why, yes he is, right here," said JJ as she passed Spencer his phone, "I'll be back," said JJ as she walked away.

"Hey," said Spencer as he briefly talked to Morgan for a minute before hanging up and dialed Clarissa's cell phone.

xxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., Clarissa was sitting on the couch with her feet elevated when her personal phone rang causing her to smile when she saw that it was her husband.

"Hey, Spence," said Clarissa.

"How was your doctor appointment?" asked Spencer.

"My 32-week check up went very well and despite Caden having a clubbed foot I'm planning on delivering the twins naturally as long as they aren't breech," said Clarissa.

"Even if you choose to have a C-section this time, you'll still be beautiful since you don't mind the scars I had from my appendectomy over eight years ago, and my shooting 76 days ago," said Spencer.

"I know, Spence, but I want to try and deliver the twins naturally so I don't have a five-pound weight limit to carry when I get discharged from the hospital," said Clarissa firmly.

"Even though you delivered Diana, Bridget, and Evan without an epidural, are you planning on accepting an epidural this time?" asked Spencer.

"I already told Dr. Larson that I'm going to accept an epidural because Nurse Abigail Miller told me that she regretting giving birth to her twins naturally without an epidural," said Clarissa before Spencer took a few minutes to talk to Bridget and Evan.


	88. The Performer Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here's part two of The Performer and it starts a half hour after the last chapter.

As soon as Hotch, Morgan, Emily, and Rossi arrived at the police station, Spencer looked at Morgan.

"I didn't want to tell you this over the phone, but JJ decided to call you with my phone and tell you that I was ready when I don't believe that I am," said Spencer.

"Where is JJ?" asked Morgan.

"She already left to interview Gina King and I told her to take an officer as back up when she refused to let me come with because of me being on crutches and having a profile to work on," said Spencer.

Morgan sighed as he rubbed his head.

"We'll share everything you have so far and when JJ gets back I'll be talking to her about taking your phone and calling me to tell me that you're ready while I tell her that she really shouldn't be going to talk to a witness alone," said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on a desk as he looked at Lieutenant Kim and all the officers who came to listen to the profile.

"We aren't looking for a vampire in the supernatural sense, only in the sense that this unsub has a very strong desire, a need, for human blood. Now, fortunately, vampirists display several characteristics Which will be helpful in finding him. He will have cut himself repeatedly. It's called auto-vampirism," said Spencer as he pointed at the whiteboard, "Essentially becoming his own first victim. It's the way by which he first tasted human blood. Most vampirists are incredibly ashamed of this and will wear long-sleeved shirts in order to conceal it," said Spencer before he pointed at the board again, "Secondly, there will be a long history of animal abuse, starting with smaller animals such as insects and rodents and then working his way up to larger things- dogs and cats. Though this is a well-recognized component of the homicidal triad seen in other serial killers, in the case of the vampirist, it's more pronounced. There will, interestingly enough, not be any animal torture, as with other psychopathologies. The killing isn't the point, it's merely a means by which to obtain the blood," said Spencer.

"Look hard at your animal control sections records, as far back as you can. They will probably have some record of this unsub as an adolescent," said Morgan.

Spencer pointed at the board again.

"This guy also most likely lives in a poorly kept older home," said Spencer.

"He needs a house for the privacy, not an apartment. It takes some time to drain a body completely of blood. Uninterrupted time," said Rossi.

Spencer cleared his throat.

"This unsub also most likely lives with an elderly woman, a grandmother, a mother, even an aunt," said Spencer.

"How could you know that?" asked Lieutenant Kim.

Emily looked at all the officers.

"This type of mental illness, accompanied by extreme schizophrenia, dominates a family's entire existence. It often leads to a broken home, and a woman ends up as the primary caregiver," said Emily.

"The men generally leave," said Hotch.

"Oh, and one more thing. This type of disorder cannot be hidden for long. I guarantee you someone out there already knows this unsub is very, very sick," finished Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

45 minutes later Spencer was sitting in front of his laptop checking his email and he smiled when he saw an email from Clarissa causing him to open up and see Bridget who was wearing an overall dress, a light blue long-sleeved shirt, and blue leggings while Bridget's shoulder length nearly black hair was put into pigtails.

"Please say hi to daddy before you start singing the new song you learned in occupational therapy today, Bridget," said Clarissa.

Bridget waved.

"Hi, daddy," said Bridget before she took a breath and start singing, "Twinkle twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are," sang Bridget.

When Bridget was done singing, she blew a few kisses causing Spencer to smile.

"I miss you, daddy. Pwease come home soon," said Bridget just as Clarissa's face showed in the video, "If Aaron wasn't by you when you watched this video, please make him watch it. Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, Caden, and I all love you and please come home soon!" said Clarissa before the feed went black.

At that moment Hotch came over with a cup of coffee for Spencer and looked at his brother-in-law.

"What are you smiling about?" asked Hotch.

Spencer accepted the coffee from his brother-in-law and took a sip.

"Clarissa just sent me a video of my little Cricket singing a new song that she learned in occupational therapy," said Spencer.

"Then please show me that video of my little sister's brown-eyed and curly haired mini-me," said Hotch.

A few seconds later Spencer played the video and when the video was over Hotch sighed.

"I can't believe that Bridget will be starting preschool next August," said Hotch.

"I know and I'm glad that Bridget is going to be attending Washington International School like Diana," said Spencer.

"Will Bridget be ready?" asked Hotch.

"With how advanced she is for her age and her autism being high functioning, Clarissa, Bridget's occupational therapist, Washington International School, and me all believe that Bridget will be ready because Bridget already has no problem playing with other kids her age in church while Bridget will also be starting tap dancing in January," said Spencer.

Hotch smiled as he thought about the videos he saw of Bridget mimicking Shirley Temple.

"Please make sure to get Emily and me tickets for Shirley Temple's tap dance recitals," said Hotch.

"Are you really going to call Bridget Shirley Temple?" asked Spencer.

"Bridget reminds me of Shirley Temple," said Hotch just as his phone rang.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over 40 minutes later Spencer was sitting on a stool as he watched Paul Davies pace inside the interrogation room.

"A lot of this doesn't add up," said Spencer.

"We've been wrong before," said Hotch.

"Not this much," said Morgan as he thought about the stern talking to he was gonna have to give JJ for calling him and telling him that Spencer was done with the profile when Spencer knew that he wasn't ready.

The door opened causing Spencer to turn his head and look at Emily who entered the room.

"The plot thickens. He was arrested for domestic violence 10 years ago," said Emily.

"How bad?" asked Morgan.

"Well, Garcia was able to find the battery charge, but it was expunged, so who knows?" asked Emily.

"Again, welcome to celebrity justice," said Lieutenant Kim sarcastically.

Emily watched Paul Davies for a moment.

He's pretty agitated," said Emily.

"I wonder why," said Hotch.

"Celebrities out here aren't used to being put in the box," said Lieutenant Kim.

"This seems more than that, though," said Morgan.

"I don't know. These are people everyone falls down around, defers to. Adulation is their norm," said Lieutenant Kim.

Morgan looked at Emily.

"You know, Prentiss, that may be a good way for you to play him," said Morgan.

A shocked Emily looked at Morgan.

"Me?" asked Emily.

"You were the one who pointed at him. He may see you as an adversary. Have him off-guard," said Morgan while Rossi entered the room causing him to look at an intact Rossi, "So, what did you tell the press?" asked Morgan.

"My official statement was that I hate Los Angeles," deadpanned Rossi before looking in the room where Paul Davies is in, "What's happening?" asked Rossi.

"Prentiss is gonna take the lead," said Morgan.

Rossi nodded his approval.

"Good choice," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at Emily.

"Remember, if he is the unsub, he's ashamed of the disorder, so use that to your advantage," instructed Spencer.

"Tell him you can't believe that someone like him could do this. Throw him a lifeline," said Hotch.

Emily nodded.

"Right," said Emily.

"Ask him for his autograph," said Morgan.

Emily laughed before noticing the look that Morgan was giving her.

"Oh. Right. Right. Adulation," said Emily as she walked into the interrogation room and looked at Paul Davies, "Mr. Davies. Have a seat, relax," said Emily.

"Relax? How the hell am I supposed to relax?" demanded Paul.

"Please sit," said Emily gently as she sat down.

Paul started to sit down.

"I've been trying to call my manager, but I can't get a signal," said Paul.

"These interrogation rooms don't usually have cell service," said Emily.

"Is there another phone that I can use? I-I think there's been a really big mistake," said Paul.

Emily shook her head.

"There's been no mistake. I'm sure that you couldn't have had anything to do with what's happened," said Emily.

"Really?" asked Paul.

"I mean, you're the one that brought me in here," said Paul dryly.

Emily nodded.

"The police gave me some bad information," said Emily.

"You're not the police?" asked Paul.

Spencer who was focusing on the interrogation looked at his male teammates and Lieutenant Kim.

"Good, she's confusing him. Schizophrenics can't follow that," said Spencer.

"Neither one of us is the type of person who belongs in a police interrogation room," said Emily as she pointed at herself,

"Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss, Federal Bureau of Investigation," said Emily.

"FBI?" asked a shocked Paul.

Emily nodded as she moved her hair out of her eyes.

"And, of course, I know who you are. I'm a big fan," laughed Emily.

"Really?" asked Paul.

Emily laughed.

"Does that surprise you?" asked Emily.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's a surprise," said Paul.

Emily moved her hair behind her ear again.

"OK. well, before we get started…," said Emily as she placed a yellow notepad in front of Paul, "Would you mind?" asked Emily as she clicked a pen and placed it onto the notepad.

"Would I mind what?" asked Paul.

"Well, I hate to ask, but I don't usually get opportunities like this," said Emily.

Paul quickly realized what Emily was doing.

"What the hell is this? You're no fan of mine," said Paul before looking at the double mirror, "You people think I'm stupid," snapped Paul.

Spencer looked at his male teammates and Lieutenant Kim again.

"That kind of contradiction should completely confuse a schizophrenic. They can't make sense of it," said Spencer.

Paul looked at Emily.

"Am I suspected of something?" asked Paul.

"What's the name of your new album, the one that comes out today?" asked Emily as she showed Paul a picture of Tara.

A shocked Paul looked at Emily.

"Is she-" asked Paul before he couldn't talk.

"Dead? Yes. With the name of your new album written on her," said Emily.

"It's a common phrase," said Paul.

"Is it? It seems a little odd to me. The instead of a. And this girl went home with you last night," said Emily as she showed Paul a picture of Erin Hickman.

Paul quickly remembered Erin.

"She's dead?" asked Paul.

Emily nodded.

"Can you explain that?" asked Emily.

Paul pushed the pictures away.

"I-I don't- I don't remember," said Paul.

"You don't remember hurting her?" asked Emily.

"No. No," said Paul as he got up and started to pace.

"Their blood was drained. From holes in their throats," said Emily.

A shocked Paul looked at Emily.

"What?" asked Paul.

Emily decided to raise her voice.

"Are you a vampire, Mr. Davies?" asked Emily.

"You can't be serious. It's a character I play, a stage act," said Paul.

Emily shook her head as she thought about her and Spencer going undercover as child service workers only for everything to go haywire when the state police raided Benjamin Cyrus's ranch and someone from the Attorney General's office telling the press that one of the child service workers is an FBI agent causing her to take a beating to keep Spencer safe.

"You know, sometimes things get out of hand," said Emily.

"No, no. This is-this is crazy. I don't know how that girl ended up like that. I think I need my manager here," said Paul.

"You're gonna do this all on your own, just like a big boy," said Emily.

"But I have the right to a lawyer," said Paul.

"Are you asking for an attorney?" asked Emily.

"No. I'm asking to speak to my manager so he can find one. I need a phone. I need to make a call. I need to make a call," said Paul causing Emily to clean up everything she put in front of Paul.

A few minutes later Spencer was following Morgan and Morgan on his crutches when as his phone rang.

"There's nothing you can do when they lawyer up, Prentiss," said Morgan.

Spencer quickly lets go of one crutch as he grabbed his phone as he used his right shoulder to help him move his right crutch in sync with his left crutch.

"Dr. Reid here," answered Spencer.

"Spence, what's going on?" asked JJ.

Morgan opened the door while Spencer walked through the door.

"The possible suspect's some sort of rock and roll star," said Spencer.

"Seriously?" asked JJ.

"Yeah. A lot of it doesn't fit the profile, though," said Spencer.

"Anything I can do?" asked JJ.

Spencer thought about the news reporters that camped themselves outside.

"There's a lot of media attention," said Spencer.

"All right. well, I'm already here at Gina's house, so let me get some info and I'll be back," said JJ.

Spencer arrived at a table.

"Great. Thank you so much," said Spencer before he hung up and sat down while Morgan looked at everyone.

"None of this makes any sense," said Morgan.

"No," said Hotch as Lieutenant Kim entered the room.

"Television is saying his new record is selling through the roof. All of his stuff is. As soon as his being questioned in an actual string of murders became public," said Lieutenant Kim.

"What do they say? Any publicity's good publicity," said Rossi.

Lieutenant Kim sighed.

"What are we gonna do with him?" asked Lieutenant Kim just as Hotch's phone rang.

"Hotchner," answered Hotch.

"Well, he wants to talk to his manager, so maybe we let him make that call and find out what that guy knows," said Emily.

"It's worth a try," said Morgan.

Emily nodded and walked away.

"You sure? OK, thanks," said Hotch before hanging up and looked at his male teammates and Emily, "That's the lab," said Hotch.

Rossi looked at the man he convinced to join the B.A.U.

"Something?" asked Rossi.

"The saliva samples from the victims' throats- The DNA's from a woman," said Hotch.

After a minute of silence, Spencer looked at his brother-in-law, Morgan, and Rossi.

"A woman? That's incredibly rare," said Spencer.

"But not impossible," said Rossi.

"No, but Renfield's with this type of aggression- It almost never presents this way," said Spencer.

"OK, we knew something was wrong. Our profiles have never been this far off, Reid. Go back and work it with a woman. See if there's anything we may have missed," said Morgan causing Spencer to quickly grab his crutches and stand up while Morgan looked at him again, "and I promise you that I'll have a talk with JJ about using your phone to call me and tell me that you were ready when you were right about not feeling ready," said Morgan.

A minute later Spencer entered the conference room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting in front of the clear board talking to himself

"A woman-what changes, what doesn't?" asked Spencer as he continued to look at everything he wrote down while he mumbled to himself, "Older female…," said Spencer as he looked into a file, "Oh, no," said Spencer just as his cell phone rang causing him to answer his phone.

"Yeah," answered Spencer.

"Uh, Reid, Uh, I found fan mail to Dante. Vampire fan mail. It's bananas," said Garcia.

"Obsessional?" asked Spencer.

"Ad infinitum and beyond. Tara's friend Gina- The stuff she writes- She-he's her god. A vampire god. She lives for him. She said she'll kill for him," said Garcia nervously.

"And she fits every other piece of the profile," said Spencer as he remembered that JJ was going to meet with Gina King causing him to quickly hang up, "Guys!" called out Spencer as he quickly grabbed his crutches and stood up and hobbled towards his teammates, "The girl Tara was with before she died- Gina-it's her," said Spencer.

"Do you have an address?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah. I think JJ is there right now," said Spencer frantically.

"Let's go," said Hotch.

Spencer quickly rattled off the address before he watched his teammates head off.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was standing up on his crutches as he rang the doorbell for Parker's and Lila's apartment and a few seconds later Spencer grinned when Parker let him into the apartment.

"I'm glad that you have time to visit for two hours," said Parker.

"JJ is currently at the hospital getting checked out, so Morgan told me to take some time to meet up with you," said Spencer as he hobbled into Parker's apartment before looking at Lila who was watching the news, "Hi, Lila," said Spencer.

"Hello, Spencer, and was Paul Davis innocent?" asked Lila.

"Yes," said Spencer before he sat down.

Parker sat down next to his fiancée and looked at Spencer.

"Even though we talked on your birthday, how's your knee?" asked Parker.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"You already saw me bearing weight on it, and I'm happy to say that I started driving again two weeks ago," said Spencer.

"That's great," said Parker.

"Knowing that Clarissa is pregnant with twins, I bet that she's grateful that you can pick up some of the slack," said Lila.  
"Even though I'm cleared to drive again, I can't carry any of the kids around until I graduate down to using one crutch," said Spencer.

"Have you tried yet?" asked Parker.

"I tried holding onto only one of the parallel bars yesterday morning while I walked between the two parallel bars, but I couldn't do it," said Spencer before smiling a bit, "I have physical therapy again on Thursday, and my physical therapist is going to have me try again because Clarissa and I are coming out here for Dr. Fallon's lecture on Friday," said Spencer.

"Are you and Clarissa still going to meet with Parker and me for dinner before you two head to Irving, California?" asked Lila.

"We're still planning on it," said Spencer.

"Good because Parker and I want to ask you two something in person instead of over the phone," said Lila.

xxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was standing up in the kitchenette on his crutches getting JJ a blanket as he looked at his teammates.

"Do you guys think Davies will continue to perform as Dante?" asked Spencer.

Emily handed JJ a bottle of water.

"The character's probably responsible for the murder of four women. If he has any conscience at all, Dante died with them," said Emily.

JJ accepted a bottle of Tylenol from Hotch.

"Thanks," said JJ.

Spencer started to head towards his teammates on his crutches while he held a blanket while Emily looked at JJ.

"Are you OK?" asked Emily.

"Yeah. The doctor said it'll be sore for a while, but I'm fine, really," said JJ tiredly.

Spencer approached the long couch and started to cover up JJ.

"I feel so bad I didn't go with you to interview Gina," said Spencer softly.

"Spence, stop, all right?" asked JJ while Spencer sat down by JJ's feet, "We had no way of knowing she was gonna be dangerous. She was just a friend of a victim. Granted, a schizophrenic friend with a sociopathic partner," said JJ.

"And a shovel," said Emily dryly.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Seriously, Reid, we had no way of knowing that Gina had that type of anger inside of her," said Morgan.

"Yeah, but she was obsessed with Dante. I should have known that that level of fixation can lead to manipulation," said Spencer softly.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"But only when the fixation's coupled with schizophrenia, which we had no way of knowing," said Hotch.

"Still it never ceases to amaze me how dark obsession can get," said Emily.

"And with a pop star? I mean, I was obsessed with the Rat Pack, but I wouldn't have killed for Frank or Dean," said Rossi.

"No, you just drank whiskey and smoked cigars," joked Hotch.

Rossi glared at Hotch.

"This from the man who's favorite record is the Beatles' White Album," shot back Rossi.

"Just because Manson hijacked it doesn't have to ruin it for the rest of us," said Hotch.

Spencer smirked.

"That's why I stick to Beethoven. There's no chance of guilt by association," said Spencer.

"Well, yeah. Have you ever seen a movie called "A Clockwork Orange"?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded.

"With Clarissa, but that doesn't change my opinion on Beethoven," said Spencer causing laughter before Spencer looked at JJ, "From hearing that I was right about the type house that the unsub possibly was possibly living in; I hope you learned your lesson about not paying attention to the profile I wrote on the board, telling Morgan that I was finished with the profile when I had a feeling that I should be refining it more, while I also suggested that you take an officer with you just in case because taking an officer as back up or calling the team for back up as soon as you saw the condition of the house because you could have possibly avoided getting hit on the head by a shovel," said Spencer.

"I already told myself that I would start listening to you more because I ended up thinking about Hankel when I was hit on the head by a shovel since I'm going to be having one hell of a headache during Henry's birthday party on Sunday," said JJ.

Morgan looked at JJ.

"I hope you know that I'll have to write you up and suspend you for the rest of the week because of your actions," said Morgan.

"I know, but at least I can spend the next few days preparing for Henry's birthday party," said JJ before sighing, "I can't believe that Henry will be one on Sunday," said JJ.

"When it comes to Diana turning six next month, I hate to remind you that kids grow up fast and that you should cherish every moment you have with your child before they start going to school like Diana," said Spencer before looking at JJ,

"I'm sorry that Clarissa and I won't be able to make it to Henry's birthday party on Sunday," said Spencer.

"When it comes to your brother-in-law giving you tickets to attend Dr. Fallon's lecture on your birthday last month, it's OK, Spence because I know that you're very excited about attending Dr. Fallon's lecture while getting to celebrate your wedding anniversary a few weeks early with Clarissa," said JJ.

Spencer sighed.

"I can't believe that the nine-year anniversary of the day I lost my adoptive parents and meeting Clarissa is in 20 days," said Spencer.

Hotch nodded as he looked at his brother-in-law.

"I can't believe that it's been nearly nine years since you entered my life, but I'm grateful that my sister has you as her husband because if you didn't meet my sister when you did and still joined the B.A.U. I would have played matchmaker on you and my sister," said Hotch.

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A few hours later Spencer entered the house on his crutches and smiled when he saw Diana, Bridget, and Evan sitting on the floor playing with blocks together, Clarissa sitting on the couch reading a book, while hearing Lucy and Anthony talking in the kitchen as he smelled lasagna cooking.

"I see that everyone is too absorbed in their activities to see that I came home," said Spencer as he locked his revolver into its gun safe.

Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan turned their heads.

"Daddy," cried Diana and Bridget as both girls scrambled to their feet and ran to their daddy.

"Dada," cried Evan as he scrambled to his feet and ran to his daddy.

"That's because you didn't call ahead and tell me that you were coming home Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer laughed as he allowed Diana, Bridget, and Evan to take turns hugging him without knocking him down.

"That's because I love surprising four of my seven favorite people," said Spencer as he quickly walked to the couch on his crutches and sat down and kissed Clarissa.

"You are getting faster on your crutches, Spence," said Clarissa.

Spencer grinned.

"This isn't my first time on crutches and I'm getting closer to getting to hobble around with one crutch instead of two, Clara," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at Diana, Bridget, and Evan who returned to playing with their blocks before she started to rub her husband's upper arms and shoulders.

"Even though I hate the fact that you've been on crutches for almost three months, I just love the results that all this crutch walking is doing to your upper body, Spence," purred Clarissa before she kissed her husband.

Diana stopped helping her little brother and sister build their tower of blocks and looked at her parents who were making out on the couch.

"Please save the flirting and kissing for the bedroom when Bridget, Evan, and I are asleep in our beds," said Diana firmly causing Spencer and Clarissa to stop kissing and look at their nearly six-year-old daughter with wide eyes before Anthony came out to tell them that dinner was almost done.


	89. Outfoxed Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay on this chapter. Aside from wanting to focus on Spencer's Done and reading library books on my Kindle, I actually had trouble getting started on this chapter because of mentally preparing myself for the next couple of chapters. I am warning you readers that tissues will be needed during chapter 91.
> 
> This chapter starts the day after the last chapter and I have it that the case that happens in this chapter happens on Monday November 16th instead of Wednesday November 18th because of Emily asking Spencer about how his weekend was. 
> 
> As someone who has Asperger's syndrome, I want to wish all you readers who either have autism or a child or grandchild with autism happy World Autism Awareness Day everyone!

Andy clapped his hands after Spencer successfully walked through the parallel bars while only holding onto a bar with his right hand.

"Excellent, Spencer," said Andy before he handed Spencer one of his crutches, "Now I want you to walk around the room with one crutch underneath your right armpit," said Andy.

Diana who only attended school in the morning because of having a dentist appointment before her daddy's physical therapy appointment looked at her daddy.

"You can do this, daddy," said Diana.

"Would you hold my hand while I walk around the room, Diana?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana as she grabbed her father's left hand before the father and daughter duo started to walk around the room.

After Spencer successfully walked around the room with one crutch underneath his right armpit, Clarissa grinned at her husband.

"I'm so proud of you, Spence," said Clarissa.

Diana hugged her father.

"Me too, daddy," said Diana.

"Me three, daddy," said Bridget.

Evan who could already count to 10 thanks to his oldest sister teaching him looked up at his daddy.

"Me four, Dada," said Evan.

Bridget looked at Andy as she started to use her eyes on her daddy's physical therapist.

"Can daddy pwease carry me now?" asked Bridget as she quivered her lip.

Andy smiled.

"I'm planning that you and your siblings each have a turn being carried by your daddy before you guys leave," said Andy before looking at the 17-month-old toddler, "We might as well start with Evan since he's the lightest of you three munchkins," said Andy as he used his nickname for the children that weaved their way into his heart since October 7th.

"Yay!" cheered Evan.

Andy lifted Evan up and groaned.

"What has your mommy, daddy, and nannies been feeding you, little man?" asked Andy as he tickled Evan's belly.

Evan squealed with laughter.

"Food," giggled Evan.

A few seconds later Andy was settling Evan onto his father's left hip while making sure that Spencer had a firm hold on his son.

"You ready?" asked Andy.

Spencer nodded as he started to walk around the room with Evan on his hip, and when Spencer reached his wife, daughters, and physical therapist Andy smiled at Spencer.

"I officially clear you to carry Evan," said Andy.

Spencer and Clarissa grinned at each other.

Bridget looked at Andy.

"My turn?" asked Bridget.

Andy chuckled at the puppy dog eyes that Bridget was giving her.

"It's your turn, sweetheart," said Andy as he removed Evan from Spencer's left arm and settled the 17-month-old boy onto the ground before scooping up Bridget and playfully groaned, "You've definitely been growing too, sweetheart," said Andy as he placed Bridget onto her father's left hip.

As soon as Spencer made sure that he had a tight grip on his second oldest child, he started to walk around the room.

"I happy tat you can carry me again, daddy," said Bridget.

"Me too, Cricket," said Spencer.

As soon as Spencer and Bridget reached Clarissa, Diana, Evan, and Andy; Andy looked at Diana.

"Even though you're tall for a nearly six-year-old girl, I think that we can have your daddy try to carry you around as long as you wrap your legs around your daddy's waist, little lady," said Andy as he removed Bridget from her father's arm.

Diana grinned.

"I promise to make sure that I wrap my legs around my daddy's abdomen and back because I already did that before daddy got injured," said Diana.

Andy smiled as he hefted up Diana and groaned.

"Seems like you've been having a growth spurt, little lady," said Andy as he settled the nearly six-year-old little girl onto her father's left hip before making sure that Spencer had a strong grasp on Diana, "Are you ready, Spencer?" asked Andy.

Spencer nodded as he tightened his grasp on Diana with his left arm.  
"Yes, Andy," said Spencer.

"Now go ahead and walk around the room while carrying Diana," said Andy.

Spencer started to walk around the room with Diana on his hip while he looked at Diana.

"Are you happy about the progress I've been making?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Diana.

"It will be another month before I can give you piggyback rides again, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"I know, but I'm happy that you can finally carry me around again, daddy," said Diana as she and her father reached Clarissa, Bridget, Evan, and Andy.

"Even though I'm clearing you to walk with one crutch now, I hope that you start going cane shopping because I'm planning that you graduate to a cane next week," said Andy before chuckling as he shook his head, "When it comes to all three kids mastering the puppy dog eye look and the pout, I hope that you know what you're getting into when Ariel and Caden are born," said Andy.

"I know," said Spencer before looking at Clarissa, "What do you think of us taking the kids to Chuck E. Cheese's in Alexandria to celebrate the progress I made today?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"I was just about to suggest that," said Clarissa.

"Yay!" cheered Diana, Bridget, and Evan.

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The next morning Spencer and Clarissa who were already both wearing comfortable clothes for their five-hour flight looked at Diana, Bridget, and Evan.

"Daddy and I want you three to be on your best behavior while daddy and I are in California," said Clarissa.

"I promise to be good because Santa is always watching over us," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled as they thought about telling the kids that they better be on their best behavior because of Santa starting to watch over them on November 1st.

"When will you and daddy come home?" asked Bridget.

"Monday morning," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her father.

"Are you and mommy going to see Parker?" asked Diana.

Spencer nodded.

"Parker and Lila are treating Clarissa and me to dinner before we head to Irving for the lecture that your uncle Aaron gave mommy and me tickets for," said Spencer.

"I wish that I can be a flower girl for Parker's wedding," said Diana.

"Me too," said Bridget.

"Me three," said Evan.

Spencer and Clarissa chuckled while Clarissa looked at her 17-month-old son.

"If you stood up in a wedding, you would be a ring bearer, baby boy," said Clarissa before looking at her watch, "Daddy and I have to catch our cab to the airport, so let's get those hugs and kisses and daddy and I will video chat with you three tonight," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer and Clarissa were giving each of their children a big hug and a kiss before Diana, Bridget, and Evan each kissed their mother's baby bump and told Ariel and Caden that they love them before each feeling a kick.

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Over eight hours later, Spencer and Clarissa were sitting across from Parker and Lila in a restaurant that banned paparazzi when Parker looked at Spencer.

"I want you to have the honor of being my best man because if it wasn't for you I wouldn't of have the nerve to ask Lila out," said Parker.

"I'm honored, Parker," said Spencer.

Lila looked at Clarissa.

"Even though we've gotten to know each other for the past year and a half, would you be my matron of honor in June?" asked Lila.

"I would love to," said Clarissa.

Parker instantly thought about Diana, Bridget, and Evan.

"Lila and I also want Diana, Bridget, and Evan to be our flower girls and ring bearer," said Parker.

Spencer laughed.

"Diana will be pleased because she asked us to ask you if she can be your flower girl," said Spencer.

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Later on that night, Spencer and Clarissa were in their hotel room in Irving, California getting ready for bed when Clarissa looked at her husband.

"I had an interesting call from Washington International School while you were in Los Angeles and I wanted to wait until we were settled into our hotel room," said Clarissa.

"Did Diana do anything that caused her to get into trouble or are they wanting her to skip another grade?" asked Spencer.

"Diana is fine, but Shelly's husband is transferring to Okinawa for a few years at the beginning of April and Shelly and her children are going to join him," said Clarissa before taking a deep breath, "Due to how much the kids loved me last year, the school is hoping that I'll work for them full-time again as a school nurse when I'm ready to work again after Ariel and Caden are born," said Clarissa.

"Have you given them your answer yet?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa shook her head.

"I haven't yet because I wanted to talk to you about this job offer before I make my final decision," said Clarissa.

Spencer reached over and took his wife's hand and squeezed it.

"Since you're so supportive about me working a job that requires me to be on-call and travel all over the country I'll support any decision you make about your career," said Spencer.

"I'm going to accept this job because Bridget starts preschool next fall and I can easily be there for her if she has a meltdown," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"I support your decision," said Spencer before looking into his wife's blue eyes, "Are you sure that you want to attend Dr. Fallon's lecture with me tomorrow morning?" asked Spencer.

"Even though I'm a pediatric nurse, I don't mind attending lectures like this with you because we're spending childless time together while I get to watch you enjoy attending a lecture," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband, "I hope you know that when you're walking unassisted and I have these babies, we're really going to celebrate the progress you made in your recovery," said Clarissa.

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The next morning Spencer and Clarissa were sitting next to each other in a lecture hall as they focused on the man who was standing in the front of the room.

"Now, from these experiments, a few factors became evident. One was the realization that serial killers have been with us since the dawn of man. My name is professor James Fallon. I'm a scientist- neuroscientist- And I study the human brain. It is a complex and sometimes lethal machine. In a blind experiment, colleagues sent me 70 MRI brain scans, and I had no idea who these brains belonged to. Some were normals, some were schizophrenics, and some were killers. I analyzed all of them, five of which I determined were the brains of psychopaths. And it turned out that, indeed, these five were the brains of serial killers, some of whom you know. In studies such as these, one looks at the biological factors... That is, the genetics and also the brain pathology. The five brains we identified all had damage to the orbital cortex, which is right above the eyes. Now, high-risk allele of the monoamine oxidase a, the maoa gene may also be present in these people, and that's key," said Dr. Fallon while Spencer nodded before looking at Clarissa who was rubbing her stomach as he reached over and grabbed her right hand, "Now, under the effects of the high-risk gene, the brain of the psychopath was bathed in way too much serotonin during fetal development. As an adult, this brain is now numb to seratonin's calming effects. The first dangerous elements are now in place. The damage is done. Now, this is a recipe for catastrophe. So when the fetus reaches the day of labor, the potential serial killer is born," said James.

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Three days later Spencer and Clarissa just got off the plane when Spencer's work phone rang causing him to quickly answer it.

"Dr. Reid," answered Spencer.

"I know that you just got off the plane now and you took the day off, but we have a family annihilator who is killing the wives and kids of fathers who are serving overseas right now in Hampton, Virginia and there's an agent from the Hoover Building who will drive you to the crime scene who will be arriving in five minutes," said JJ before hanging up.

Spencer looked at Clarissa.

"I'm sorry that I won't be able to come to your post-flight check-up, but there's an agent on his or her way to pick me up," said Spencer.

Clarissa rested a hand on her husband's arm.

"It's OK, Spence," said Clarissa.

"When I get home, I desperately need the kids to sleep with us," said Spencer softly.

Clarissa rested her hands on her 33-week pregnant baby bump.

"Kids were murdered?" asked Clarissa softly.

Spencer nodded.

"Yes," said Spencer softly.

"The kids can sleep with us when you get home while I promise to send you a lot of pictures of the kids," said Clarissa.

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Spencer walked towards a house in Hampton, Virginia and walked towards a house that had a lot of stuffed animals on the porch while feeling saddened at the thought of a soldier who was currently overseas lost his wife and kids.

Spencer entered the house and set his messenger bag down in the kitchen before he looked at the trail of blood in the kitchen before looking into the living room to see toys that Jocelyn. A few seconds later Spencer walked towards the fridge that contained photos of kids causing him to think about all the photos of Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, and himself and drawings that Diana, Bridget, and Evan drew being on the refrigerator in his kitchen. A minute later Spencer was staring at the swimming pool while he thought about the swimming pool that was currently drained until May as he watched a military jet fly past the house when he heard Emily's voice.

"Hey, how was your early wedding anniversary trip with Clarissa?" asked Emily.

Spencer pivoted himself and made eye contact with his soon to be sister-in-law, his brother-in-law, JJ, Morgan, Rossi, and another woman.

"Even though I miss the kids and enjoyed quality time with Clarissa, it was uh, scary yet informative," said Spencer before looking at the mystery woman, "Was the whole family killed?" asked Spencer.

Rossi looked at Agent Hudson.

"Hudson, this is Dr. Spencer Reid," said Rossi.

Anne reached out for Spencer's free hand that Spencer surprisingly shook.

"Field Agent Anne Hudson. The, uh, father is serving in Iraq. Three nights ago the cops found his family buried over there," said Agent Hudson as she gestured her head to an area that has crime scene tape.

Spencer furrowed his eyebrows.

"Buried?" asked Spencer.

Emily looked at Spencer as she opened up a file.

"The neighbors heard the dog barking, came over, and he was scratching at the grave. Lucy, their oldest child, she's still in her swimsuit," said Emily as she, Spencer, and Agent Hudson headed towards the area that had crime scene tape.

"What does the father know?" asked Hotch.

"Some of it. He was on patrol. Took his unit a couple of days to reach him. He arrives today," said Agent Hudson.

"Last year the Williams family was killed and found exactly the same way. They lived in Newport News," said Rossi.

"The father, Dan Williams, was also serving overseas," said Morgan.

"Now, the police are overwhelmed and getting serious heat from the military. We need some answers fast," said Agent Hudson.

"As do the media. They're already calling this the work of a serial killer," said JJ.

"They're right. It is," said Hotch.

Agent Hudson gestured to the dug up grave.

"But why bury them? I mean, it can't be to hide the bodies," said Agent Hudson.

"It's a sign of remorse. And when they're done being remorseful, this will happen again," said Morgan before walking away.

Spencer sighed to himself as he looked at the dug up grave.

"At least I already told Clarissa that the kids need to sleep with us when I get home," said Spencer to himself.

Agent Hudson looked at Spencer.

"How many kids do you have and how old are they?" asked Agent Hudson.

Spencer smiled a bit as he pulled out his phone and showed Agent Hudson a picture of Diana, Bridget, and Evan together that Lucy sent him and Clarissa while they were in California.

"A five-year-old daughter named Diana, a two-year-old daughter named Bridget, and a 17-month-old son named Evan while my wife is 33-weeks pregnant with our second son and third daughter that my oldest insists on naming Ariel and Caden," said Spencer.

"You definitely have your hands full," said Agent Hudson.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"Even though Bridget and Evan have their moments, Diana, Bridget, and Evan are very well behaved kids and they're all excited about getting another little brother and sister," said Spencer.

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Spencer, Emily, and JJ approached Morgan and Agent Hudson to find Morgan shaking his head.

"Whoever did this knew both fathers were serving overseas," said Morgan.

Emily looked at Agent Hudson.

"Laura Downey's wedding rings are missing. Any other valuables?" asked Emily.

"We'll have to ask the husband. From the Williams home, only jewelry and watches were missing," said Agent Hudson just as Hotch and Rossi approached them.

Spencer looked at his teammates and Agent Hudson while choosing to make eye contact with his brother-in-law.

"The unsub only took what he can carry, which means he's most likely on foot," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Agent Hudson.

"There was a photo on the wall in the kitchen. I'd like to see it," said Rossi.

Agent Hudson nodded.

"Sure," said Agent Hudson.

Hotch who was thinking about his three nieces Diana, Bridget, and Savannah looked at Agent Hudson.

"There's no sign of sexual assault in the Williams case. What about Lucy?" asked Hotch.

"Nothing on the coroner's report. Multiple suspects?" asked Agent Hudson.

Hotch gestured to the blood on the cement.

"The mother was dragged out of the house. If it had been multiple suspects, they probably would have carried her," said Hotch.

"He knew the father was absent, therefore the dominant threat was absent. So we could be looking for a single suspect," said Morgan.

"No sign of forced entry," said Agent Hudson.

"No need. Lucy was in the pool, the back door was open. The unsub walked right in," said Hotch.

"That means Lucy probably died last," said Spencer.

"In both cases, the girls were suffocated and not shot. I don't think it's a coincidence," said Hotch.

JJ answered her ringing cell phone and put it on speaker.

"Hey, Garcia. You're on speaker," warned JJ.

"We just got a call from Virginia Super Max Prison. One of the inmates there has received two envelopes in the last two days. The first envelope had clippings of the Newport News killings. The second envelope had media clippings of the Downey family. In the second envelope was a note saying, "look at what I've done, " and both pieces of mail Have been signed by "an admirer."," said Garcia seriously.

Spencer squinted as he thought about possible family annihilators that were at the Virginia Super Max.

"Who's the inmate?" asked JJ.

"That's the part that... Karl Arnold," said Garcia.

"The Fox?" asked JJ.

"He's back," said Garcia.

"OK, thanks," said JJ before hanging up.

"Family annihilator, absent father, wedding rings. It's similar," said Hotch while Spencer and Morgan both nodded.

"To what?" asked Agent Hudson.

"Four years ago, Karl Arnold, aka The Fox, killed eight families," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at his own wedding band.

"Just like this case, he took wedding rings, only he took them as trophies," said Spencer.

"He'd hide in the bushes outside the homes," said Morgan while he, Spencer, Hotch, and JJ explained the case to Emily, Rossi, and Agent Hudson.

"So, we're working with a copycat here?" asked Agent Hudson.

"It's too early to assume anything," said Hotch.

"It could bias the profile," said Spencer.

"Not to mention the police, the media, and the military would jump all over it," said Emily.

"Until we're positive, none of this information leaves the seven of us," said Morgan firmly before looking at Hotch, "Hotch, you gave evidence at Arnold's trial. I think you should go see him," said Hotch.

"I'd like to take Prentiss with me," said Hotch.

Emily looked at her fiance.

"Let's go," said Emily

before walking away.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law, Morgan, JJ, and Rossi.

"Have Garcia check on all of Arnold's prison correspondence and visitors for the last four years," said Hotch just as JJ's phone vibrated.

"OK. Captain Joseph Downey has arrived back at the station," said JJ before looking at Spencer who was propped up on one crutch, "We should probably have you sit down because your knee must be getting tired," said JJ.

Spencer nodded before sighing.

"When I first worked the Karl Arnold case, Diana was only 22-months-old, my nephew was a week old, while Bridget and Evan weren't even born yet," said Spencer wistfully before shaking his head, "During that case I had to deal with a suspect asking me if Hotch was my daddy while I came home to find Clarissa chasing a streaking Diana when I went home to eat and get some sleep," said Spencer causing some chuckles.

"Is that interrogation why you have a running joke of calling Aaron 'dad'?" asked Rossi.

Spencer nodded.

"Eric Miller asking me if Hotch was my daddy in front of Hotch was way too funny for me not to let Hotch live it down," said Spencer before smirking a bit, "Plus my interrogation also made Eric Miller cry," said Spencer.

"Really?" asked Rossi.

JJ nodded as she looked at Rossi.

"Spence's interrogation is on tape," said JJ.

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Spencer was sitting on a table with Rossi standing nearby as both men watched JJ, Morgan, and Agent Hudson tell Captain Downey that his wife and three children were murdered causing Spencer's mind to drift somewhere else as he watched Captain Downey collapsed in Morgan's arms.

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Flashback to March 30th of 1986

Four-year-old Spencer Reid exited his bedroom as he rubbed his eyes before slipping his glasses on, and 10 seconds later he found aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon sitting in the living room hugging each other with tears falling down their faces while an unfamiliar woman sat on the couch nearby before noticing that his aunt Ethel didn't have her hearing aids in.

"Aunt Ethel. Uncle Gordon. Where are mommy and daddy? Why are you two crying? Why is there a stranger in the house?" said/signed Spencer.

Gordon choked up as he let go of his wife and pulled Spencer onto his lap.

"Your mommy, daddy, and uncle Daniel went to Heaven last night," said Gordon.

Spencer's eyes went wide.

"They promised me that I would see them after I wake up," said Spencer.

"They did, but they were in a car accident and the damage was too severe for them to survive," choked Gordon as he hugged his nephew.

A few seconds later Spencer started sobbing while Gordon rubbed his nephew's back.

Fast forward to November 28th of 2000

Spencer was getting ready for his morning lectures when there was a knock on the door of his dorm. A minute later he saw his academic adviser with a police officer who both had grim faces.

"Did I do anything wrong officer?" asked Spencer.

"May I please come in?" asked Officer Benson.

"Sure," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer was sitting across from Officer Benson who introduced himself.

"At three AM your aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon were killed by a drunk driver while they were driving back from New York City," said Officer Benson.

At that moment Spencer fell onto his pillows while bursting into tears.

Flashback ended

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Spencer felt a hand on his shoulder causing him to blink a few times to see Rossi looking at him with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you alright?" asked Rossi.

Spencer blinked rapidly a few times.

"I am, why?" asked Spencer.

"You spaced out for a few moments," said Rossi.

Spencer sighed.

"I just had flash backs to the times I was told that my parents were murdered before flashing back to the time when I was told that my aunt and uncle died," said Spencer softly before sighing, "I can't believe that the nine-year anniversary of the day that my aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon were murdered is happening in 12 days," said Spencer.

Rossi rested gently rested a hand on Spencer's shoulder.

"I know that having an eidetic memory isn't easy for you since you always remember the worst moments in your life, but remember that you still have a lot of great memories that you should take a few minutes to check in on," said Rossi.

Spencer titled his head as he stood up and placed his one crutch underneath his right armpit.

"I guess that I'll call Clarissa because she should already be home from her check-up," said Spencer just as his phone rang causing him to see that it was Clarissa causing him to hobble as quickly as he could with one crutch, "How's it going, Clarissa?" asked Spencer.

"Its Bridget calling you, daddy," said Bridget.

"Did you take mommy's phone to call me?" asked Spencer.

"Mommy take a nap," said Bridget.

"So mommy's tired and she's taking a nap?" asked Spencer.

"Yes daddy," said Bridget before sighing, "You not come home with mommy, daddy," said Bridget.

"Daddy wished that he could have come home with mommy, but daddy got called in for work as soon as mommy and I got off the plane," said Spencer.

"I miss you when you and mommy are away," said Bridget.

"I missed you and your siblings while mommy and I went to California and I promise you that I'll give you and your siblings each a hug and a kiss as soon as I help put the bad buy in a really long timeout," said Spencer.

"OK," said Bridget.

"Hi Dada," said Evan.

Spencer smiled as he realized that Bridget handed the phone to his 17-month-old son.

"How's daddy's little tadpole doing?" asked Spencer.

"I miss Mama. I miss Dada," said Evan.

Spencer smiled as he realized that Evan's language skills are becoming more advanced.

"You missed mommy and me while mommy and I were in California?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Evan.

"Are you happy that mommy came home today?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Evan.

"Daddy wishes that he could have come home with mommy, but I had to work," said Spencer.

"K," said Evan.

"What is going on?" asked Clarissa.

"I call daddy, mommy," said Bridget.

A second later Spencer heard some rustling.

"I hope that Bridget and Evan didn't bother you during a time you shouldn't be answering phone calls, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I was just about to call you because of Rossi suggesting that I call you. So how was your doctor appointment?" asked Spencer.

"It went well and Dr. Larson talked about inducing labor if I don't go into labor at 36-weeks," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"The longer you carry the twins the more dangerous it would be," said Spencer.

"I know, but at least we agreed to call off our bet when we found out that we are having twins than a singleton," said Clarissa before sighing, "Would you believe it that I hope that Ariel and Caden would be born on November 28th so November 28th can no longer be one of the worst days of your life?" asked Clarissa just as she heard laughter, "I have to get going because Evan undressed himself and removed his diaper and is starting to run around the living room naked," said Clarissa.

Spencer chuckled.

"Evan is definitely going through the terrible twos at 17-months-old. I love you and the kids," said Spencer before hanging up.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting down with his bad leg crossed over his good leg and his crutch leaning on a chair in front of him when Morgan who was looking at the clear board looked at his teammates.

"If this unsub's copying The Fox, then we profile him like The Fox," said Morgan.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Karl Arnold worked as a psychologist's assistant, right?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah. Which made it easy for him to watch, target, and learn about the victims from a distance," said Spencer.

"Yeah, it also made him hard to find," said Morgan.

"Like The Fox, our man here found a way to hide in plain sight," said Rossi.

"But he's pulling from two completely different units. Williams a medic, Downey an army captain," said JJ.

"Someone knew of that military connection," said Rossi.

"Both families were attacked within a month of the fathers being deployed," said Morgan.

"Gave them time to settle in, get comfortable that the fathers weren't there," said Rossi.

"And once inside the home, The Fox would live with the families and then become the father," said Morgan.

Rossi shook his hand.

"But not this unsub. He just walked in and dispensed with the family. Living with them wasn't part of the fantasy," said Rossi just as Agent Hudson joined them.

"Agent Rossi. The picture you requested," said Agent Hudson as she handed Rossi the picture, "Thanks to you, we pulled some prints off it," said Agent Hudson.

Rossi looked at the glass.

"And all the prints were on Lucy. The bullet hit the father dead center," said Rossi as he pointed at the bullet hole on the glass.

"The prints match that of the Newport News killings. It's the same killer," said Agent Hudson.

"Family annihilators like The Fox, they start with one victim," said Morgan.

"And once they feel capable, they move on to a second victim," said Rossi.

"They don't start with entire families. There are more victims. We just haven't found them yet," said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer picked up a picture of Lucy as he tried to prevent himself from picturing Diana or Bridget in the picture.

"So Lucy dies last, alone. This by itself doesn't really mean anything, but when we look again at the Williams file, we notice that the majority of the foreign fingerprints came from Karen Williams' room, which means the unsub spent most of his time in there with Karen," said Spencer.

"Then he must have separated her from the rest of the family," said Agent Hudson.

"Lucy Downey was already in the pool. That much was done for the unsub," said Rossi.

"Then this unsub is driven by some other kind of compulsion, some other need," said Morgan.

Spencer thought about his oldest brother-in-law's theory.

"Hotch was right. This isn't a coincidence. It's a possible signature," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rossi looked at Spencer, Morgan, and Agent Hudson.

"We need to look at each of the victims as a hub, with lives outside of their own families," said Rossi.

"Well, each one of them has their own connections outside the family. School, friends, tutors, business colleagues," said Morgan.

Spencer nodded as he thought about having a wife and children causes him to have more connections.

"And each one of these people are considered access points back to the family," said Spencer.

Agent Hudson shook her head.

"That could take weeks. Well, you have time. From remorse to the desire to kill again the unsub will go through a gamut of emotions," said Morgan.

Spencer shifted in his seat as he thought about the possibility of more children dying.

"It could be another year before the unsub feels the desire to kill again," said Spencer.

"As horrific as these crimes are, this city doesn't have the resources to commit that amount of time," said Agent Hudson just as JJ approached them.

"We have full access to all military records for the fathers," said JJ.

"Well, now at least we have access to the main hub between families," said Rossi as he drew a line that connected the bubbles that he wrote 'dad' on the whiteboard, "The dads," said Rossi.

"All right, well, let's find out what connects them," said Morgan.

xxxxx

Spencer stood by the latest mass grave in the backyard of the newest victims' house when Morgan and Rossi joined him and Agent Hudson.

"The girl was suffocated, not shot, right?" asked Morgan.

"Yes," said Agent Hudson.

Morgan sighed as he knelt down and thought about Hank and Barbara.

"Just like the other two," said Morgan.

"Her name is Dani. She's 14," said Agent Hudson.

Spencer nodded as he thought about how his oldest daughter is going to be celebrating her sixth birthday in 35 days.

"And the father?" asked Morgan.

"Afghanistan. Does this rule out remorse?" asked Agent Hudson.

Rossi nodded.

"Yes, it does," said Rossi.

Agent Hudson crossed her arms.

"So what is it now?" asked Agent Hudson.

Morgan stood up to his full height.

"The escalation between kills indicates a major psychological break," said Morgan.

"How is it escalated?" asked Agent Hudson.

"The time frame between kills has gone from a year to just three days," said Rossi.

"For the unsub, something has dramatically changed," said Spencer.

"Some kind of major external stressor forced this unsub into feeling the need to kill again without any remorse," said Morgan.

"Mirror neurons and stressors relating to the unsub's past may have triggered this, the strongest of which is smell," said Spencer just as four airplanes few over them.  
Morgan looked at the planes and quickly realized something.

"That sound," said Morgan before looking at Rossi and Agent Hudson, "The Williams were killed a year ago," stated Morgan.

Rossi looked at Agent Hudson.

"Were there any military maneuvers going on at Langley at that time?" asked Rossi.

"The annual air show, but nothing as big as this," said Agent Hudson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Part two of Outfoxed will be up in a few days.


	90. Outfoxed Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's part two of Outfoxed and I'm sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I promise you guys that the next chapter will be longer.
> 
> Here's a warning that you faithful readers will need tissues nearby when I post chapter 91.
> 
> This chapter starts 30 minutes after the last chapter.

Spencer was standing up with his right foot flat on the floor while his bad knee was resting in a 90 degree angle on a chair without the aid of his crutch was staring at a crime scene photo trying to figure out what was niggling in his mind while JJ, Morgan, and Rossi video chatted with Garcia.

"I'm trolling through the Williams' emails, satellite phone calls, land-line phone calls, family photos, their life, all of it," said Garcia sadly as she thought about her and Morgan's five-month-old twins Hank and Barbara who were safe at home with their grandma Fran.

"What about the Downeys?" asked JJ.

"They're up next, and there's a ton to go through," said Garcia.

Rossi sighed as he thought about all his teammates are struggling with the case because of Diana, Bridget, Evan, Jack, Henry, Hank, and Barbara at the moment while everyone is hoping that George Foyet gets caught soon so Jack could come home to Hotch.

"Fingerprints, Garcia?" asked Rossi.

"Zip. They're-they- there's nothing here. I'm sorry, folks," said Garcia sadly.

Morgan looked at his wife.

"Garcia, widen the search," said Morgan.

"Derek, I already did. VICAP combines every database in this country. We're as wide as we can go," said Garcia.

At that moment Spencer flashed back to the lecture he and Clarissa attended over the weekend before his head shot up.

"All right, this air show is military. These fathers are all soldiers fighting a war on foreign soil. We know that none of these graves are a sign of remorse," said Morgan.  
Spencer quickly looked towards the clear board and pointed at the photos.

"Hey, guys. Look at these graves. What are they reminiscent of?" asked Spencer.

JJ looked at the photos.

"Mass graves," said JJ.

Spencer nodded.

"Exactly. Which would indicate the unsub experienced early pubescent three-dimentional mirror neurons reflecting events similar to the one they're creating. I think this unsub was born into conflict," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer and thought about Spencer knowing about every historical event in the world.

"But where was he born into conflict? When was the last time we saw anything like mass graves in the US?" asked Rossi.

"We haven't. Not in our lifetimes," said Spencer.

"Not within our borders. VICAP is national, not international," said Morgan.

JJ looked at Garcia.

"Garcia, international databases?" asked JJ.

"Interpol is the biggest. If they did it, they're in it," said Garcia.

"It's pretty obvious that he's done this before, but the question is where and why," said Morgan.

Rossi gently patted Spencer on the shoulder.

"Hopefully this breakthrough you came up with will help you get to tuck in Diana, Bridget, and Evan tonight," said Rossi.

Spencer nodded.

"I hope so too because I haven't hugged and kissed them since Friday morning and I already told Clarissa that the kids must sleep with us when I get home," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nearly a half hour later Morgan was finishing up a phone call with Emily.

"All right, we'll work it in right now," said Morgan as he hung up and looked at Spencer, Rossi, and JJ, "Prentiss thinks the unsub might be a woman," said Morgan.  
Rossi nodded.

"That's why we couldn't find a sexual motive," said Rossi.

"Wherever she's from, her father's a military man," said Morgan.

"Derek, I've got a hit. Interpol. Two hits," said Garcia as her computers beeped again, "Three hits. Three crime scenes. Three different cities. The first-Zagreb, 1998. A woman and her eight-month-old baby are both killed. And then two years later, the same prints show up in Modena, Italy, then 2007, London, England, a young couple, both shot," said Garcia.

Rossi closed his eyes.

"You were right. She's killed before," said Agent Hudson.

Spencer instantly remembered why Zagreb could be the first place where their female unsub would kill.

"Zagreb is the capital city of Croatia," said Spencer.

Agent Hudson looked at Spencer.

"Is that significant?" asked Agent Hudson.

Spencer nodded as he thought about the events that happened when he was between the ages of 10 and 14 and how he watched the news about the Bosnian War with his uncle Gordon.

"Between 1991 and '95 they fought a bitter battle for independence," said Spencer.

Rossi nodded.

"Serbian forces tried to ethnically cleanse over 40,000 Bosnian Muslims," said Rossi.

"Then at some point within the last two years, she moved to America," said Morgan.

"She's on the run," said JJ.

"And ran right into a city filled with military families," said Rossi.

"The only mass graves reminiscent of the ones the unsubs created were found all over Bosnia after the war, but none of them rival that of Srebrenica," said Spencer.

"Dutch UN forces created a safe haven for refugees," said Garcia.

Spencer nodded.

"Then in 1995, Bosnian Serb forces surrounded the town," said Spencer.

"A psychopath born in the middle of that conflict- That's not a good mix," said Rossi.

"She's exacting her life experiences onto the victims," said Spencer.

"You think this woman was there?" asked Agent Hudson.

"Well, think about it. Langley's filling up with civilians and military vehicles just like Srebrenica," said Morgan.

"Can you determine her age?" asked Agent Hudson.

"Based on victimology, each of these girls is no older than 15," said Morgan.

Spencer squinted as he thought about the possibility of the unsub being around his and Clarissa's ages.

"The Balkan War lasted between '91 and '95, so if the girls represent the unsub, she's somewhere in her late 20s," said Spencer.

Agent Hudson looked at Spencer.

"How did Srebrenica end?" asked Agent Hudson.

"It was a massacre," said Spencer grimly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting by his teammates when Morgan looked at the officers they were assisting and Agent Hudson.

"This unsub is armed and suffering a major psychological break, and she will not hesitate to kill again," said Morgan.

"She's white and in her 20s. We believe she came to the US a few years ago," said Rossi.

"She's likely on foot. She could be Eastern European. She may speak little to no English," said JJ.

"Now, if you manage to apprehend or corner her, do not underestimate this woman. She will try to fight her way out," said Morgan.

Spencer lifted up his crutch and pointed it at a map of Hampton, Virginia.

"The Downeys live less than a mile from the Foresters, which means she's somewhere in this area," said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer, Morgan, JJ, and Rossi were finishing up on giving the profile.

"Every media outlet is being informed of the clear and present danger to the public," said JJ.

"Thank you very much," said Morgan just as Garcia's face popped up on the laptop.

"OK, guys, I really have got something. All of these photos, every one of them, was uploaded to a user website called Photobug," said Garcia.

"Photobug?" asked Rossi.

JJ nodded as she thought about the website to share pictures of Henry with her relatives in Pennsylvania.

"Yeah. Members can upload photos, videos, email, webcam, chats. I use it all the time," said JJ.

"Every one of these families extensively used this site for months, even years," said Garcia.

Rossi looked at the pictures and saw 'Photobug' on each of them.

"All these family photos were printed by Photobug," said Rossi.

"Isn't it protected?" asked Agent Hudson.

Spencer looked at Agent Hudson.

"Not from the people who run it," said Spencer.

"It's a great way for military families to keep in touch," said JJ.

"And a perfect way to target a family without anybody's knowledge," said Morgan.

"They outsource work to people all over the country. So I took your profile, hacked into their employee database, came up with this list of potentials, one of which is a match that screams homicidal bitch," said Garcia as she pulled up a picture of a woman, "Her name's Miranda Dracar, she was an orphan, born in Sarajevo during 1982. She was adopted by a family in Srebrenica," said Garcia.

"Let's go," said Morgan as he, Rossi, JJ, and Agent Hudson quickly left the room.

As soon as Spencer was left alone, his personal phone rang causing Spencer to see that it was home calling.

"Hello?" asked Spencer.

"Hi, daddy," said Diana.

"Hi, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"Mommy said that you are in Hampton, Virginia right now," said Diana.

"I will actually be home by bedtime and you, Bridget, and Evan will be sleeping with mommy and me tonight," said Spencer.

"I'm glad because I missed you while you and mommy were in California, daddy," said Diana.

"How was school, bumble bee?" asked Spencer.

"I got an A+ on my social studies test about the Navajos, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer grinned as he thought back to helping Diana learn more about he Navajos because of Navajos living in his home state.

"I'm so proud of you, bumble bee," said Spencer just as his work phone rang, "I have to get going because of a phone call, bumble bee," said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy," said Diana.

"I love you too, bumble bee," said Spencer before hanging up and answered his work phone, "Dr. Spencer Reid," answered Spencer.

"Hello, Dr. Reid, it's Dr. Barton," said Dr. Barton.

"How are you doing, Dr. Barton?" asked Spencer.

"I no longer have nightmares over watching you get shot and you shooting Patrick Meyers in the forehead," said Dr. Barton.

"Good," said Spencer.

"How's your gunshot wound doing?" asked Dr. Barton.

"I'm actually doing great because I'm finally walking with one crutch instead of two," said Spencer.

"That's good to hear because I still feel guilty about you getting shot," said Dr. Barton.

"It's OK because I was just doing my job and I happy to say that I'll be walking unassisted by Christmas," said Spencer.

"The reason I'm calling is because I'm hoping that Jeffery and I could stop by at your house since we have a gift for you and your family and I know that your home address and land-line number wouldn't be found in the phone book because of you being an FBI agent and your wife being a pediatric nurse," said Dr. Barton.

"You are right about my home address not being listed in the phone book," said Spencer before he decided to continue, "I'm currently in Hampton, Virginia right now working on a case, but I will be home this evening," said Spencer.

"Is there a good time for me to show up?" asked Dr. Barton.

"At 7:30 because my wife and I will be tucking the kids into bed at 8 PM," said Spencer.

"7:30 will work perfectly and I hope that my phone call won't get you into trouble," said Dr. Barton.

Spencer chuckled.

"I'm not allowed to participate in any raids until I'm walking unassisted even though I believe that I could use my crutch to apprehend unsubs," said Spencer.

"My break is over, so I'll hopefully see you this evening," said Dr. Barton before hanging up.

A few seconds later Spencer was seeing a text message from Rossi about Miranda being killed before he quickly fired a quick text message to Clarissa.

I'LL BE HOME IN A FEW HOURS AND DR. BARTON WILL BE STOPPING BY AT 7:30 ~ SR

xxxxxxxx

Three hours later Spencer hobbled into his house on one crutch only to find Clarissa sitting with his grandparents.

"I'm glad to see you hobbling around with one crutch, Spencer," said Evan.

Spencer made his way to the couch and slowly sat down.

"I'm glad too because I'm able to carry one child at a time," said Spencer before looking at his grandfather, "I thought that we weren't going to get together until Friday for Shabbat?" asked Spencer.

"Clarissa told me that you couldn't find a cane to your liking in California and I decided to bring over a cane that you might like," said Evan as held up an antique cane with a bird as a handle, "I used this cane when I had my knee replaced 10 years ago and I believe that this cane is a perfect fit for you," said Evan as he handed the cane to his youngest grandson.

Spencer studied the cane and smiled at the handle that was in the shape of a bird head.

"I like it," said Spencer.

"Then please try it out," said Evan.

Spencer used the cane to stand up and started to walk around the living room with the cane.

"How does your knee feel, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smiled at his wife.

"My knee feels great, but I can't start walking with this cane until after my physical therapy appointment on Friday," said Spencer just as Diana, Bridget, and Evan who all just had their baths came downstairs with Lucy.

"Daddy," cried Diana and Bridget in unison.

"Dada," cried Evan.

A minute later Spencer was sitting on the couch with Diana sitting on his left side, Bridget sitting on his right side, while Evan sat on his right knee.

"I missed you when you were in California, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer hugged Diana with his left arm.

"I missed you too, bumble bee," said Spencer before looking at Evan, "Do you know what we're going to be eating next week Thursday?" asked Spencer.

Evan grinned at his father.

"Obble obble?" asked Evan.

"If you're making the noise that turkeys make, you are correct about next week Thursday being Thanksgiving," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her great-grandparents.

"Are you two going to be joining us again?" asked Diana.

Lydia laughed.

"It's already been decided that grandpa Evan, Aunt Mary, uncle Joe, Maeve, Jacob, Ellen, Issac, and Abigail will be joining you, your parents, and your siblings here because of your daddy's knee and your mommy being very pregnant," said Lydia.

"Will Abigail get to spend the night again?" asked Diana.

"You can ask Abigail, Jacob, and Ellen if Abigail can sleepover next week Thursday," said Spencer just as the doorbell rang, "It must be Dr. Barton and his son Jeffery stopping by," said Spencer as he placed Evan onto Diana's lap before he grabbed his crutch and stood up and hobbled towards the door.

A few seconds later Spencer saw Dr. Barton standing with his 15-year-old son Jeffery through the peephole causing him to unlock the door and opened it to find Dr. Barton carrying a huge turkey while Jeffery held a bag with a few other groceries.

"I'm glad that you had no trouble finding my house, Dr. Barton," said Spencer as allowed Dr. Barton and Jeffery into the house.

Clarissa looked at Dr. Barton.

"You didn't have to gift us a turkey and some groceries for next week Thursday, Dr. Barton," said Clarissa.

"I know, but with knowing that you guys have a lot on your plate when it comes to Dr. Reid getting hurt because of me and you having a baby on the way I wanted to help prepare you guys for Thanksgiving," said Dr. Barton before looking at Spencer who was standing with a crutch positioned underneath his right armpit, "Even though I visited you in the hospital to thank you, I'm glad to see you up and moving," said Dr. Barton.

Spencer smiled.

"Having Clarissa and the kids in my life are good motivations to help push myself through physical therapy," said Spencer before gesturing to his grandparents, "Dr. Barton and Jeffery, I would like to introduce you two to my grandparents Evan and Lydia Reid," said Spencer.

Dr. Barton reached out and shook the elder Evan's hand.

"Hello Mr. Reid," said Dr. Barton.

"Shalom, Dr. Barton," said Evan.

"You must be really proud of your grandson," said Dr. Barton.

Evan nodded.

"I am," said Evan before shaking Jeffry's hand, "Shalom, Jeffery," said Evan.

"Hello," said Jeffery before he felt a small hand tug his hand causing him to see a toddler with shoulder length nearly black curly hair and big brown eyes looking up at him, "Well hello there," said Jeffery.

"Hi, I Bridget and I'm two," said Bridget.

"Hello, Bridget," said Jeffery before he felt another small hand tug his hand causing him to look down at a little boy who looked a lot like the man who saved his father.

"Hi, I Ev-an," said Evan slowly.

Clarissa smiled at Jeffery.

"Evan is 17-months and I can't believe how much you have grown since I took care of you after your tonsillectomy, Jeffery," said Clarissa.

"You remember me?" asked Jeffery.

Clarissa nodded.

"Even though I don't have an eidetic memory like my husband and children, I can never forget the patients I treated," said Clarissa before groaning when she felt a kick causing her to rub her 33-week baby bump, "Please stop kicking mommy's ribs," said Clarissa.

Jeffery gestured to Clarissa's baby bump.

"Congratulations on the upcoming new addition and do you know what you're having?" asked Jeffery.

Clarissa nodded while Diana looked at Jeffery.

"I'm Diana and mommy is carrying fraternal twins that are being named Ariel and Caden," said Diana.

Dr. Barton looked at Spencer.

"I thought that it was only one baby?" asked Dr. Barton.

"We found out that Clarissa is carrying twins during Clarissa's 24-week check up and Ariel and Caden have provided me extra motivation to get myself walking by now," said Spencer.

"Daddy can carry me again too," added Bridget.

Spencer smiled at his two-year-old daughter.

"I take it that you're going to be wanting me to carry you up the stairs when it's bedtime?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy," said Bridget.

Dr. Barton who still had the wrapped up turkey in his hands looked at Spencer.

"Where can I put this turkey?" asked Dr. Barton.

"In the kitchen," said Clarissa before looking at Diana, "Will you please go show Dr. Barton where he can put the turkey, Diana?" asked Clarissa.

Diana looked at Dr. Barton.

"Please come with me, Dr. Barton," said Diana as she led Dr. Barton and Jeffery to the kitchen.

A minute later Diana, Dr. Barton, and Jeffery returned and Dr. Barton looked at Spencer.

"Jeffery and I are going to get going because of it being a school night for Jeffery while I don't want to interrupt you from your family time for any longer," said Dr. Barton before shaking Spencer's left hand, "Since you already know my address, I hope that you and Clarissa are willing to send me a copy of the birth announcement after the babies are born," said Dr. Barton.

"Spence and I will be glad to send you a birth announcement," said Clarissa.

After Dr. Barton and Jeffery left, Spencer's stomach let out a loud growl causing Diana, Bridget, and little Evan to giggle while Clarissa shook her head.

"Pregnancy brain caused me to forget to tell you that I have dinner staying warm in the oven for you," said Clarissa.

"What was on the menu tonight?" asked Spencer.

Diana grinned at her father.

"Mommy, Lucy, and Anthony made tacos for dinner," said Diana.

Spencer grinned at Clarissa.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

"Your welcome," said Clarissa before looking at Diana, "Did you know that the day after I met your father, we made tacos in his kitchen when I offered to help him pack up his aunt Ethel's and uncle Gordon's house?" asked Clarissa.

"I didn't, but I hope that you two can tell me more about your relationship because I want to marry a man who is a lot like daddy someday and cook him his favorite food," said Diana.

Spencer gave his daughter a stern look.

"You better not think about dating until you turn 30, young lady," said Spencer.

"I promise, daddy," said Diana.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I won't be working on this story again until after April 14th because I want to get one more chapter of Spencer's Done posted before I leave for the Kalahari Resort to attend the 30th annual Autism Society of Wisconsin Spring Conference next week Thursday since I'm going to be a speaker on April 13th at the conference.


	91. 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though I wasn't medically cleared to enjoy the indoor water park at the 30th Annual Autism Society of Wisconsin Spring Conference at the Kalahari Resort this year, I still had a great time at the conference because my friends and I visited the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum in Wisconsin Dells, went shopping, and I went zip-lining for the very first time at the Kalahari Resort's indoor theme park. I enjoyed zip-lining so much, that I ended up doing it six times! Also my presentation in the Panel of Experts went very well too.
> 
> I thought that I would write this chapter in a different way because of wanting to include something good to outweigh the tissue moments that are needed for this chapter. I also warn you readers that I won't be including Spencer's interview with Chief Strauss in this chapter.

Spencer was sitting up in Clarissa's hospital bed as he smiled down at his newborn daughter who had his late mother's curly blonde hair and eyes that looked like his before looking at his wife who smiling down at their newborn son who looked like Clarissa while having his curls causing him to be grateful about Ariel and Caden showing up an hour prior so Clarissa could smile again.

"How are you holding up?" asked Spencer softly.

Clarissa glanced at Ariel who was content in her father's arms while looking down at Caden who was going to get a cast on his left clubbed foot on Monday.

"Even though Ariel and Caden are perfect, I wish that Haley didn't listen to George Foyet so she could be here to hold Ariel and Caden," said Clarissa as tears started to fall down her face.

Spencer closed his eyes as he thought about the events that happened three days ago causing Clarissa's grief to push her to go into labor two days before she reached the 35th week in her fourth pregnancy.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Three days ago Spencer was eating breakfast with Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Lucy, and Anthony when his work phone rang causing him to see that it was Hotch.

"Is there a case?" asked Spencer.

"JJ found a possible lead on Foyet and I want you to bring Clarissa and the kids to the B.A.U. for protective custody just to be safe," said Hotch.

Spencer instantly straightened up in his chair.

"What about Mary and Savannah?" asked Spencer.

"They're coming to the B.A.U. too," said Hotch before hanging up.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"What's going on, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"There's a possible lead on George Foyet and Aaron wants me to bring you guys to the B.A.U. to be safe," said Spencer before looking at Diana, Bridget, and Evan, "I want you three to pick out a bunch of toys, books, and coloring books to bring along to keep yourselves busy because I won't be able to play with you three or read to you three because of needing to work so I can help bring Aunt Haley and Jack home," said Spencer firmly.

"OK, daddy," said Diana, Bridget, and Evan while Evan said Dada.

"I'll call Mrs. O' Conner and Washington International School and let them know that Diana won't make it today," said Lucy as she pulled out her phone and called Diana's school before calling Mrs. O' Conner.

xxxxxxxxxxx

After Spencer helped get Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan settled into Rossi's office, Spencer was in the round table room with his teammates when JJ pointed at a map.

"There's approximately 115 miles between Fredericksburg and Westminster. Why mail a letter from two cities?" asked JJ.

"Maybe it's purely a forensic countermeasure. He knows that mailing letters close to home would lead us right to him, so he drives far away to mail the letters to throw us off his scent," said Morgan.

Spencer who was fiddling with the head of the cane his grandfather gave him to use thought about one of the bombers that his godmother helped catch.

"The Unabomber did that. So did the 2001 anthrax suspect," said Spencer.

"He could have gone anywhere, but he's trolling the D.C. area," said Rossi.

"It makes sense to stay close to Hotch. He stuck around Boston to watch Shaunessy deteriorate," said Emily before realizing what she said as she looked at her fiance and thought about how she, Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, the unborn Reid twins, and Savannah helped keep Hotch sane as he had to deal with missing her soon to be step-son, "Not that you're-," said Emily apologetically.

"It's all right. I know he's been watching me. It's part of the reason I stepped down, so he'd think I was falling apart," said Hotch grimly.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"OK, so what are we gonna do about the two cities?" asked JJ as she thought about all the times Spencer explained geographical profiling to her, "Usually we need three different points to get an accurate geographic profile," said JJ.

"That's all we got right now," said Morgan.

Emily looked at the map and saw the surrounding cities that could be a possibility.

"Gaithersburg, Rockville, D.C., Alexandria, Bowie, Annapolis," listed Emily.

"Where the hell are you, Foyet?" asked Morgan.

Garcia who had recruited Kevin Lynch who had needed her help with a case he was working on to help her rushed into the room with Kevin's laptop.

"OK, me and the boy found a thyroid medication that has no substitute over the counter. You've gotta get it from a pharmacist. But a lot of people are on it," said Garcia as she quickly typed.

"Find the midpoint between the two cities and isolate names in a 25-mile radius," instructed Rossi.

Garcia quickly did some typing.

"153 names," said Garcia.

Morgan looked at his wife.

"Well, he's not gonna use his own name. What kind of aliases should we be looking for?" asked Morgan.

"He could have easily stolen someone's identity," said Emily.

Hotch who was looking over a file shook his head.

"No, he's a narcissist in love with his own mythology. He'd use a name connected with the case," said Hotch.

"A victim, maybe, a cop," said Rossi.

Garcia nodded.

"OK," said Garcia as she started to type while Spencer decided to look at the board as the wheels in his brain started to turn, "Let's check the Foyet files for a list of names. and... Nothing," said Garcia dejectedly.

"Wait a minute, guys," said Spencer as he used his cane to help himself stand up, "Foyet likes things to have meaning to him," said Spencer as he reached the clear board and grabbed a marker and started to write on the board, "The Eye of Providence, the addresses in blood he wrote on the bus that led us back to him. Maybe he's doing the same thing with the alias," said Spencer as he wrote George Foyet on the board.

"Like an anagram or something," said Emily.

Morgan watched Spencer underline letters, cross out letters, or circle them before he would write letters underneath.

"You see something, Reid?" asked Morgan.

"Not yet," answered Spencer absently.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"Reid, he named himself The Reaper," said Hotch.

Spencer quickly wrote THE REAPER on the board causing him to quickly figure out the name Peter Rhea causing him to look back at his teammates and brother-in-law.

"Peter Rhea," said Spencer.

Garcia quickly did some typing before looking at her teammates.  
"There's a Peter Rhea in Arlington," said Garcia.

"We found him," said Rossi.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was leaning on his cane in an empty apartment that he, his teammates, and SWAT team commandeered for the stakeout when JJ approached him, Morgan, and Rossi.

"SWAT's getting antsy," said JJ.

"I'll tell them when it's time to go. Right now we sit tight. Let them know," said Morgan while JJ walked away causing him to look at Spencer and Rossi, "These guys are trained to move, not just sit around. I can't really say that I blame them," said Morgan as he thought about how Spencer had complained for months about not being able to carry his children around for nearly three months.

"He may not even be there anymore," said Spencer.

"I know. The longer we sit here, the further away he gets," said Morgan.

"You make the best call you can, kid," said Rossi.

"All right, this is what we're gonna do," said Morgan as he explained about wanting to have an agent pretend that he's going to be an apartment super who needs to check a leak.

xxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was sitting in front of a laptop so he could rest his knee as he watched the live video footage that an agent that Morgan sent undercover was sending them.

"Are you getting the signal?" asked the agent.

"Copy," said Morgan.

The agent who was connected through their comms started to describe the apartment.

"No warm bodies. Looks like a kitchen table, chair," said the agent.

Spencer quickly noticed something that looked like an open laptop.

"Is that a laptop on the table?" asked Spencer.

"It could be useful," said Emily.

Rossi instantly saw a plate of food.

"Is that food? Get closer to that," said Rossi.

The agent followed Rossi's instructions before Hotch noticed something on the floor.

"Wait, go back. What's that on the floor?" asked Hotch.

The agent went back a bit causing Spencer, Hotch, JJ, Emily, Morgan, and Rossi to find George Foyet's mail.

"It's his mail," said Morgan.

"Yeah," said Hotch as he quickly took off running causing everyone else except for Spencer to run after him.

Spencer glared at his bad knee as he slowly stood up and quickly followed his teammates at a speed that wouldn't hurt his knee.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short while later Spencer was sitting in front of George Foyet's laptop in the apartment that George Foyet was living in.

"He is creepy good," said Garcia.

Spencer sighed as he thought about how George Foyet has been able to outsmart him and the rest of his teammates.

"How good?" asked Spencer.

"He wiped his hard drive. Might have been in a hurry to leave, but whatever was on there, he did not want us to see it," said Garcia.

"Garcia, tell me that you're hacked in and that you can rebuild it," pleaded Morgan to his wife.

"Watch me work, darling," said Garcia as she typed before her computer started to beep, "Hello," said Garcia.

"What have you got?" asked Hotch.

"He had an internet alarm on the name Peter Rhea. It alerted him as soon as we ran a check on it," said Garcia.

"What else did he wipe?" asked Hotch just as pictures were quickly showing up on the laptop before Morgan saw something.

"Garcia, wait a minute. Freeze it right there," said Morgan.

Garcia quickly stopped at a picture of a man that everyone recognized as the man who was protecting Hotch's son and ex-wife and Spencer's nephew.

"Oh, my God, isn't that-," said JJ

"That's the U.S. Marshal assigned to my family," said Hotch as he pulled out his phone.

"Foyet's been watching him this whole time?" asked Emily.

Hotch who got Sam's voicemail

spoke up.

"Sam, it's Aaron. We found Foyet's location, but he has surveillance photos of you. Call me for a meet location or we're on our way to you," said Hotch before hanging up.

"We're gonna need to deploy another SWAT unit," said Morgan.

"That's gonna take another half hour," said JJ.

Hotch quickly stormed out of the room.

"Hotch?" asked Rossi.

Morgan looked at his teammates.

"Go. Go," said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer slowly entered the living room to find Hotch talking to Sam who was bleeding out on the floor.

"Sam, tell me what happened," said Hotch.

"I don't know how he got in," breathed Sam as he explained everything that happened.

When Sam was finished, Hotch looked at the man he trusted to keep his son and ex-wife safe.

"Sam, I need to understand. Does he know where Jack and Haley are?" asked Hotch.

"I didn't…," breathed Sam.

"What about her phone number? What's her safe phone number?" asked Hotch.

"I didn't...it won't matter," breathed Sam before looking up at Hotch, "I-I tried, Hotch," breathed Sam.

At that moment paramedics entered the room causing Spencer who had already counted Sam's injuries to look at the paramedics.

"Gunshot wounds to each leg, one foot, he's missing several fingers, and appears to be badly beaten," said Spencer quickly.

The female paramedic looked at Hotch.

"Clear out of the way," ordered the female paramedic.

Hotch quickly followed orders as the male paramedic looked at his partner.

"Get me a c-collar, prep me a saline drip while I grab a round of vitals," ordered the male paramedic before looking at Sam, "Sam, are you allergic to any medication?" asked the male paramedic as he turned Sam over.

Sam looked at Hotch.

"Hotch," called out Sam.

Hotch took a step closer.

"Sam, I'm right here," said Hotch gently.

"I tried," breathed out Sam.

The male paramedic looked at his colleague.

"Make sure they have a trauma surgeon standing by," ordered the male paramedic before leaving the room.

Spencer watched in horror as he thought about how hard Sam worked to keep his nephew and Haley safe.

xxxxxxxxxx

After Hotch left the hospital, Spencer was listening to his brother-in-law on the phone.

"Foyet called Haley from Kassmeyer's phone," said Hotch.

"All right, we'll get Garcia to trace it," said Morgan before looking at JJ, "JJ," said Morgan causing JJ to walk away to call Garcia.

"He told her she was compromised and I was dead," said Hotch.

Emily's eyes widened in shock.

"Well, have you called her?" asked a shocked Emily.

"No. He said to throw her phone away and to buy a disposable," said Hotch.

"Hotch, we're gonna come get you right now," said Morgan firmly.

"No, Anderson's bringing me a car," said Hotch.

"You want to meet back at the office?" asked Morgan.

"I'm hoping that she's just gonna call me, at least, to check," said Hotch.

"Foyet posed as a Marshal, even called from a number that Haley recognized," said Morgan.

"And then he did what gets him off. He scared her," said Rossi.

"No, he paralyzed her. he overwhelmed her," said Emily.

Spencer sighed as he thought about how Clarissa would most likely choose to not listen to George Foyet like Haley currently is.

"And now she trusts him. Where do you think he would take her?" asked Spencer.

"Witness protection had her living in New Jersey," said Emily.

"He has a head start. He could be there now," said Spencer just as JJ joined him, Morgan, Rossi, and Emily.

"Garcia's got a trace. He's bouncing between a few towers," said JJ.

"Where?" asked Hotch.

Garcia who joined the conference call spoke up.

"Fairfax County," said Garcia.

"He's still local?" asked JJ.

"Send the coordinates to my phone," ordered Hotch.

"Done," said Garcia.

"Why isn't he on his way to New Jersey?" asked JJ.

Emily quickly realized something.

"Wait, that phone's on?" asked Emily.

"Yes," said Garcia.

"Hotch?" asked Emily.

"He hung up," said Garcia.

Emily sighed as she thought about the tongue lashing she's going to give to her fiance.

"Damn it," said Emily to herself just as she heard some beeping, "What's that?" asked

"Hotch is calling Foyet," said Garcia as she did some hacking so everyone could hear Hotch's phone call.

"Agent Hotchner," said George Foyet statistically.

"If you touch her…," growled Hotch.

"Be gentle, like I was with you? What the hell took you so long? I was beginning to think this phone was dead or something. Why so quiet? You usually lash out when you're frustrated," said George.

"I'm not frustrated. You're more predictable than you think," said Hotch calmly.

"Am I?" asked George.

"You didn't know where Haley was, so you made her come to you," said Hotch.

"You make me sound lazy," said George.

"Just another way for you to show control," said Hotch.

"Oh, that's terrible," said George.

"Your mother tried to protect you from your father, but she wasn't strong enough. And you hated her for that, didn't you? You decided that all women were weak," said Hotch.

"Those are your words, not mine," shot back George.

"What were you, nine when you killed them?" asked Hotch.

"It was a car accident," said George.

"That you couldn't take credit for. That had to be hard for you. But poor George got another chance. The little orphan was saved by the wealthy, sterile Eastside couple, the Foyets. And the story should have ended there," said Hotch as he thought about how lucky his brother-in-law was when it came to his aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon adopting him even though they didn't get to live to watch Spencer get married, join the FBI, and start a family of his own.

"I don't believe in fairy tales. Do you?" asked George.

"That's the thing, George. This isn't a fairy tale. You don't have to write this story. You don't have to do any of this. I know you're exhausted. Always looking over your shoulder, always wondering when the other shoe is gonna drop. Haven't you gotten what you wanted? You've set yourself apart from anybody we've ever dealt with. You're not just a famous serial killer, you're The Reaper. We're gonna study you and your methods for years and years," said Hotch.

"You know what I've been thinking? Haley looks pretty good with dark hair. She's lost some weight. Must be all the stress you caused her. Where's the little man? Oh. there he is. Does he like Captain America because of you?" asked George as a phone rang, "That's your wife. Hold, please," said George as he answered the phone, "Mrs. Hotchner," said George gleefully.

"I'm here," said Haley.

"Open the gate and I'll drive in," said George.

"OK," said Haley before her line went dead.

"Aaron? I really gotta go," said George before hanging up.

Morgan looked at his teammates.

"All right, Foyet has to be in control. He had Haley come to him," said Morgan.

"Yeah, but where would he take her?" asked Spencer.

"He'd want Hotch to find him, to see where he was, to see what he did," said JJ.

"Which means he," said Emily before Rossi spoke up.

"He said something on that call that tells Hotch where to go," said Rossi.

Morgan quickly thought about Spencer's eidetic memory causing him to look at the 28-year-old genius who wants to hug his nephew again.

"Reid, what did he say, exactly?" asked

Spencer took a breath as he used his eidetic memory to tell his teammates everything that George Foyet said to Hotch on the phone.

""Haley's hair looks good dark. She's lost some weight. "It must be because of all the stress you caused her. "Where's the little man? Oh, there he is now. "Do you think he likes Captain America because of you? "That's your wife on the other line. hold, please. Hi. Open the gate and I'll drive in."," recited Spencer quickly.

"Open the gate?" asked Rossi.

"It would be someplace with the biggest emotional impact for Hotch," said Emily.

"And Haley has access to the gate," said Morgan.

Rossi quickly remembered the house that Hotch and Haley bought after they moved to D.C. from Seattle when Hotch joined the B.A.U.

"Their house, where they lived together," said Rossi.

"Of course. Foyet planned this all the way to the end. It's everything to him," said Emily.

"He wants to take over Hotch's home to be in control to prove his dominance," said Morgan.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was riding in the backseat of an SUV with JJ and Emily when Garcia ended up dispatching the call that Foyet was making to Hotch so everyone could hear.

"Foyet," said Hotch.

"Aaron? You're OK?" asked Haley tearfully.

"I'm fine," said Hotch grimly.

"But... He said that... Oh, Aaron," said Haley before realizing that she was in the room with George Foyet.

"He can hear us, right?" asked Hotch.

"Yes. I am so sorry," cried Haley.

"Haley, show him no weakness, no fear," said Hotch calmly.

"I know. Sam told me all about him. Is he, uh-," said Haley tearfully.

"No, Sam is fine," said Hotch.

"Aaron, Aaron, Aaron. Is that why your marriage broke up, because you're a liar?" asked George gleefully.

"Don't listen to him, Haley," said Hotch firmly.

"I have Sam's service phone right here. They sent out a mass text about his death. You can take a look if you want," said George.

"He's trying to scare you," said Hotch.

"Did you even tell her what this was about? About the deal?" asked George.

"He's just trying to make you angry," warned Hotch.

"Well, she should be. She's gonna...," said George as he covered up Jack's ears, "D-I-E because of your inflated ego," said George gleefully.

"Ignore him, Haley," said Hotch.

"I'm sure you don't want her to know this part either. You know, all he had to do was stop looking for me and you wouldn't be in this mess," said George.

"Don't react," said Hotch.

"What is he talking about?" asked Haley.

Hotch decided that he needed to get his son out of the room.

"Tell Jack I need him working the case," said Hotch firmly.

"What?" asked

Haley.

"Tell Jack I need him working the case," repeated Hotch.

Haley cleared her throat.

"Jack. Did you get that?" asked Haley.

"Hi, daddy," said Jack.

Spencer sighed out in relief as he heard his four-year-old nephew's voice.

Hi, buddy," choked Hotch.

"Is George a bad guy?" asked Jack.

"Yes, he is. Jack, I need you on this case with me. Do you understand? I need you to work the case with me," said Hotch firmly.

"OK, Daddy," said Jack as he thought about the time he hid in a window seat.

"Jack, hug your mom for me," said Hotch firmly.

A few seconds later Spencer heard his nephew's voice.

"Mommy hug me too tight," said Jack.

"I'm sorry," said Haley tearfully.

"Why are you sad?" asked Jack.

Spencer tried to hold back his tears as he thought about the times that Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack have asked him that question.

"Oh, I just love you so much," said Haley tearfully.

"Mommy, I gotta go. I'm working the case," said Jack.

"OK," said Haley.

Spencer sighed in relief as he heard his nephew run away.

"He's so cute. He's like a little junior g-man. I'll be right up, Jackie boy!" called out George.

"Is he gone?" asked Hotch.

"Yes," choked Haley.

"You're so strong, Haley. You're stronger than I ever was," choked Hotch.

"You'll hurry, right?" asked a crying Haley.

"I know you didn't sign on for this," said Hotch.

"Neither did you," said Haley.

"I'm sorry for everything that led you to cheat on me," said Hotch.

"Promise me that you will tell him how we met and how you used to make me laugh," cried Haley.

"Haley…," said Hotch.

"He needs to know that you weren't always so serious, Aaron. I want him to believe in love because it is the most important thing. But you need to show him. Promise me that you'll also still marry Emily like you originally planned in May because you deserve to be happy while telling Spencer's and Clarissa's children that I love them," said Haley tearfully.

"I promise," said Hotch.

A few seconds later three gunshots sounded through the phone causing Spencer to close his eyes as he started to mourn the woman who practically adopted him on the spot when he joined Clarissa, Hotch, Haley, Gideon, and Sean for Clarissa's 19th birthday dinner before tears started to fall down his face.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer and JJ approached Hotch's old study to find Hotch helping Jack out of a trunk.

"What happened to you, daddy?" asked Jack as he took in the sight of his father having cuts on his face.

"I'm OK," said Hotch before noticing his brother-in-law who had tears falling down his face as he stood next to JJ causing him to realize that Spencer must be reliving the moment of when he was told that his parents died, "I want you to go outside with uncle Spencer, OK?" asked Hotch.

Spencer gave a watery smile at his nephew.

"Come here, Jack Attack," said Spencer.

Jack ran over to his favorite uncle and allowed JJ to lift him up and settle him onto his favorite uncle's hip.

"Uncle Spencer, I work the case for daddy," said Jack.

"I know, Jack Attack," choked Spencer as he wrapped his left arm around his nephew tighter.

"Do you have a firm grip?" asked JJ.

Spencer nodded.

"Yes," said Spencer before looking at his nephew, "Let's go outside so I can show you some new magic tricks," said Spencer.

"OK, uncle Spencer," said Jack.

Jack looked at his favorite uncle as his uncle carried him down the stairs.

"Did Auntie Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, and Evan go away like mommy and me?" asked Jack.

Spencer shook his head.

"Auntie Clarissa wasn't allowed to go on a long vacation like you because of being pregnant," said Spencer as he stepped outside with Jack.

"Is my new cousin here yet?" asked Jack.

"Your new cousins aren't here yet, so you made it home just in time," said Spencer.

Jack's eyes went wide.

"Cousins?" asked Jack.

"It turns out that Auntie Clarissa is pregnant with twins that Diana decided to name Ariel and Caden," said Spencer.

"I like those names. Can I please see auntie Clara, Diana, Bridget, and Evan?" asked Jack.

"They're at the BAU right now, but you'll see them as soon as you get checked out by these nice paramedics," choked Spencer as he sat down on the back of an ambulance and settled Jack on his lap and looked at the paramedics, "I'm Jack's uncle and his father should be out soon," said Spencer.

"OK," said the female paramedic.

Jack looked at his uncle.

"Why are you crying?" asked Jack.

"You know that my parents and adoptive parents are in Heaven?" asked Spencer.

Jack nodded.

"You miss them every day," said Jack.

"I was your age when my own mommy and daddy went to Heaven, so I keep on remembering about the time I lost my own parents, Jack," said Spencer as he hugged his nephew.

Jack hugged his favorite uncle back.

"I love you, uncle Spence," said Jack.

"I love you too, Jack," said Spencer before he allowed the female paramedic check over Jack while Hotch joined them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer entered the room where Clarissa and his children were sitting and playing in and Clarissa looked at her husband's face causing Spencer to be grateful that everyone followed his orders about letting him tell Clarissa and his children the news.

"Did you get Haley and Jack?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer sat down and Bridget instantly scrambled up onto her daddy's good knee while Spencer looked at his 34-week pregnant wife.

"Please stay calm because I don't want you to go into labor right now, but Jack's safe but Haley went to Heaven," choked Spencer.  
Clarissa and Diana started sobbing while Spencer hugged Clarissa and Diana as he started sobbing too while Bridget and Evan walked over to their parents and big sister.

"Daddy?" asked Bridget.

"Dada?" asked Evan.

"Your former aunt Haley went to join your grandparents in Heaven, so you'll never see Aunt Haley again unless you look at pictures of her or watch videos of her," said Spencer just as Hotch and Jack came into the room causing Clarissa to hug her only nephew as she cried.

"I love you so much, Jack," said Clarissa.

Jack looked up at his aunt Clarissa.

"I know," said Jack before he hugged Diana, Bridget, and Evan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Three days later Spencer and Clarissa were cuddling with Diana, Bridget, and Evan while Hotch, Emily, and Jack who were spending the day with them were cuddling on the loveseat together when Bridget who was sitting between Diana and Evan looked at her parents who had tears falling down their faces.

"When will Ariel and Caden be here so you two can be happy again?" asked Bridget as she successfully pronounced Ariel and Caden correctly.

Clarissa who had tears falling down her face looked at Bridget.

"They should be arriving within the next couple of weeks, Bridget," said Clarissa before she felt a burst of pain causing her to scream out in pain.

Evan who was sitting between his mother and Bridget looked up at his mother with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you OK, Mama?" asked Evan.

Clarissa took a few deep breaths as she looked at her husband's mini-me.

"I think that I'm in labor," gasped Clarissa before screaming as she felt a contraction.

"Then let's get you to the hospital," said Spencer as he slowly stood up with his cane.

Diana who had tears falling down her face grinned at her parents.

"I think that Haley asked God to let Ariel and Caden to be born today so we all can have something happy to smile about after everything that has happened three days ago," said Diana before looking at her father, "Plus Haley must want November 28th to become one of the best days in your life instead of the worst day in your life too," said Diana.

"You might be spot on, bumble bee," said Spencer as Hotch helped Clarissa stand up.

"Can I come to the hospital?" asked Diana.

"Not today since it will be past your bedtime when your new little brother and sister arrive, but you can meet Ariel and Caden tomorrow," said Clarissa before looking at her oldest brother, "Please come to the hospital with Spence and me so you can be in the delivery room," said Clarissa just as she felt a wetness stream down her legs causing Evan to look at his daddy.

"Mama go pee pee, Dada," said Evan causing everyone to laugh for the first time in three days.

Emily looked at Spencer, Clarissa, and Hotch.

"Good luck and I'll stay here with the kids and please let me know when Ariel and Caden are born," said Emily before looking at Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack, "Who wants to help me make homemade pizza for dinner?" asked Emily.

"Me," chorused Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack as they hugged Clarissa before they followed Emily to the kitchen.

A few minutes later Hotch was driving Spencer and Clarissa to the hospital while Lucy worked on cleaning up the floor.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Three hours later Clarissa who was already given an epidural was already positioned on the bed while holding Spencer's left hand and her oldest brother's right hand when Dr. Larson looked at her.

"I already see a full head of hair, so only a few more pushes until you get to meet Reid twin number one," said Dr. Larson.

Spencer wiped some sweat off of Clarissa's forehead.

"You can do this, love," said Spencer.

"I know, Spence," said Clarissa.

Hotch looked at his baby sister.

"You've done this three times before, so you can handle giving birth to my third niece and second nephew," said Hotch.

Dr. Larson looked at Clarissa.

"Please push now," said Dr. Larson.

Clarissa braced herself as she pushed while screaming and three pushes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Hotch were tearing up as they heard the first Reid twin cry.

"Congratulations mommy, daddy, and uncle Aaron it's a healthy baby girl," said Dr. Larson.

Spencer kissed Clarissa before he cut the umbilical cord that connected Ariel to his wife.

"You got Ariel out, so now you just have to deliver Caden," said Spencer.

"I know, Spence," said Clarissa as she watched a nurse take Ariel to be cleaned up and looked over before screaming out in pain, "When can I push again?" asked Clarissa.

"Now," said Dr. Larson.

Clarissa screamed as she pushed with all her might and five pushes later she, Spencer, and Hotch teared up again as they heard a cry from the second Reid twin.

"Congratulations mommy, daddy, and uncle Aaron it's a healthy baby boy," said Dr. Larson.

"May I cut the cord this time?" asked Hotch.

"Go ahead," said Spencer as he kissed his wife.

A few seconds later Spencer broke out of his kiss with Clarissa so his wife could hug her oldest brother who just finished cutting the cord that connected Caden to her.

"I love you, Aaron," said Clarissa.

Hotch hugged his nearly 28-year-old sister while being grateful that he still had his little sister.

"I love you too, Clarissa," said Hotch before he excused himself so Spencer and Clarissa could bond with Ariel and Caden.

xxxxxxxxx

Present time

"Spencer?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer opened his eyes to see Clarissa looking at him with a concerned look on her.

"You OK?" asked Clarissa.

"I do miss Haley and Ariel and Caden being born today of all days will now make November 28th be one of the best days in my life even though I'll always be taking time to grieve aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon on this day," said Spencer before looking at the baby girl who had eyes that were going to turn out like his while already inheriting his late mother's curly blonde hair, "Since you insisted that Caden's middle name should be Spencer so he could be named after me, I have a perfect middle name in mind for Ariel," said Spencer.

"What?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smiled down at Ariel who was now asleep in his arms.

"Haley," said Spencer.

Clarissa smiled as tears started to fall down her face.

"Ariel Haley Reid is perfect, Spence," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm leaving this chapter here, but everyone else will meet Ariel and Caden in the next chapter.


	92. Hospital Stay & Married for Seven Years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts right after the ending of the last chapter.

Spencer looked at his wife as he looked at his newborn son.

"Want to switch holding the twins before they tell us that they're hungry?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa nodded as she switched babies with her husband and smiled down at Ariel.

"When it comes to blonde hair running through both sides of our family, I'm glad that we finally have a child with blonde hair even though it would have been priceless if Ariel had red hair like Ariel did in "The Little Mermaid"," said Clarissa.

Spencer chuckled.

"When it comes to grandma Lydia, aunt Mary, and Maeve all having red hair, it would have been priceless to have a child with red hair," said Spencer before stroking Ariel's curly blonde hair, "Either way, Ariel is beautiful like her mommy and big sisters," said Spencer.

"And Caden is handsome like his big brother and daddy," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband before running a finger through Caden's nearly black curls, "Even though Caden looks like me, I'm glad that he has your curls, Spence," said Clarissa before tilting her head a bit, "Maybe I should get a perm so I can have curly hair like you and our five children," said Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head.

"Please don't because I like your hair the way it is," said Spencer as he ran some fingers through his wife's thick nearly black armpit length hair that was pulled into a ponytail to make labor easier for her.

"Then I won't get a perm," said Clarissa as she ran a finger through her husband's ear length curly brown hair that she has been trimming once a month to make everything easier for her husband while he hobbled around on crutches, "Even though I love your hair at this length, I'm going to let your hair grow out for a while so our first time having intercourse sex can be fun when I get the all clear," said Clarissa.

Spencer shifted in his wife's hospital bed as he looked at Ariel and Caden who were both staring at each other despite their blurry vision at the moment.

"Little ears, Clarissa," warned Spencer.

"I know, but they won't remember hearing us talk about what we did to conceive them and their big sisters," said Clarissa just as Ariel and Caden both started crying, "They're hungry and it will be interesting breastfeeding them at the same time," said Clarissa as she handed Ariel to her husband before she adjusted her hospital gown before accepting both Ariel and Caden and positioned them by their breasts.

A minute later Ariel and Caden both latched onto their mother's two breasts causing Spencer and Clarissa to smile at each other as they watched Ariel and Caden eat.

"Mission accomplished and at least I won't have to worry about switching breasts when both twins are hungry the same time," said Clarissa softly.

Spencer nodded as he looked at his newborn son and newborn daughter.

"I was a bit worried about what their birth weight was going to be, but I'm glad that they're both five and a half pounds and they'll get to go home after Caden's clubbed foot gets evaluated and put into a cast," said Spencer.

"Me too, Spence," said Clarissa as her husband's phone vibrated.

Spencer grabbed his phone and quickly read text messages from his teammates, grandparents, godparents, Lucy, and a few other people that all mentioned congratulations, commented on the twins looks, and mentioned that they would visit the next day or when they got out of the hospital and had some time to settle in at home.

"Everything OK?" asked Clarissa.

"Just got responses on the group text I sent out of us holding the twins, and we will be having some visitors tomorrow," said Spencer.

"Are you still going to go to church tomorrow?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer shook his head.

"When it comes to losing our former sister-in-law three days ago I rather spend the day here with you, and Reverend Alden told me to take my time coming back," said Spencer before looking at his cane that was leaning against his wife's hospital bed, "I wish that I was already off the cane by the time that Ariel and Caden were born," sighed Spencer.

"I know, Spence, but we both knew about the possibility about you still being on a cane when Ariel and Caden arrive since twins are always born a month before their due date," said Clarissa firmly before looking into her husband's eyes, "Plus we have Lucy and Anthony to help us out with the twins," said Clarissa.

Spencer smirked.

"Speaking of Anthony, he actually asked me for his blessing to ask Lucy to marry him," said Spencer.

Clarissa's eyes went wide.

"He did?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"He did and I gave him my blessing, and I'm thinking that we should hire him to be a second nanny for the kids," said Spencer.

Clarissa nodded in agreement.

"We definitely have to hire Anthony to work for us full time because Diana, Bridget, and Evan all like him and he has made Lucy happier the past couple of months," said Clarissa before she handed Ariel over to her husband so her husband could burp Ariel.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer and Clarissa just finished eating breakfast when they heard the familiar pitter-patter of little footsteps in the room causing them to grin when Diana, Bridget, and Evan came into the room.

"Can I please hold my new little brother and sister now?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled.

"Yes you can," said Spencer.

A minute later Diana was sitting next to her mother in her mother's hospital bed holding Ariel and Caden in each arm as she smiled down at her new little brother and sister while her father took a picture of them.

"Hi, Ariel. Hi Caden. I'm your oldest sister Diana who will be turning six in 22 days while you two also have a big sister named Bridget who is two and a big brother named Evan who is 17-months-old. As you two get older we'll have so much fun with mommy, daddy, Bridget, Evan, and our nannies Lucy and Anthony since we go to the park, zoo, museums, and a lot of other fun places together. Mommy works as a pediatric nurse so she's really great at taking care of us when we're sick and injured while daddy is a profiler for the behavioral analysis unit in the FBI at Quantico, Virginia. Daddy does travel all over the country to catch bad men and women and put them in really long timeouts, but he always makes sure to be there for us over the phone or through video chat whenever we need him," said Diana.

"Are you ready to give Bridget a turn?" asked Clarissa.

Diana nodded.

"Yes ma'am," said Diana.

A minute later Bridget was helping her mother hold Ariel and Caden and she smiled at the sight of her new little brother and sister.

"They are little like my dolls," said Bridget.

Spencer smiled as he took a picture of Bridget looking at her new siblings.

"They are, but within the next couple of weeks they'll start growing to be big and strong like you, Diana, and Evan," said Spencer.

Evan who was sitting on his father's lap looked up at his father.

"My urn?" asked Evan.

"My turn, tadpole," corrected Spencer.

"An urn is a plastic container or a marble container that holds ashes, Evan," said Diana.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter.

"When did you learn about what an urn is?" asked Spencer.

"I've been reading about funerals because of you and mommy deciding that I can go to aunt Haley's funeral next week Wednesday," said Diana.

"Speaking of aunt Haley, you and Jack will be starting therapy together on Tuesday because uncle Aaron, Jack's grandparents, daddy, and I all agreed that you and Jack will go to grief counseling together," said Clarissa firmly.

Diana nodded.

"I'll go and I'll make sure to help Jack adjust," said Diana.

Lucy held up her phone and looked at Spencer, Clarissa, and her three oldest charges.

"I want to take a picture of you guys with Ariel and Caden before we leave for church," said Lucy.

Bridget looked at her mother.

"You come with?" asked Bridget.

"I can't because I'm stuck here until most likely tomorrow," said Clarissa.

Diana looked at her father.

"What about you, daddy?" asked Diana.

"I'm not going today because of wanting to give your mother some company, but I promise you that I will join you next week Sunday," said Spencer.

Diana nodded.

"I'll make sure to tell you what I learned about in Sunday School today while showing pictures of Ariel and Caden to my friends," said Diana.

Two minutes later Lucy was taking a picture of Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden on the couch together before she and Anthony left to take Diana, Bridget, and Evan to church just as one of the nurses came into the room.  
"If you two want to attend Mass here, it starts in a half hour and Ariel and Caden can just spend some time in the nursery," said Nurse Tiffany.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Even though we packed my robe in my hospital bag, mind if I borrow one of your cardigans from your go bag?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smiled as he thought about how much Clarissa loves to swipe his t-shirts and cardigans.

"When it comes to you always swiping my dress shirts, t-shirts, and cardigans didn't you pack one of my cardigans into your hospital bag for you to wear?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa laughed.

"You got me, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Since I saw your three oldest children leave two minutes ago, how old are they and how long have you two been married?" asked Nurse Tiffany.

"Diana will be six in 22 days, Bridget is two, and Evan is 17-months while we'll be celebrating our seven-year wedding anniversary tomorrow," smiled Spencer.

Nurse Tiffany smiled down at Ariel and Caden who were now sharing a bassinet.

"I just got married two weeks ago and I can't wait to have kids with my own husband, so consider these two beautiful babies as your wedding anniversary present to each other this year," said Nurse Tiffany as she pushed the bassinet out of the room.

A few minutes later Spencer was helping his wife pull on one of his cardigans over her hospital gown before another nurse helped Clarissa get into a wheelchair and pushed her to the hospital's chapel while Spencer walked alongside with his cane.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later Spencer was holding Ariel when there was a knock on the open door causing Spencer and Clarissa to see Hotch with Jack on his hip while Emily stood by them.

"Hi auntie Clara. Hi uncle Spence," said Jack.

Hotch smiled as he looked at his newest niece and nephew who were in either of their mother's or father's arms.

"Pictures do not do justice," said Hotch.

"I know," said Clarissa.

Hotch looked at his sister and brother-in-law.

"Can I please hold them?" asked Hotch.

Clarissa beamed at her oldest brother.

"You never have to ask for permission to hold your nieces and nephews, Aaron," said Clarissa.

A minute later Hotch was sitting on a recliner holding Ariel and Caden when Hotch looked at his sister and brother-in-law.

"Have you two determined middle names for Ariel and Caden yet?" asked Hotch.

"I insisted that Caden's middle name should be Spencer because I wanted one of our sons to be named after their father," said Clarissa as she winked at her husband.

Spencer blushed a bit before looking at his oldest brother-in-law.

"We decided that Ariel's middle name should be Haley because of how much Haley meant to us during the times she entered our lives," said Spencer softly.

Hotch nodded.

"I think that Haley would be pleased to find out that Ariel has been named after her," said Hotch.

"Ariel is named after my mommy?" asked Jack.

Clarissa nodded.

"She sure is, Jack-Attack," said Clarissa.

"Why do you call me Jack-Attack?" asked Jack.

"Have you ever seen baby Jack-Jack in the movie "The Incredibles"?" asked Spencer.

Jack nodded.

"Yes and he's so funny," said Jack.

"There's a short film called Jack-Jack-Attack included with the DVD, so uncle Spencer and I call you Jack-Attack because of baby Jack in the movie," said Clarissa as she looked at the clock on the wall and saw the time before looking at her husband, "You should really go walk around for a bit because your knee must be stiff from sitting down a lot since yesterday," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"I should and I doubt that you'll let me miss out on physical therapy tomorrow morning," said Spencer.

"We all want you to be walking unassisted by Christmas, so you'll be keeping up with physical therapy sessions until you are no longer on stand down," said Clarissa.

"I might as well go buy myself a cup of coffee," said Spencer.

"Good idea," said Clarissa.

Jack looked at his uncle Spencer.

"Can I please come with?" asked Jack.

"You sure can and I'll buy you a brownie, Jack Attack," said Spencer before looking at Emily who was now holding Ariel, "Do you want to come with so Clarissa and Aaron can have a moment alone?" asked Spencer.

"Sure," said Emily.

Hotch looked at his brother-in-law.

"I'll stay with my sister until you come back," said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer, Jack, and Emily were out of the room when Clarissa looked at her oldest brother.

"How are you holding up?" asked Clarissa.

Hotch sighed.

"Even though I moved on from Haley, I wish that Haley could have been saved for Jack's sake," said Hotch.

"Spence told me about how George Foyet tricked her to come to him and she didn't realize that Foyet tricked her until the last minute and I'm glad that you beat George Foyet to death before he could have gotten Jack because Spence and I would have done the same thing if George Foyet was threatening any of the children," said Clarissa calmly before taking hold of her brother's hand, "Even though I'm currently on maternity leave, luckily I'll be there more for Jack when I return to work," said Clarissa.

"Aren't you on-call 24/7 like Spencer, Emily, and me?" asked Hotch.

"I won't be on-call 24/7 during the school year because as soon as I get the all clear to return to work I'll be working as a nurse full time at Diana's school while I'll be working part-time during summer vacation at Children's National," said Clarissa.

"I thought that you love your job at Children's National?" asked Hotch.

"I do, but Bridget is starting preschool in August so I want to be there for her just in case she has an autistic meltdown at school while working as a school nurse will give me more flexibility when it comes to all the doctor appointments and possible surgeries that Caden is going to be needing to straighten his clubbed foot," said Clarissa before thinking about her nephew already being four and was going to preschool before he was sent into Witness Protection, "When will Jack be going back to school?" asked Clarissa.

"After the New Year," said Hotch.

"What do you think of sending him to Washington International School so I can keep a close eye on him when I return to work while he gets to be near Diana and eventually Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden?" asked Clarissa.

Hotch nodded.

"Having him go to the same school that his cousins go to and where you work at won't be a bad idea, so I'll see about sending Jack to Washington International School," said Hotch.

Clarissa looked into her oldest brother's brown eyes.

"Even though our parents might be watching over us, do you think that Haley might be telling our parents about Spencer and the kids right now?" asked Clarissa.

"Possibly, but mom and dad would be proud of you for becoming the woman you ended up becoming because I'm proud of being part of shaping you up into the woman you became to be," said Hotch as he hugged his little sister before smiling a bit, "I can't believe that tomorrow will be the nine-year anniversary of the day you brought Spencer along for lunch," said Hotch.

Clarissa chuckled.

"Me too," said Clarissa.

Hotch moved his little sister's hair behind her ear.

"He's a very strong man who has a remarkable amount of inner strength just like you which I admire him for," said Hotch before smiling a bit, "If you and Spencer didn't meet when you two did, I would have set you two up on a blind date because Spencer makes you happy while you two created five beautiful and intelligent children together," said Hotch.

Clarissa smiled down at Ariel and Caden.

"I'm glad that I had Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden with Spence," said Clarissa.

"Speaking of my nieces and nephews, should I expect becoming an uncle again sometime next year?" asked Hotch.

Clarissa laughed as she shook her head.

"I already had an IUD inserted into me because I firmly told Spence and Diana that I do not want to get pregnant again until Ariel and Caden are five," said Clarissa before smirking a bit, "I just hope that you and Emily can give Spence and me another niece or nephew to spoil though," said Clarissa.

"Prior to Foyet stabbing me in my apartment, Emily and I have already met with someone from an adoption agency and got approved for adoption. So hopefully a match will be found for Emily and me soon," said Hotch.

"I hope so too, Aaron," said Clarissa before thinking about Emily's apartment only being a two bedroom apartment, "Are you and Emily ever going to buy a house?" asked Clarissa.

"Emily and I already put an offer on the four bedroom and two and a half bath that's next door to yours and Spencer's house," said Hotch.

Clarissa smiled.

"I hope you get the house because I love the idea of us being next door neighbors while you, Emily, and Spence can carpool together if you decide on whether you want to stay in the B.A.U. or not," said Clarissa just as Jack ran into her hospital room with two teddy bears.

"I used my money to get Ariel and Caden these bears, Auntie Clara," said Jack.

"That's so sweet of you, Jack," said Clarissa just as her husband and Emily entered the room, "Do you want to hold Ariel and Caden right now, Jack?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes please, Auntie Clara," said Jack.

A minute later Jack was sitting up in his favorite aunt's hospital bed next to his aunt while he helped his aunt hold Ariel and Caden as he talked about how much fun they were going to have together causing the four adults in the room to smile at each other just as Hotch's phone rang causing Hotch to answer the phone and listen to whoever was on the line.

When Hotch hung up, Clarissa looked at her oldest brother.

"Is everything OK, Aaron?" asked Clarissa.

Hotch nodded as he looked at his son.

"What do you think of the idea of being a next-door neighbor to auntie Clarissa, uncle Spencer, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden?" asked Hotch.

Jack grinned.

"I love the idea, daddy," said Jack.

"After we say goodbye to your mother, we'll be moving into the four bedroom and three bath house that's next door to your aunt's and uncle's house," said Hotch causing everyone to smile.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"What do you think of us tearing down the fence that divides our backyard and Aaron's new backyard so we can all share the in-ground swimming pool and Jack can play on the swing set that you and Aaron built for the kids?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer tilted his head as he thought about how his brother-in-law would occasionally come over to his and Clarissa's house so he could swim laps in their swimming pool so he always didn't have to go to the YMCA in the summer.

"I think that will be a good project for you to add on my Honey Do List this spring," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Hotch, Emily, and Jack left Spencer and Clarissa smiled when they saw Spencer's grandparents enter the room and looked at all the flowers and balloons.

"You two are very popular," said Lydia.

"Other agents from the FBI, Clarissa's coworkers, and members from Faith Church have been having flowers, stuffed animals, and balloons delivered to us or already delivered home-cooked meals for us to cook to our house," said Spencer.

"That's nice of them," said Lydia.

Evan noticed the lack of a crib.

"Where are Ariel and Caden?" asked Evan.

"Right here," said Nurse Tiffany as she pushed Ariel and Caden into the room and introduced herself, "I'm Nurse Tiffany and I'm helping Spencer and Clarissa take care of Ariel and Caden until 2 PM today," said Nurse Tiffany.  
"Shalom Nurse Tiffany. I'm Spencer's grandfather Evan," said Evan as he shook hands with Nurse Tiffany.

Lydia held out her hand to Nurse Tiffany.

"Shalom Nurse Tiffany, I'm Spencer's grandmother Lydia," said Lydia.

"Pleasure to meet you two," said Nurse Tiffany as she gestured Evan and Lydia to sit down, "Why don't you two sit down before I give you each a twin since it's a bit difficult for your grandson to carry the babies right now," said Nurse Tiffany.

A few seconds later Evan and Lydia were both sitting down when Nurse Tiffany lifted up Ariel.

"Who wants to hold Ariel first?" asked Nurse Tiffany.

"I would love to hold my youngest great-granddaughter first," said Lydia.

A few seconds later Lydia was tearing up at the sight as she held Ariel.

"She's so beautiful and Ariel looks like she's going to have your eyes, Spencer," said Lydia.

"I know," said Spencer.

Evan who was holding Caden smiled down at his youngest great-grandson.

"Even though Caden definitely has his father's curls, he looks like you, Clarissa," said Evan.

"I know," said Clarissa.

Evan looked at Caden's clubbed foot before looking at his youngest grandson and granddaughter-in-law.

"When will Caden get a cast?" asked Evan.

"He'll be getting his first cast tomorrow morning," said Clarissa.

Lydia looked at her grandson.

"Can you do us a favor, Spencer?" asked Lydia.

"As long as it doesn't require me breaking any laws," said Spencer causing some laughter.

"Evan and I are hoping if we could get together with Haley's parents and help them deal with Haley's death since Evan and I have been in their footsteps before," said Lydia.

"We'll talk to them the next time we see them," said Clarissa before yawning.

"We'll get going so you can get some rest, Clarissa," said Lydia.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

45 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were both burping Ariel and Caden when there was a knock on their closed-door causing Clarissa to quickly fix her hospital gown before speaking up.

"I'm decent," called out Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer's and Clarissa's eyes went wide when Roy Brooks and his wife Amelia entered the room.

"Jack told us over the phone earlier that he got to meet his two new cousins, so I hope that it's OK if we came to meet Ariel and Caden," said Amelia as she wiped a tear that was falling down her face.

"We have no issue about you two coming to meet Ariel and Caden because they've been cheering us up since yesterday while Diana believes that Haley asked God to let Ariel and Caden be born yesterday so everyone can start smiling again," said Clarissa.

Amelia smiled a bit as she hugged Clarissa.

"I'm glad that Ariel and Caden have been cheering you guys up and I think that your two new additions are what we need to cheer us up," said Amelia.

Spencer shook hands with Roy.

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't find Foyet earlier so Haley could still be alive," said Spencer softly.

Roy gestured to Spencer's knee, Ariel, and Caden.

"I'm not angry at you had a lot on your plate when it came to your shooting and the twins," said Roy before gesturing to Ariel who was lying awake in her father's arms, "May I please hold Ariel?" asked Roy.

Spencer nodded.

"Go ahead, Roy," said Spencer.

Roy took Ariel from Spencer and looked at the baby girl who had curly blonde hair and eyes that looked like they were going to turn out to be like her father's.

"She's beautiful just like Haley was when she was born," choked Roy.

"She already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger," smiled Clarissa.

Amelia who was holding Caden looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"What's her middle name?" asked Amelia.

"I hope you two don't mind, but we decided that Ariel's middle name should be Haley because of how much she meant to us," said Spencer softly.

Roy and Amelia both teared up and looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"We appreciate you two for naming your newborn daughter after Haley," said Roy.

"Speaking of Haley, my grandparents wants to help you two over the grieving process because they had to bury my father and uncle Daniel the same day when I was four," said Spencer as a tear fell down his face.

Roy looked at his wife.

"Should we meet Spencer's grandparents?" asked Roy.

Amelia nodded.

"I think we should because they understand what we just went through," said Amelia before looking at Spencer, "Do you still have our contact information?" asked Amelia.

Spencer nodded.

"I do and I'll give them your number," said Spencer before looking into Roy and Amelia's eyes, "Clarissa and I were talking, and we decided that you two should be Ariel's godparents while my cousin Austin and her fiancé Ethan are Caden's godparents," said Spencer.

"Are you sure?" asked Amelia.

"We named Ariel after Haley and we thought that having a beautiful baby girl be a huge part in your lives would be a good healing factor for you two," said Spencer.

Roy smiled a bit as he released a tear.

"We'll be honored to be Ariel's godparents," said Roy as he gave Spencer and Clarissa each a hug, "We're also glad that you two are Jack's aunt and uncle," said Roy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer entered Clarissa's hospital room and pulled a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back.

"Even though we celebrated our wedding anniversary a few weeks early two weeks ago, happy anniversary, Clarissa," said Spencer as he kissed his wife.

Clarissa smiled.

"Happy anniversary, Spence," said Clarissa before sighing, "I can't believe that we became friends nine years ago today while we said 'I do' to each other seven-years ago today too," said Clarissa.

"Me too," said Spencer as he kissed his wife before noticing that Clarissa was holding Ariel, "Where's Caden?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa sighed.

"Dr. Ramona Edwards already came and evaluated his foot before putting it in a cast and he was taken away to get circumcised five minutes ago," said Clarissa.

Spencer winced.

"Poor little guy," said Spencer.

"Knowing Caden, he's going to want me just like Evan did when he got circumcised," said Clarissa.

"What did Dr. Edwards say about Caden's clubbed foot?" asked Spencer.

"It's severely clubbed, so she wants to perform stretches and change his cast every two weeks. If his foot isn't better by the time he's six-months-old, she wants to do surgery on his foot," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"Even though Caden will be going through a lot, we'll make sure that he gets the best medical care so he can live a full and happy life," said Spencer just as Dr. Larson came into the room with a crying Caden.

"Caden was a trooper," said Dr. Larson before smiling at Clarissa, "Since I heard that it's your wedding anniversary today, I'm planning to let you, Ariel, and Caden go home before lunchtime so you can spend your wedding anniversary at home with your husband," said Dr. Larson.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Do you have our getaway minivan?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"I do and I can probably start loading all these gifts onto a cart while you sign the paperwork and get dressed," said Spencer.

Dr. Larson looked at Spencer.

"I'll have one of the nurses help you since you're still walking with a cane, but when you two celebrate your anniversary tonight no sexual intercourse for you until your six-week postpartum checkup, Clarissa," said Dr. Larson as he gave

Clarissa a pointed look.

"Yes sir," said Clarissa.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer pulled into the driveway of his and Clarissa's house and he slowly got out of the mini-van and walked to the front passenger seat as quickly as he could so he could help his wife out of the van and opened up the front passenger seat door.

"Welcome home, milady," said Spencer as he bowed down to his wife.

"It's good to be home," said Clarissa just as Lucy came outside.

"Let me help you guys," said Lucy as she opened up one of the backseat doors and expertly removed Ariel's car seat,

"Do you think that you can carry Caden's car seat, Spencer?" asked Lucy.

"I carried Caden's car seat out of the hospital," said Spencer as he looked at Clarissa, "Please go inside and sit down on the couch," said Spencer.

"Yes, sir," said Clarissa.

A few minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting on the couch while holding Ariel and Caden before noticing the lack of Diana, Bridget, and Evan.

"Even though we pulled Diana out of school until next week Thursday, where are the kids?" asked Spencer.

"They went grocery shopping with Anthony so you two can have a few hours to settle in with Ariel and Caden," said Lucy just as Ariel who was in her mother's arms started to cry.

"Let's switch, Clarissa," said Spencer.

"OK, Spence," said Clarissa as they switched babies.

As soon as Ariel was in her father's arms, she stopped crying.

"Definitely a daddy's girl," smiled Clarissa just as their nearly seven-year-old Maine Coon cat Merton walked over, "These are your new siblings Ariel and Caden, Merton," said Clarissa.

Merton sniffed Ariel and Caden before he started to purr.

"You like them, Merton?" asked Spencer as he reached out and started to pet his monster of a cat.

Merton purred again as he licked his father's hand.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Spencer and Clarissa woke up from their naps to find one of Spencer's best suits and a dress of Clarissa's laid out.

"Was Lucy in here while we slept?" asked Spencer.

"She might have been," said Clarissa as she slowly got out of bed and walked to her dress and her husband's suit to find a note.

EVEN THOUGH YOU TWO CELEBRATED YOUR ANNIVERSARY TWO WEEKS AGO, PLEASE PUT ON THESE CLOTHES SINCE DIANA ARRANGED A SURPRISE FOR YOU TWO. PLEASE BE DOWNSTAIRS BY 7 PM.

LUCY.

Spencer who was using his cane to help himself stand up looked at his wife.

"I wonder if Lucy, Anthony, and the kids are making a romantic dinner for us since you're not in the condition for us to go out right now?" asked Spencer.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they did," said Clarissa before looking at the digital alarm clock, "We have 90 minutes to get ready, and I call dibs on the shower first," said Clarissa as she headed to the master bathroom.

xxxxxxxxxx

90 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa who were both dressed up in the clothing that were laid out for them while Clarissa wore her hair in a messy bun while the hairs that didn't make it into the bun were curled were slowly going down the stairs together only to find Diana who was wearing a black skirt, a white blouse, and a small cloth draped over her right arm smiled at her parents.

"May I please escort you two to your table, sir and ma'am?" asked Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other as they realized that they were about to be surprised with a romantic dinner.

"Yes you may," said Clarissa.

Two minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting across from each other at their dining room table as they looked around the dining room that had a banner that said HAPPY SEVENTH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY MOMMY AND DADDY! while the dining room was decorated with pictures from their wedding day and pictures of pennies just as Bridget who was wearing the same outfit as her big sister came into the dining room while carefully carrying two glasses of water.

"Here's some water," said Bridget.

Spencer accepted the glasses of water from his second daughter.

"Thank you, ma'am," said Spencer.

Diana looked at her parents.

"May I please offer you two some entertainment while your meal is cooking?" asked Diana.

Spencer smiled as he noticed Diana's violin resting nearby.

"Are you going to play your violin as your before dinner entertainment for us?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as her two braided pigtails bounced.

"Yes, sir," said Diana as she grabbed her violin and positioned it in the right place, "Any requests?" asked Diana.

Spencer quickly thought about all the songs that Diana has mastered just as Bridget came into the dining room.

"Will Bridget be singing along?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Diana.

"How about "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"?" asked Spencer.

Diana and Bridget exchanged glances before nodding each other before Diana started to play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" while Bridget sang along.

When Diana and Bridget were both done singing, they both curtsied for their parents while Spencer and Clarissa clapped.

"Great performance, girls," said Clarissa just as Lucy came into the dining room with two plates of spaghetti & meatballs, a salad, and bread sticks while Evan brought a bottle of sparkling cider.

"Buon Appetito," said Lucy in Italian as she placed the two plates in front of Spencer and Clarissa before she opened up the bottle of sparkling cider and poured their glasses, "If you two need anything else please let Diana and Bridget know," said Lucy.

"Where are Ariel and Caden?" asked Clarissa.

"Anthony is watching them while he's finishing up on making desert and we have the bottles that you pumped up with breast milk earlier," said Lucy before giving Spencer and Clarissa a stern look, "It's your seven year wedding anniversary, so I want you two to enjoy your wedding anniversary this evening without not having to take care of two newborn babies," said Lucy as she hefted Evan onto her hip and left the dining room.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"Let's enjoy this meal because the kids, Lucy, and Anthony worked so hard to make our wedding anniversary special for us since you, Ariel, and Caden got discharged from the hospital today," said Spencer.

Diana gave her parents her 'Hotchner glare'.

"Please eat your meal or you two don't get to eat the cannolis and pannacotta that I helped Lucy and Anthony make for dessert," said Diana firmly as she grabbed her violin.  
Spencer and Clarissa chuckled.

"Yes ma'am," said Spencer and Clarissa in unison as they started to eat their meal while Diana started to play "I Can't Help Falling in Love" on her violin causing Spencer and Clarissa to look at their oldest daughter in shock as they wondered about when Diana took it upon herself to learn how to play the song that they danced to as their first dance as husband and wife seven years ago before they saw Diana and Bridget both giving them their 'Hotchner glares' causing them to start eating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm ending this chapter here, but the next chapter will start right after this chapter because Spencer and Clarissa do have to ask their daughter about her learning to play "Can't Help Falling in Love" on her violin since I want to write one more filler chapter before I focus on the episode of Slave of Duty that will include a twist that I believe that everyone will like.


	93. Diana's Explaination and Family Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts a half-hour after the last chapter and goes through December 1st of 2009.

After Spencer and Clarissa finished their dinner and dessert, Spencer looked at Diana who was the only child except for Ariel and Caden who had yet to be put to bed.

"When and where did you learn how to play "Can't Help Falling in Love" on your violin?" asked Spencer.

"I never heard you play that song on your violin, so you better start explaining," said Clarissa.

Diana grinned.

"I learned how to play Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" at school," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged shocked glances.

"Your not even taking orchestra at school yet, Diana," said Clarissa.

"I know, but I heard the school's new orchestra teacher playing the song on her violin when I went to the bathroom," said Diana.

Flashback to a month ago

Diana was exiting the bathroom just as she heard someone playing the familiar chords to the song that she knew was the first song her parents danced to as husband and wife causing her to head to the orchestra classroom where she saw a female teacher who looked around her great-aunt Mary's age playing her violin causing her to see the name Mrs. Kitterage on the board causing her to realize that it was the school's new orchestra teacher. When Mrs. Kitterage was done playing, she clapped her hands.

"That was awesome, Mrs. Kitterage," said Diana.

The teacher Mrs. Kitterage turned around and looked at Diana.

"Aren't you suppose to be in class, young lady?" asked Mrs. Kitterage.

Diana held up her hall pass.

"I had to use the bathroom and I ended up hearing you play the song my mommy and daddy danced to as their first day as husband and wife nearly seven years ago because they wanted to honor late grandma Diana who I'm named after and my late grandpa William danced to that song on their own wedding day too," said Diana before tilting her head, "My mommy and daddy will be celebrating their seven-year wedding anniversary next month on November 30th and even though I'm turning six in December I would love to learn how to play "Can't Help Falling in Love" on my violin so I can surprise my parents," said Diana.

Mrs. Kitterage's eyes went wide as she looked at the nearly six-year-old girl who was wearing purple glasses, her hair was pulled into two Dutch braids, had an overall dress on over a long-sleeved purple shirt, purple leggings, and purple converse sneaker causing her to wonder why did the little girl's brown curly hair and facial features look so familiar.

"You know how to play the violin?" asked Mrs. Kitterage.

Diana nodded.

"My daddy got me a violin for Christmas in 2007 because of me wanting to learn how to play the violin like him, and with my eidetic memory I already mastered a lot of songs," said Diana.

Mrs. Kitterage's eyes went wide as she realized why the little girl looked familiar when it came to having grandparents named Diana and William, facial features, skin tone, her smile, the shape of her eyes despite them being blue, and her hair color.

"Isn't your father Spencer Reid?" asked Mrs. Kitterage.

Diana's eyes went wide as she nodded.

"You know my daddy?" asked Diana.

Mrs. Kitterage nodded.

"I was your daddy's violin teacher when he was six and I just started teaching here today. Since I'm happy to find out that he is married and a father, what is he doing with his life that caused him to live in the Nation's Capital?" asked Mrs. Kitterage.

Diana beamed.

"Daddy works as a profiler for the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit down in Quantico Virginia and he's been on crutches since August 26th because of getting shot above the left knee," said Diana.

"Oh my," said Mrs. Kitterage.

"Even though my parents sent me to counseling because of daddy getting shot, my uncle Aaron getting stabbed the same day, my four-year-old Jack having to play hide and go seek against the bad guy that attacked my uncle; Daddy's recovering and he's now able to bear weight on his left leg," said Diana.

"I'm sorry to hear that you and your family have been through a tough time right now, but it's good to hear that your father is on the mend," said Mrs. Kitterage.

Diana nodded.

"My two-year-old little sister, my 16-month-old little brother, my new baby brother and sister that my mommy is currently 30-weeks pregnant with, and I are very good motivations for my daddy's recovery," said Diana.

Mrs. Kitterage smiled as she thought about the possibility of Diana's little brother and sister being adorable like the little girl standing in front of her while thinking about how adorable Spencer was when he was a child.

"Are you excited about becoming a big sister again?" asked Mrs. Kitterage.

Diana nodded.

"I am, but are you able to help me learn how to play "Can't Help Falling in Love" on my violin so I can surprise my mommy and daddy on their wedding anniversary?" asked Diana.

Mrs. Kitterage nodded.

"I sure can, so why don't we ask your teacher about you coming here during recess every day so we can surprise your mommy and daddy for their wedding anniversary," said Mrs. Kitterage just as Mrs. O' Conner entered the room and looked at Diana.

"Did you come here instead of coming right back to the classroom before recess, Diana?" asked Mrs. O' Conner.

Diana nodded.

"I'm sorry about not coming right back to the classroom, but I heard Mrs. Kitterage playing the song that mommy and daddy danced to as their first dance as husband and wife on her violin," said Diana.

Mrs. Kitterage looked at Mrs. O' Conner.

"It's OK, Mrs. O' Conner. I knew Diana's father from when he was a little boy so I was shocked to find out that one of my former pupil's daughter attends this school," said Mrs. Kitterage.

Mrs. O' Conner smiled.

"I've known Spencer and Clarissa since they moved into a house across the street for me and they're really good people while Diana is my five-year-old daughter's best friend," said Mrs. O' Conner.

Diana looked at her teacher.

"Mrs. Kitterage is willing to teach me how to play "Can't Help Falling in Love" on my violin every day during recess so I can surprise my mommy and daddy on their wedding anniversary, but I don't want them to find out," said Diana.

Mrs. O' Conner smiled.

"I'll help keep your secret, but we need to figure out how you can get your violin here without your parents knowing especially since your mother is starting maternity leave next week," said Mrs. O' Conner.

Mrs. Kitterage looked at Diana.

"I have a violin at home that should be just your size and I will bring it here tomorrow," said Mrs. Kitterage.

Diana grinned at Mrs. Kitterage and ran to her.

"Thank you, Mrs. Kitterage," said Diana as she hugged Mrs. Kitterage.

"Your welcome and if you impress me we'll see about you taking orchestra here before you enter the fifth grade," said Mrs. O' Conner.

Diana grinned.

"OK," said Diana before she left the orchestra classroom with her teacher.

 

Flashback over

A smiling Spencer looked at his oldest daughter.

"And you didn't think to tell me that my first violin teacher lives in the same town as us?" asked Spencer.

"Mrs. Kitterage wanted to wait with you finding out until tonight and because of how well I play the violin she wants to start giving me private violin lessons in January if it's OK with you two," said Diana.

Spencer and Clarissa looked at each other and nodded.

"Mrs. Kitterage can give you private violin lessons," said Spencer.

Diana sighed.

"I wish that I could go to school tomorrow so I can tell Mrs. Kitterage your reaction, but I understand that you two aren't letting me go back to school until after Aunt Haley's funeral next week Wednesday because of wanting me to help me deal with Aunt Haley's death, go to counseling, and help Jack adjust," said Diana.

"We can call Mrs. Kitterage tomorrow so I can thank her while Mrs. O' Conner is going to continue making sure to bring the work you missed and the additional work she was going to reward you with for completing third-grade level work every day," said Spencer.

"Since I don't have to start doing the schoolwork I missed today until tomorrow, will you be supervising me?" asked Diana.

Spencer nodded as he thought about Chief Strauss telling him that he's on paternity leave until after his former sister-in-law's funeral while telling him that he and his teammates will also have Christmas through the New Year off because of the tough year they had and she wanted the team to spend Christmas with their families.

"I will since Chief Strauss told me this morning that I'm on paternity leave until after Aunt Haley's funeral while she promised me that I'll have Christmas through New Year off too," said Spencer before looking at the clock, "It's time for you to take a shower and go to bed, young lady," said Spencer.

Diana nodded and a few minutes later Clarissa was supervising Diana in the shower before Spencer and Clarissa tucked in Diana together.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that night Ariel started to cry causing Spencer to put on his glasses and sit up and reached over for Ariel who was in her bassinet right next to his bed. A few seconds later Spencer had Ariel in his arms causing Ariel to stop crying instantly.

"Were you just wanting to be in daddy's arms, Princess?" asked Spencer quietly.

Ariel let out some coos causing Clarissa to wake up.

"Was that Ariel crying, Spence?" asked Clarissa groggily.

"Yeah and she stopped crying as soon as she was in my arms," said Spencer quietly.

Clarissa softly chuckled so she couldn't wake up Caden who was in the bassinet right next to her side of the bed.

"She's definitely going to be an extreme daddy's girl if she cried because of wanting to be held by you, Spence," said Clarissa softly as Caden started to cry causing her to reach over for Caden and scooped up the baby boy and settle her into her arms causing the newborn baby boy to stop crying, "I guess that you are going to be an extreme Mama's boy like your big brother Evan since you wanted to be in my arms, Caden," chuckled Clarissa.

Caden cooed at his mother while Clarissa looked at her husband.

"We did a mighty damn good job creating Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden together," said Clarissa softly.

Spencer smiled.

"I know and even though the kids did a great job surprising us with a romantic dinner for our wedding anniversary today I promise you that we'll do something special for Valentine's Day, Clarissa," said Spencer.

"Damn straight," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked down at Ariel who was staring away at him.

"Since you just ate a half hour ago and your diaper is clean and dry, why don't I figure out what song will be my song to get you to sleep," said Spencer as he closed his eyes and thought about Tim McGraw's song "Last Dollar" and started to sing the song until he got to the chorus, "One, two three like a bird I sing. 'Cause you given me the most beautiful set of wings and I'm so glad you're here today. 'Cause tomorrow I might have to go and fly away," sang Spencer softly just as he realized that Ariel's eyes were closed.

Clarissa looked at her husband as tears fell down her face.

"I think you found the song," said Clarissa softly.

Spencer nodded.

"Every time I hear Tim McGraw's song "Last Dollar" and hear the chorus, I think about you and the kids because you, Diana, and Bridget are the reason why I handed your brother the vials of Dilaudid after Tobias Hankel physically and emotionally tortured me, you gave me a reason to live after the second time I became an orphan, while Ariel and Caden helped give me the willpower to be walking with a cane by the time Ariel and Caden are born," said Spencer softly.

"I always think of you when I hear that song too, Spence," said Clarissa as she leaned towards her husband and kissed him on the lips causing Caden to coo.

"Even though your vision isn't perfect right now, I guess you like me kissing mommy, prince?" asked Spencer.

Caden cooed just as a few soft knocks sounded on the bedroom door.

"Come in," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Evan came into the room causing Spencer and Clarissa to smile at the thought of their 17-month-old son already opening doors and closing them on his own.

"What are you doing up, tadpole?" asked Spencer.

"Babies cwy," said Evan as he pointed at his little brother and little sister.

"So you wanted to check on your little brother and sister and see that they're OK like you've been doing while daddy's knee gets better?" asked Clarissa.

Evan nodded as his messed up ear length curly brown hair bounced.

"Yes," said Evan as he found the footstool that his mommy and daddy kept for him and Bridget and pushed it to the bed before climbing up and settled himself down between his parents, little brother, and little sister and grinned at Ariel and Caden.

Spencer looked at his oldest son.

"Do you love your new little brother and sister?" asked Spencer.

Evan nodded as his curl bounced.

"Yes and I pway twuck wits Ade," said Evan.

"Caden is too small to play with your trucks with you right now, but as soon as he's big enough he'll play with you all the time until you go to school like Diana," said Clarissa.

"Inosaur?" asked Evan.

"In a couple of months you and Caden can play with your stuffed dinosaurs together," said Spencer.

"K," said Evan before looking at Ariel and Caden, "I kiss abies?" asked Evan.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other.

"You can kiss your little brother and sister as long as you give daddy and me each a kiss, baby boy," said Clarissa.

Evan gave his mother his "Hotchner glare".

"I big boy and Ade a baby," said Evan firmly before he gave his little brother and sister each a gentle kiss like his parents showed him to before he gave his parents sloppy kisses on the cheeks, "I wuv you, Mama. I wuv you, Dada," said Evan.

"I love you too, Evan," said Spencer and Clarissa in unison before Evan laid down and closed his eyes.

"I guess that he wants to sleep with us instead of getting into his big boy bed that you, Aaron, and Derek put together for him," said Clarissa as she thought about the two trundle beds that she and Spencer bought for Evan's room so Jack could sleep in the second bed until Caden outgrows his crib and moves to Evan's room before yawning as she looked down at her sleeping newborn son, "We might as well put Ariel and Caden back into their bassinets so we can get some sleep before they wake us up," said Clarissa.

As soon as Spencer and Clarissa put Ariel and Caden into their respective bassinets, they gave each other a kiss.

"These seven years as your husband has been the best years of my life, Clara," said Spencer softly.

"Ditto about these seven years as your wife being the best years of my life, Spence," said Clarissa softly.

Xxxxxxx

The next day Spencer was leaning on his cane with a cup of coffee in his left hand as he looked out the window of his and Clarissa's home library and looked at the willow tree that he and Clarissa bought together to celebrate nine-years of friendship as he thought about the copper vase of seven copper roses that he gave Clarissa while Clarissa gave him a vintage copper telephone for his office just as Diana who was working on her homework for the past three hours looked at her daddy.

"I finished all my homework, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer limped towards Diana with the aid of his cane and sat down next to Diana. 10 minutes later Spencer looked at his oldest daughter.

"Everything looks good, Diana," said Spencer before thinking about how it always took Diana three hours to do her schoolwork when she misses school, "As your reward for finishing your homework, we can go out for lunch together while you accompany me to my physical therapy appointment," said Spencer.

Diana grinned.

"Will mommy, Ariel, and Caden come with?" asked Diana.

Spencer shook his head.

"Mommy isn't up to going out today since she just gave birth to Ariel and Caden on Saturday and Ariel and Caden are way too young to get vaccinated for influenza and H1N1 while your mommy, Bridget, Evan, you, and I were old enough to get vaccinated for both flu viruses," said Spencer.

"That sucks," said Diana.

"It does, but I know that you know the rules about washing your hands or using hand sanitizer if you want to hold Ariel and Caden," said Spencer.

"I do, daddy," said Diana just as her stomach growled.

Spencer looked at the clock and saw that it was 10:30.

"Why don't we go out for lunch now," said Spencer.

"Can we please go to Denny's?" asked Diana.

"Denny's it is," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A half-hour later Spencer was sitting across from his oldest daughter who was sitting across from him in a booth at Denny's

"So what are you going to eat, Diana?" asked Spencer.

Diana smiled.

"Spaghetti," said Diana.

Spencer pretended to give his oldest daughter a surprised look.

"As a profiler, I should have known," said Spencer.

Diana giggled.

"I know you know because you know about everything I like and dislike, daddy," said Diana before looking at the menu in front of herself and tilted her head, "Even though I'm not a profiler like you daddy, I believe that you'll be ordering yourself a cheeseburger and french fries," said Diana.

Spencer grinned.

"Maybe you'll make a good profiler in about 20 years, Diana," said Spencer.

"Maybe, but I like the idea of becoming a nurse like mommy someday, daddy," said Diana.

"Even though you're like me while having your mother's spitfire personality, you can do anything with your life, Diana," said Spencer just as a waitress came over with a glass of Coca Cola for Spencer and a glass of milk for Diana before taking their orders.

After the waitress was gone, Diana looked at her father.

"Was Aunt Haley happy for you and mommy when you two got married?" asked Diana.

Spencer nodded.

"She was extremely happy for us since I made your mother happy while she practically adopted me on the day I met her," said Spencer before smiling a bit "After I had my first five dances with your mother as husband and wife, Haley and I ended up dancing for a song so your mother could dance with your uncle Aaron," said Spencer.

"What song?" asked Diana.

Spencer tilted his head.

"Follow Me" by Uncle Kracker," said Spencer.

Diana nodded.

"Follow me and everything is alright. I'll be the one to tuck you in at night and if you want to leave I can guarantee that you'll find nobody else like me," sang Diana quietly.

Spencer grinned.

"Good job, bumble bee," said Spencer quietly just as the waitress came over with their meals.

"Enjoy your meals," said the waitress as she placed Diana's plate of spaghetti in front of Diana and Spencer's cheeseburger and french fries in front of him, "I'm going to let you two resume your father/daughter date, so if you two need anything, please let me know," said the waitress before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Spencer and Diana finished up the banana split that they ordered to share, Spencer looked at the waitress that took their orders.

"Could I please have the bill?" asked Spencer.

"There's no bill," said the waitress.

"What do you mean?" asked Diana.

The waitress smiled.

"An elderly couple that left five minutes ago insisted on paying your bill," said the waitress as she handed Spencer the receipt.

Spencer turned over the receipt and saw handwriting he never saw before.

SEEING YOU SPENDING TIME WITH YOUR DAUGHTER HAS MELTED MY WIFE'S AND MY HEART. MY WIFE AND I INSISTED ON PAYING FOR YOU AND YOUR DAUGHTER'S MEALS BECAUSE WE LOST OUR ONLY LITTLE GIRL TO A BRAIN TUMOR 40 YEARS AGO. WE ALSO WANT TO ENCLOSE YOU $50 TO MAKE THIS YEAR'S CHRISTMAS EXTRA SPECIAL FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS,

JANICE AND CRAIG WALLACE

The waitress handed Spencer the $50.

"Janice and Craig are regulars here and they said that they won't take this money back," said the waitress as

she handed Spencer the $50 bill.

Spencer looked at Diana as they got out of their booths.

"Since we're not hurting on money, we might as well put the money into one of the red kettles for the Salvation Army," said Spencer as he limped on his cane towards the red kettle on the counter.

Diana nodded in agreement.

"I agree, daddy," said Diana.

"You want to be the one to put the money in, bumblebee?" asked Spencer.

"Yes please," said Diana.

A few seconds later Diana was stuffing the $50 bill into the red kettle that Denny's had to raise money for the Salvation Army before they thanked the waitress and left the restaurant.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer and Diana approached Andy.

"I thought that you were going to cancel this appointment because of what happened last Wednesday, Spencer," said Andy.

Spencer shook his head.

"Clarissa insisted that I still come to physical therapy so I can be one day closer to getting rid of this cane," said Spencer.

"Speaking of Clarissa, where's your other half?" asked Andy.

Spencer smiled down at Diana.

"You want to tell Andy where your mother is?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as her curly side braids bounced.

"Mommy is at home because she, Ariel, and Caden all got discharged from the hospital yesterday," said a grinning Diana.

Andy looked at Spencer who nodded as he pulled out his phone and showed his physical therapist of a picture of him, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden together at the hospital before showing a picture of just Ariel and Caden both wide awake while laying in a bassinet together.

"Congratulations, Spencer and it looks like Ariel is going to have your eyes," said Andy.

"I know," said Spencer.

"Ariel and Caden both have your curls, but what's up with the blonde hair?" asked Andy.

"My late mother had curly blonde hair," said Spencer.

Andy nodded as he thought about Spencer telling him about his parents, aunt Ethel, uncle Gordon, and uncle Daniel all being dead.

"My youngest daughter also has my mother's hair," said Andy before he led Spencer and Diana to the work station that he set up for Spencer.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

45 minutes later Spencer was done with his physical therapy appointment was putting on his navy blue military style pea coat when Andy looked at Spencer as he put Diana's winter hat over the nearly six-year-old girl's head.

"Seems like you won't be needing your cane within the next couple of weeks, Spencer," said Andy.

Diana who was buttoning up her purple pea coat nodded in agreement.

"I hope that you won't need your cane by my sixth birthday, daddy," said Diana.

"I hope so too because I want to give you, Bridget, and Evan piggyback rides before you get too big," said Spencer.

"I'll never be too big for you to give me piggyback rides because there are times that you give mommy a piggyback ride," said Diana sweetly.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later Spencer and Diana entered the house to find Bridget standing by a bassinet that held two crying babies and a second later Bridget took a deep breath and started to sing.

"Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high. Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are," sang Bridget just as Ariel and Caden both stopped crying.

"You made Ariel and Caden stop crying with your singing, Bridget," said Diana as she walked over to her little sister and hugged her.

Bridget looked up at her daddy.

"I do good?" asked Bridget.

Spencer nodded.

"You sure did because you found out a way to get your new little brother and sister to stop crying," said Spencer.

"Where are mommy, Lucy, and Anthony?" asked Diana.

"Mommy take a nap. Evan take a nap with mommy. Lucy and Tony get Chistmas tree for us to put up and I watch Ariel and Caden for them," said Bridget.

Spencer smiled at his two-year-old daughter.

"You are a good babysitter for Ariel and Caden," said Spencer just as Lucy and Anthony came into the living room with the box of the artificial Christmas tree and a box of ornaments, "Thank you for bringing everything up," said Spencer.

"It's not a problem, Spencer," said Anthony.

"Should we wait with decorating the tree until after Clarissa and Evan wake up?" asked Lucy.

Spencer nodded.

"We should," said Spencer.

"Wasn't Ariel and Caden crying three minutes ago?" asked Lucy.

Spencer nodded.

"They were crying just as Diana and I came into the house to witness Bridget singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" causing the twins to stop crying," said Spencer.

Lucy smiled at Bridget.

"Knowing Santa, he'll be pleased about you being such a great helper with Ariel and Caden," said Lucy.

Diana nodded in agreement as she wrapped an arm around her little sister.

"Santa liked it that I helped take care of you when you were a baby," said Diana.

Bridget looked up at Diana.

"Santa watch you too?" asked Bridget.

Diana nodded.

"He's watching you, Evan, and I and he'll make sure to put gifts underneath our Christmas tree for Ariel and Caden too since he already knows that Ariel and Caden are here," said Diana just as Clarissa and Evan came down the stairs.

"How was your nap?" asked Spencer as he limped towards his wife and leaned down to kiss her a bit.

"Good and how was physical therapy?" asked Clarissa.

"Andy thinks that I might be getting rid of this cane within the next couple of weeks," said Spencer.

"Good," said Clarissa just as Ariel and Caden both started to cry, "That's the we're hungry cry, so how about I feed them before we start decorating our Christmas tree and the living room?" asked Clarissa.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

A half-hour later Spencer, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Lucy, and Anthony were decorating the Christmas tree together as the four adults and Diana sang Christmas carols while Ariel and Caden watched their family decorate the Christmas tree from their baby seats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Spencer's grandparents, uncle Joe, aunt Mary, and cousins Maeve, Jacob, Isaac, and Abigail will be appearing in the next chapter or two because of having it that the Reids will still celebrate Hanukkah in this universe.


	94. Gideon Comes to Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to write one more domestic chapter before I get to Slave of Duty that will involve a twist about who will watch Jack when Hotch returns to work.
> 
> This chapter starts the day after the last chapter and I'm going to have it that Gideon is Jewish since Mandy Patinkin is Jewish in real life and I hope that you readers get a hoot out of five-year-old Clarissa in a flashback I decided to write.

Spencer was sitting on the couch reading to Diana, Bridget, and Evan just as the doorbell rang causing Spencer to look at Diana.

"Please go check and see who it is through the window and if it's someone you know then you can unlock the door and answer it," said Spencer.

Diana nodded.

"Yes, sir," said Diana as she quickly got off the couch and walked to the window and peeked through the closed curtain to see that it was her godfather, "It's my godfather who has a bag with gifts, so I can let him in," said Diana as she quickly unlocked the door and let her godfather into the house.

"I see that you're good at following the rule about checking to see who it is before you unlock the door and let me in, Diana," said Gideon.

Diana smiled at her godfather.

"I know," said Diana.

"You've have grown so much since the last time I saw you," said Gideon.

"I grew an inch," beamed Diana.

Gideon looked over where Bridget and Evan were sitting with their father.

"Bridget and Evan have grown so much too," said Gideon.

Diana looked up at her godfather.

"Are you here to meet Ariel and Caden?" asked Diana.

Gideon nodded.

"I am because of the pictures your daddy emailed me when I was in California while I wanted to check in on your uncle Aaron too," said Gideon.

"I miss Haley and I've been talking to a therapist with Jack. How long are you staying in Washington D.C. for this time?" asked Diana.

"Until after Hanukkah is over," said Gideon softly.

"Daddy, mommy, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, Caden, and I will be celebrating Hanukkah next week Friday," said Diana as she pointed at the menorah that her great-grandparents gifted to her father on his 28th birthday, "Grandma Lydia and Grandpa Evan gave daddy that menorah for his birthday," said Diana.

Gideon looked at the menorah that already contained blue and white candles.

"That's a beautiful menorah, Diana," said Gideon.

At that moment Spencer stood up with the aid of his cane and walked towards Gideon.

"I'm happy to see you bearing weight again," said Gideon.

Spencer nodded.

"I am too because my physical therapist believes that I'll be off the cane before Diana's birthday because Clarissa, the kids, and my teammates are all good motivations to help me reach this far in my recovery," said Spencer.

"Speaking of the kids, where are Ariel and Caden?" asked Gideon.

Spencer pointed at the bassinet.

"They're sleeping in the bassinet over there," said Spencer.

Gideon walked over to the bassinet and smiled as he looked at Ariel and Caden who were both swaddled up while they were both fast asleep in the bassinet that they were sharing.

"Pictures do not do justice, Spencer," said Gideon.

"I know, and I'm happy that they're finally here because Ariel Haley Reid and Caden Spencer Reid have been some good distractions for everyone since Haley's death a week ago," said Spencer.

"I love the middle names you and Clarissa picked out," said Gideon.

"Thanks. And because of Ariel's middle name, Clarissa and I picked Haley's parents to be Ariel's godparents as our way to cheer up Roy and Amelia and they said yes while insisting on being part of Caden's life too," said Spencer as he smiled down at Ariel and Caden who have both opened their eyes.

"That was very nice of you and Clarissa," said Gideon.

"My grandparents and Haley's parents are going to be getting together after the funeral since my grandparents had to deal with losing their two sons the same day while they lost one of their daughters," said Spencer.

"Not a bad idea," said Gideon just as Clarissa who just took a shower came downstairs.

"Hello, Jason," said Clarissa as she walked over to Gideon and hugged him.

"You're looking great," said Gideon.

Clarissa shook her head.

"Even though I'm happy to be no longer pregnant, I have more weight to lose from being pregnant with Ariel and Caden than I did when I was pregnant with Diana, Bridget, and then Evan," said Clarissa.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"Don't be ridiculous because you're beautiful, Clarissa," said Spencer as he kissed his wife just as Ariel started to cry, "That's the 'I need a diaper change' cry," said Spencer.

Clarissa nodded.

"I agree," said Clarissa.

Gideon looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Mind if I change Ariel's diaper to see if I still have it down?" asked Gideon.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances before Clarissa looked at Gideon.

"Go knock yourself out because I definitely smell a stinky diaper," smirked Clarissa.

A few seconds later Gideon lifted Ariel out of the bassinet while Caden started to cry.

"That's his 'I need a diaper change' cry, so I'll change his diaper too," said Clarissa as she gently removed Caden from the bassinet.

"Don't forget about the urine cone so he doesn't urinate on you," said Spencer.

"I won't, Spence," said Clarissa as she led Gideon towards the area where she and Spencer set up as a first-floor changing station.

xxxxxxx

After Ariel and Caden both had clean diapers on and were swaddled back up, Bridget and Evan were in their beds for their afternoon nap, and Diana left the house with Lucy and Anthony to get groceries; Gideon who was holding Ariel and Caden for the first time looked at Spencer with a wistful look in his eyes.

"Even though Stephan is a year older than you, Spencer, I wish that he would find a nice Jewish woman to settle down with to start a family with so I can finally get some grandchildren," said Gideon.

Clarissa tilted her head and looked at her husband before she whispered into his ear.

"Since we've become matchmakers for some of our friends, what about setting your cousin Maeve up with Stephan?" whispered Clarissa.

Spencer nodded as he looked at Gideon.

"My grandparents, Aunt Mary, and uncle Joe have been pestering Maeve about setting down and starting a family of her own, so why don't you and Stephan come here for Shabbat and the lighting of the first candle on the menorah for Hanukkah next week Friday?" asked Spencer.

Gideon smiled a bit as he thought back to Spencer calling him and telling him about tracking down members of his father's side of the family to find out that he's half Jewish and he and Clarissa decided that they were going to start following some Jewish traditions to teach the kids about their ancestors.

"Are you sure?" asked Gideon.

"You have yet to meet my grandparents and they've been wanting to meet you for some time since you're Diana's godfather," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked at the mantle that featured a photo frame that contained two pictures of her seven-year-old self wearing a pink flower girl dress standing next to Haley who was wearing a white wedding dress on Aaron's wedding dance Haley and a picture of her and Haley together on her wedding day with Haley acting as mother of the bride causing her to look at Gideon.

"When it comes to you knowing about how it is to lose your first love to a serial killer, have you gone to see Aaron yet?" asked Clarissa.

Gideon nodded.

"I checked on him before coming here and I'm glad that he had already moved on from Haley or he could have been worse," said Gideon.

Clarissa sighed as she flashed back to the time she first met Haley.

Flashback to June of 1987

Five-year-old Clarissa who was wearing overalls and a pink long-sleeved t-shirt was carrying her ice skates as she looked up at her 17-year-old brother as she allowed her oldest brother to carry her into the ice skating rink that Aaron and Haley were having their date at.

"Will your girlfriend like me?" asked Clarissa.

"She's very excited to meet you because I showed her a picture I carry of you and she adores you because she has a little sister too," said Aaron just as they approached a 16-year-old teenage girl with long blonde hair and smiled at her, "I hope that it's OK that I brought my little sister along because my mom got called into work and Sean is currently at summer camp, Haley" said Aaron.

Haley smiled.

"It's OK because I finally get the chance to watch your little sister ice skate," said Haley before smiling at Clarissa, "My name is Haley Brooks and I'm glad that I finally got to meet the little girl that Aaron adores," smiled Haley.

Clarissa shook Haley's hand as she gave Haley a dimpled smile.

"I'm pleased to meet you," said Clarissa before looking at her big brother, "I need to use the bathroom before I put on my ice skates," said Clarissa sweetly.

Haley looked at her boyfriend.

"I can take Clarissa to the bathroom for you so you don't have to wait outside the woman's room," said Haley.

"Thank you," said Aaron as he set his little sister down.

Haley took Clarissa's hand.

"Come on, sweetie," said Haley.

10 minutes later Haley lifted Clarissa up so she could wash her hands and when Clarissa was drying her hands she gave her 'Hotchner glare' to her oldest brother's girlfriend.

"Now that we're in a room that Aaron isn't allowed to be in with me, I'm going to tell you that you better not hurt Aaron or I'll make sure that you regret getting together with Aaron. I'll always be the girl who will always come first in his life because he's both my big brother and daddy because of our daddy dying when I was three. If you hurt me, Aaron will break up with you because he's very protective of me while I have him wrapped around my finger," said Clarissa firmly.

Haley backed up a bit.

"I promise not to hurt you and Aaron," said Haley.

Clarissa smiled as she showed off the top tooth that she recently lost when she fell off her bicycle when Aaron tried to teach her how to ride her bicycle without training wheels.

"Good and please don't tell Aaron about me giving you the little sister talk because he most likely won't take me out for ice cream after leaving here if he heard about me threatening you," said Clarissa.

"I promise not to tell Aaron," said Haley.

Clarissa took Haley's hand.

"Let's get back to Aaron before he gets worried about me," said Clarissa as she skipped out of the woman's bathroom and skipped towards her brother, "Can we please go ice skating now?" asked Clarissa as she worked her eyes on her big brother while pouting.

"Yes," said Aaron.

Flashback over

Clarissa broke out of her gaze as she felt someone nudging her shoulder.

"Where was your head at, Clarissa?" asked Spencer.

"Even though I met Haley when I was five, I hated her for a while after she broke Aaron's heart by cheating on Aaron," said Clarissa before sighing, "I wish that she didn't listen to Foyet so she could be here for Jack and get to hold Ariel and Caden since she was very happy about me expecting another child," said Clarissa as a tear fell down her cheek.

Spencer wrapped an arm around Clarissa.

"Even though I met Haley when I was 19, I feel the same way too because of Haley practically adopting me on the spot when you introduced me to her while she helped you take care of Diana until we hired Lucy," said Spencer.

Gideon looked at Clarissa.

"I know that Aaron already told you this, but the best way you can honor Haley is to be there for Jack and help him remember his mother since you make sure that your children know who their grandparents are," said Gideon.

Clarissa nodded.

"I already promised myself that I will be there for my favorite nephew while Spence has made it a goal to help Jack through his grief since he lost his own parents when he was Jack's age," said Clarissa.

Gideon nodded as he looked at Spencer.

"When Diana comes back, could take her out to the zoo and go out for ice cream after?" asked Gideon.

Spencer and Clarissa chuckled.

"Diana is really spoiled by you, Jason," said Clarissa.

"You two named her my goddaughter," said Gideon.

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After Diana returned with Lucy and Anthony, Spencer led Diana up to the library and settled his oldest daughter onto his good knee.

"Jason wants to take you to the zoo and out for ice cream, but I want you to ask him a certain question before you leave," said Spencer.

"What type of question?" asked Diana.

Spencer sat down by Diana and whispered a few words in her ear causing the nearly six-year-old girl to grin.

"I've always wanted to ask him that question even though he's my godfather," said Diana.

"Even though you already have grandpa James and grandpa Evan, you can have more than two grandfathers because blended families usually mean that a child has more aunts, uncles, and grandparents than a nuclear family," said Spencer.

Diana nodded in agreement.

"Just like my friend Isabel from church because she has a total of eight grandmas and grandpas," said Diana.

Spencer nodded.

"Exactly, so let's go ask him that question," said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer and Diana were downstairs to find Gideon placing Ariel and Caden into their shared bassinet when Diana looked at her godfather.

"Can I please ask you a question?" asked Diana.

Gideon nodded.

"You may," said Gideon.

"You should probably sit down first," said Diana.

Gideon sat down on the couch causing Diana to sit down on Gideon's lap.

"Even though I have my adoptive grandfather Dr. James Blake and my great-grandfather Evan Reid, can I please call you grandpa even though you are my godfather?" asked Diana as she worked her eyes on her godfather while pouting.

A shocked Gideon looked at Spencer and Clarissa who both nodded despite the tears that were leaking from Clarissa's eyes before Gideon looked at the nearly six-year-old girl.

"You can," said Gideon before looking at Spencer and Clarissa, "Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden can also call me grandpa too," said Gideon.

"Are you sure?" asked Clarissa.

"Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden are the closest I'm ever going to have for grandchildren until Stephan gives me a grandchild," said Gideon.

Spencer and Clarissa smiled at each other as they thought about their plans to play matchmakers again.

"I bet you $100 that Spence and I will help Stephan get himself a girlfriend before the end of the year," said Clarissa.

"Are you two going to play matchmaker for my son?" asked Gideon.

Clarissa nodded while Spencer looked at Gideon.

"My grandparents have been pestering my cousin Maeve to start settling down and start a family of her own because they're getting older and they want to hold a great-grandchild from her before they're both gone," said Spencer.

"And Maeve celebrated both Jewish and Christian holidays as a child, so Spence and I know that you would most likely approve her," said Clarissa.

Gideon nodded.

"I'll talk to Stephan about joining you guys for Shabbat next week Friday and I won't speak a word about Maeve to him," said Gideon before looking at Diana, "Let's get going so I have time to cook for you, your siblings, your parents, and nannies tonight," said Gideon.

Clarissa looked at Gideon.

"You don't have to cook for us," said Clarissa.

"I know, but you and Spencer are both tired because of Ariel and Caden while I want to give Lucy and Anthony a night off from cooking," said Gideon.

Diana glared at her parents.

"Please don't argue because I want to eat Grandpa Jason's spaghetti," said Diana before taking Gideon's hand, "Let's get going please," said Diana.

Five minutes later Diana was heading off to the zoo with Gideon when Clarissa wrapped an arm around her husband.

"I can't believe that Diana will be six in 19 days," said Clarissa as tears fell down her face.

Spencer nodded in agreement.

"I can't believe it too, but I'm grateful that Bridget is two, Evan is 17-months, and Ariel and Caden are both four-days-old," said Spencer.

"Me too because I hate how fast Diana is growing, Spence," said Clarissa as she leaned forward and gently kissed her husband just as Bridget's voice sounded through a baby monitor.

"Daddy," said Bridget.

In another baby monitor, Evan spoke up.

"Mama," said Evan.

Spencer and Clarissa broke out of their kiss and shook their heads.

"Let's go tend to Bridget and Evan before we watch "Thomas & Friends" with them," said Spencer as he thought about Evan's current obsession is dealing with Thomas the Train causing him and Clarissa to buy a Thomas the Train sheets and bedding for Evan's trundle bed.

10 minutes later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting on the couch with Bridget sitting next to her father while Evan sat next to his mother as Spencer gave Ariel her bottle that contained Clarissa's breast milk while Clarissa chose to breastfeed Caden as they watched "Thomas & Friends".

xxxxxxxxx

After Bridget and Evan had enough time watching "Thomas & Friends", Bridget walked over to her father with a set of flashcards.

"You want to practice your language skills and sign language?" asked Spencer.

Bridget nodded.

"Yes, daddy," said Bridget as she signed 'yes' and then 'daddy'.

Evan ran over to his father and Irish twin.

"Me too?" asked Evan.

"You want to learn more words?" asked Spencer.

Evan nodded.

"Yes, Dada," said Evan as he signed 'yes' and 'daddy'.

Spencer beamed at his son.

"Good job on your sign language, tadpole," said Spencer as he accepted the cards from Bridget.

10 seconds later Spencer was sitting across from Bridget and Evan as he held up a card that held a picture of Clarissa.

"Mommy," said Bridget as she signed mother.

"Mama," said Evan as he signed the word mother.

Spencer grinned.

"That's correct," said Spencer as he then held up a card that contained a picture of him.

Bridget grinned.

"Daddy," said Bridget as she signed father.

"Dada," said Evan as he signed father.

Spencer grinned.

"Great job," said Spencer as he held up a picture of a cat.

"Cat," said Bridget and Evan in unison as they signed 'cat' to their father.

Spencer grinned.

"I'm so proud of you two," said Spencer as he held up a picture of a lion.

"Lion," said Bridget as she signed 'lion'.

"Li-on," said Evan slowly as he signed 'lion'.

"What sound does a lion make?" asked Spencer.

Bridget and Evan grinned.

"Rwar," growled Bridget and Evan as they mimicked lion claws.

"You two are fierce, and did you know that the Hebrew meaning of your baby sister's name means 'lioness of God'?" asked Spencer.

Evan looked around for Ariel.

"Ari?" asked Evan.

"Caden?" asked Bridget.

"Ariel and Caden are currently taking a nap upstairs like mommy currently is," said Spencer as he held up a picture of an apple with a cup filled with juice.

"Apple juice," said Bridget as she signed apple and juice.

"App-le uice," said Evan slowly.

"Great job, munchkins," said Spencer.

Bridget looked at her father.

"Apple juice looks like pee, daddy," said Bridget.

Spencer tilted his head.

"Apple juice might look like urine, but please don't call apple juice pee juice when you want some apple juice, Cricket," said Spencer.

"OK, and may I pwease ink some apple juice, daddy?" asked Bridget.

"Yes you may, Cricket," said Spencer before he looked at his 17-month-old son, "Do you want some apple juice, tadpole?" asked Spencer.

Evan nodded.

"Pee uice," said Evan.

Spencer shook his head at his oldest son's antics.

"Apple juice," corrected Spencer as he stood up with his cane and led Bridget and Evan to the kitchen where Lucy was making cranberry cookies, "Clarissa is going to be happy when she finds out that you're making cranberry cookies," said Spencer.

Lucy pulled a batch of cranberry cookies out of the oven.

"I know and is there anything you three need?" asked Lucy.

Bridget looked at her nanny.

"Apple juice pwease," said Bridget.

"Pee juice," said Evan causing Spencer to groan.

xxxxxxxxx

Later on that night, Spencer and Clarissa just settled Ariel and Caden into their bassinets when Spencer scooted towards his wife and wrapped an arm around his wife.

"Even though you opened up about Haley today, how are you doing?" asked Spencer softly.

Clarissa sighed.

"Even though the kids have been keeping us busy, I'm really going to miss her because she treated me like another little sister and was there for me when my mom died," said Clarissa softly.

"I know, but aside from Aaron, Jessica, Roy, and Amelia you'll also be part of making sure that Jack knows who his mother is as he grows up," said Spencer.

Clarissa looked into her husband's brown eyes.

"Even though my own father died when I was three, mom and Aaron made sure to show me pictures of him while they told me about how I had my father wrapped around my little finger and how he called me his little princess until the heart attack he had while battling lung cancer killed him," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"Even though my own parents died when I was four, I'm grateful that I have photos, journals, and home movies to help me know who my parents are," said Spencer as he thought about the pictures and home movies that he has of his parents.

Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Even though we're going to take Diana, Bridget, and Evan to Florida in August, can the two of us go on an overseas vacation sometime?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer smiled as he thought about the surprise that he already arranged for his wife that he'll be telling her on Christmas Day.

"We'll see," said Spencer as he kissed his wife, "Let's get some sleep because Ariel and Caden will be waking us up soon," said Spencer softly.

"I love you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I love you too, Clara," said Spencer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Who loves the idea of Spencer and Clarissa setting up Stephan Gideon and Maeve Donovan together? What can Spencer be up to? Please take a guess about what country Spencer might be taking his wife to.


	95. Slave of Duty Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay for this chapter because this wasn't an easy chapter to write because me killing off Haley prior to this version of A Slave of Duty.
> 
> I know that Morgan said "It's Thursday" in A Slave of Duty, but I decided that this chapter starts on December 9th of 2009 instead of December 10th of 2009 because of Spencer, Clarissa, and the Reid children celebrating Hanukkah for the first time in this chapter and I wanted Spencer home for the start of Hanukkah.

Spencer looked at Clarissa as he allowed his wife to tie his black tie and straightened it.

"Even though you gave birth to Ariel and Caden 11 days ago, are you sure that you're up to attend Haley's funeral?" asked Spencer as he took in the sight of his wife wearing a simple knee-length black dress that barely showed any cleavage, black nylons, black flats, and the same black pillbox hat that Clarissa wore when she showed up at his aunt's and uncle's funeral to support him.

"Haley was my sister-in-law from when I was seven until we were 25, so there's no way that I'm not going to not show up at Haley's funeral because Aaron needs me today," said Clarissa.

"Should we bring Ariel and Caden with us?" asked Spencer.

Clarissa shook her head.

"Dr. Larson told me that because of the H1N1 epidemic, we should leave Ariel and Caden at home and they will be fine without me for a couple of hours and we both know that I pumped enough bottles to feed Ariel and Caden until we get home," said Clarissa just as a knock sounded on their bedroom door, "Come on in, Diana," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Diana who was wearing the new black dress that she picked out when her dad took her shopping for a black dress to wear at the funeral while she held her black tights and black converse sneakers in her hands.

"Do you need help putting on your tights and tying your shoes?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded.

"Yes please, and I'm hoping that you can braid my hair for me, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer smiled.

"I can, so can you please go grab your hairbrush, the spray bottle, and some hair ties before I help you put on your tights and shoes?" asked Spencer.

"I can," said Diana as she exited the bedroom.

Two minutes later Spencer was sitting down in a chair as he helped Diana put on her tights and French braided her hair into two french braids before tying the two french braids together with a black ribbon before he looked at Diana.

"Why don't I use this time to teach you how to tie your shoes?" asked Spencer.

"Please, daddy," said Diana.

Clarissa smiled at her husband.

"I'm going to go give Ariel and Caden one last feeding before we leave to head to the church," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer was showing Diana how to tie one of her converse sneakers before Diana successfully tied her second shoe successfully.

"Great job, bumble bee," said Spencer as he gave Diana a high five.

"Thank you, daddy," said Diana.

"In a few years, you can teach Bridget and Evan how to tie their own shoes," said Spencer.

"Jack too?" asked Diana.

"Jack too," said Spencer before he stood up and looked at his oldest daughter, "Are you ready to say goodbye to your aunt Haley?" asked Spencer softly.

Diana nodded.

"I am," said Diana.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Gideon, Rossi, Morgan, Anderson, and Will LaMontagne, and one of Haley's male relatives down Haley's casket, Spencer looked at his wife as he hefted up Diana and settled the nearly six-year-old girl who already had a white rose in her hands onto his hip, "You OK?" asked Spencer softly.

Clarissa nodded as she made sure that her husband had a tight grip on Diana before she wrapped an arm around her husband and Diana.

"I'm doing OK," said Clarissa before looking at Diana, "What about you, sweet pea?" asked Clarissa.

"I'm OK, mommy," said Diana as she looked over where her cousin was holding hands with his aunt Jessica, "I hope that Jack is doing OK, daddy," said Diana softly as she watched Morgan and Garcia loop arms with each other while JJ and Will looped arms with each other.

"I hope so too, but you'll play with him during the reception dinner," said Spencer softly.

A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana were all tearing up as they listened to Hotch's eulogy about Haley.

"It's love that makes the world go 'round." And if that's true, then the world spun a little faster with Haley in it. Haley was my best friend since we were in high school. We certainly had our struggles, but if there's one thing we agreed on unconditionally, it was our love and commitment to our son Jack," said Hotch.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances with each other before Clarissa focused on listening to her brother while Spencer listened to his brother-in-law.

"Haley's love for Jack was joyous and fierce. That fierceness is why she isn't here today. A mother's love is an unrivaled force of nature," said Hotch while Spencer looked at his wife and thought about how Clarissa doted on Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden before he focused on his brother-in-law, "And we can all learn much from the way Haley lived her life. Haley's death causes each of us to stop and take stock of our lives. To measure who we are and what we've become. I don't have all those answers for myself, but I know who Haley was. She was the woman who died protecting the child we brought into this world together. And I will make sure that Jack grows up knowing who his mother was and how she loved and protected him and how much I loved her. If Haley were with us today, she would ask us not to mourn her death but to celebrate her life. She would tell us... She would tell us to love our families unconditionally…and to hold them close, because in the end, they are all that matter," choked Hotch as he turned his head and gazed at his baby sister and his youngest teammate who were both holding their oldest child together while there were tears falling down his sister's and Diana's faces while Spencer's eyes looked watery before thinking about Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden who were all left at home because of Bridget having occupational therapy, Evan having a dentist appointment, while Ariel and Caden were too young to be left outside in the December cold for nearly an hour before he focused on everyone else, "I met Haley at the tryouts of our high school's production of "The Pirates of Penzance." I found our copy of the play and was looking through it the other night, and I came upon a passage that seemed... appropriate for this moment," said Hotch as everyone started to put the white roses onto the casket, "oh, dry the glistening tear that dews that martial cheek. Thy loving children hear, in them, thy comfort seek. With sympathetic care their arms around thee creep, for, oh, they cannot bear to see their father weep," quoted Hotch as Spencer gently kissed Diana on the cheek.

"I love you, Diana," said Spencer softly.

"I love you too, daddy," whispered Diana.

A few seconds later Spencer and Clarissa were putting their two roses and four other roses that would have been from Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden before Spencer looked at Diana.

"Go ahead now, bumble bee," said Spencer.

Diana gently placed the rose on the casket.

"I love you and I'll miss you, aunt Haley," said Diana as she blew a few kisses at her former aunt's casket.

xxxxxxxxx

10 minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana were riding in a limo with Hotch, Jack, and Jessica Brooks when Clarissa looked at her oldest brother.

"You doing OK, Aaron?" asked Clarissa softly.

Hotch nodded.

"I am," said Hotch as he hugged his sister, "Even though I wasn't expecting you to come since you just gave birth to my newest niece and nephew 11 days ago, I really appreciate you for coming," said Hotch.

Clarissa hugged her oldest brother.

"Like I told Spence earlier, I was going to support you since you're my favorite big brother and you dropped everything for me when mom died," said Clarissa before sighing as she covered Diana's ears causing Hotch to cover Jack's ears, "The next time I see Sean, I have another reason to castrate Sean," said Clarissa.

Hotch shook his head as he thought about how angry Clarissa was at Sean for wanting Savannah aborted, not showing up for Bridget's and Evan's birthday parties, not visiting when Ariel and Caden were born, and now Sean not showing up for Haley's funeral.

"I'm not happy with Sean either, but I'm glad that you've always been there for me," said Hotch.

xxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer was sitting at a table with Clarissa, Diana, and Jack when Jack who was coloring in a coloring book looked at his uncle.

"When your mommy and daddy went to Heaven, was their funeral like this?" asked Jack.

Spencer nodded.

"It was, Jack," said Spencer softly as he thought back to the time he attended his parents' funeral.

Flashback to April 4th of 1986

Spencer was hiding underneath a table watching all of the professors and students his mom worked with and the lawyers and clients his father worked with just as a familiar face with blonde hair and blue eyes crawled underneath the table and settled himself next to him.

"How are you doing, Spencer?" asked Gordon as he wrapped his arms around his nephew.

Spencer looked at his uncle Gordon.

"I wish that mommy, daddy, and my sibling were here and not in two caskets," said Spencer as tears fell down his face.

Gordon reached over and removed his nephew's glasses and wiped his nephew's tears.

"I wish they were here too, Spencer," said Gordon as he hugged his nephew close to him, "Even though your mommy and daddy aren't here anymore, you'll always have your aunt Ethel and me while your parents will always be in here while they watch you grow up from Heaven," said Gordon as he rested his hand over his nephew's heart.

Spencer hugged his uncle Gordon.

"I love you, uncle Gordon," said Spencer.

Gordon hugged his nephew tightly as he thought about his little sister asking him to take care of Spencer if anything happened to her and William when he told Diana that he and Ethel couldn't have biological children.

"I love you too, Spencer," said Gordon as he gave his nephew a watery smile, "Why don't I do some magic tricks for you?" asked Gordon.

Spencer grinned as he thought about his uncle being a pro at magic tricks.

"Yes, please," said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer and Gordon crawled out from underneath the table and settled themselves on some chairs before Gordon started to do some sleight of hand tricks.

Flashback over

Clarissa looked over at her husband who had a blank look in his eyes while he did sleight of hand tricks with a quarter.

"Spence?" asked Clarissa as she rested a hand on her husband's arms.

Spencer broke out of his thoughts as he realized that he was doing some sleight of hand tricks with a quarter he had in his pocket causing him to look at his wife, oldest daughter, and nephew.

"I was thinking back to the reception I attended after my parents went to Heaven," said Spencer before looking at Jack, "I spent over half the reception hiding away from everyone underneath a table until my late uncle Gordon joined me underneath the table and convinced me to come out of hiding," said Spencer.

Jack giggled.

"You really did hide under the table?" asked Jack.

Spencer nodded.

"Yes," said Spencer.

Jack tilted his head as he thought about his uncle Spencer being sad about the anniversary of the day his aunt Ethel and uncle died on the same day his new cousins Ariel and Caden were born.

"Did you hide at your auntie's and uncle's funeral?" asked Jack.

Spencer chuckled as he shook his head before looking into his four-year-old nephew's eyes.

"I did not hide underneath a table at all that day because your aunt Clarissa was by my side," said Spencer.

"Were you two dating when your auntie and uncle went to Heaven?" asked Jack.

Spencer shook his head.

"I met your aunt two days after my aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon went to Heaven and your mother chose to come to the funeral to support me as a friend," said Spencer.

Diana grinned at her cousin.

"My daddy didn't ask my mommy to be his girlfriend until they knew each other for 15 days on my mommy's birthday," said Diana.

Jack sighed.

"I wish that mommy was here," said Jack.

Clarissa sighed as she gently hugged her nephew.

"I do too, Jack, but you have your grandma Amelia, aunt Jessica, and me," said Clarissa as she kissed her nephew's forehead, "Even though I have Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden; I'll always consider you one of my children because I fell in love with you when your mommy and daddy told me that my wish of becoming an aunt finally came true," said Clarissa.

Jack smiled a bit at his aunt Clarissa.

"Can I please tell you a secret?" asked Jack.

"Go ahead," said Clarissa.

Jack leaned towards his aunt Clarissa's ear.

"I like you better than aunt Jessica," said Jack before looking at his uncle Spencer, "Can I please tell you a secret too?" asked Jack.

Spencer nodded as he pulled Jack onto his lap so the four-year-old boy could whisper into his ear.

"I like you better than uncle Sean," said Jack.

Spencer grinned as he hugged his nephew.

"And you are my most favorite nephew," said Spencer as he tickled the four-year-old boy in the tummy causing the four-year-old boy to squeal with laughter.

"I am your only nephew, uncle Spence," giggled Jack.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A half-hour later Diana finished drawing the picture she was working on and held it up for her daddy to see.

"Look at the picture I colored for you, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer smiled at the picture of him, Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden together.

"That's a lovely picture and I'll display it on my desk along with the picture of us taken at the hospital," said Spencer.

"Thank you, daddy," said Diana just as Spencer's phone went off causing the 28-year-old genius to look at his work phone.

Clarissa noticed something in her husband's eyes causing her to look at her husband as she watched her husband slowly stand up with the aid of his cane.

"Everything OK, Spence?" asked Clarissa.

"I have to leave for Nashville now," said Spencer.

Diana quickly got out of her chair and placed her hands on her hips as she looked at her father.

"Do you have to go in now, daddy?" asked Diana.

Spencer nodded.

"Even though Ariel and Caden are 11-days-old, I have to go in because of your uncle Aaron being on leave right now and if my phone rings that mean that there are no other teams available right now. So please be a good girl for mommy, Lucy, and Anthony since Santa is watching you," said Spencer firmly.

"I'll be a good helper for mommy, Lucy, and Anthony for you, daddy," said Diana as she hugged her father while being careful to knock down her father, "I love you, daddy," said Diana.

Spencer hugged Diana with his free arm.

"I love you too, bumble bee," said Spencer as he carefully leaned forward and kissed Diana's forehead, "Have fun at school tomorrow," said Spencer.

"I will daddy," said Diana.

Jack hugged his favorite uncle.

"Please stay safe, uncle Spence," said Jack.

Spencer hugged his favorite nephew tightly as he thought about hating the fact of his nephew having to deal with losing a parent at the same age he first became an orphan.

"I'll be safe, Jack-attack," said Spencer as he leaned forward and gave his favorite nephew a kiss.

As soon as Diana and Jack when back to their coloring, Clarissa gently hugged her husband.

"We'll be fine, Spence," said Clarissa as she pecked her husband on the lips, "I love you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I love you too, Clara. Please give Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden a kiss from me," said Spencer.

"I will," said Clarissa as she kissed her husband again causing Diana and Jack to giggle.

"Ewww," giggled Diana and Jack.

A few minutes later, Spencer approached his brother-in-law.

"I have to get going so I can head to Tennessee, but I hope you know that Clarissa's there for you while you figure out your future," said Spencer.

"I know, and I will help Clarissa, Lucy, and Anthony out with the kids since we're now living next door to each other," said Hotch as he thought about how the team and a few other agents helped him, Emily, and Jack moved into the house next door to his sister's and Spencer's house the day before.

"Thank you," said Spencer.

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Over two hours later Spencer was sitting next to his soon to be sister-in-law Emily as they flew to Nashville, Tennessee.

"Two women dead in two weeks, both killed in their own homes, and no sign of forced entry. Floors were covered in rose petals," said JJ.

"Quite the romantic. Evidence of sexual assault?" asked Rossi.

JJ shook her head.

"None. Both women were last seen leaving their offices on a Friday and never showed up to work on a Monday," said JJ.

"It's Wednesday. Why are we only being called in now?" asked Morgan.

"The second body was only found yesterday," said JJ.

Spencer looked up from the file he was reading as he looked at his teammates.

"There may be a socioeconomic pattern emerging. The first victim, Bethany Heminger, lived in Belle Meade, Melissa Johnson in Brentwood. Both are affluent neighborhoods," said Spencer.

"Yet there was nothing missing from either home," said Rossi.

"What did these women do for a living?" asked Morgan.

JJ looked at the file in front of her.

"Bethany was a defense attorney, Melissa a corporate executive," said JJ.

"Two brunettes with similar features in high-powered professions? That's not a coincidence," said Emily.

"These women most likely represent someone he knows," said Rossi.

"All right, so we need to figure out where this unsub is meeting his victims and how he's gaining access to their homes. And if he's staying on the pattern, most likely this guy has picked out his next target," said Morgan.

"We should check gardeners, housekeeping staff, pool attendants, floral shops, see if anyone worked both homes," said Rossi.

"Start working up a paper trail, Garcia. Find out where these women were in the days leading up to each murder," instructed Morgan.

"Like a genie in a bottle—poof!" said Garcia before signing off.

Morgan looked at his teammates.

"All right. Prentiss, you and I are gonna go check out the Johnson crime scene. Rossi, you and Reid talk to the coroner, start working up victimology. JJ, talk to the families and staff and find a connection we can use," said Morgan before thinking about Hotch being Spencer's brother-in-law and Emily's fiance and how both Spencer and Emily were required to work, "I understand that all of our thoughts are with Hotch. But right now, I need us all to focus on this case. We have less than two days before this unsub will strike again. Let's finish this thing fast," said Morgan.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"How are Clarissa and Diana dealing with everything?" asked JJ.

"Diana is talking about good memories with Haley while Clarissa is telling me about all her moments with Haley while the kids are keeping her busy," said Spencer.

"Now how are you doing?" asked JJ.

Spencer sighed.

"If it was Clarissa who died instead of Haley, I don't think that I would survive her death because she's been there for me ever since my aunt and uncle died while the kids and physical therapy have been keeping me busy," said Spencer.

"How did your wedding anniversary go?" asked Morgan.

Spencer smiled a bit.

"Diana, Bridget, Evan, Lucy, and Anthony surprised Clarissa and me with a romantic Italian dinner while Diana learned how to play "Can't Help Falling in Love" on her violin for Clarissa and me," said Spencer.

"That's so sweet of Diana," said JJ.

"Have you and Clarissa ever talked about renewing your vows?" asked Rossi.

Spencer nodded.

"We're planning on renewing our wedding vows on our 10-year wedding anniversary at the synagogue that Clarissa, the kids, and I joined with my grandparents," said Spencer.

"Speaking of your grandparents, are you looking forward to celebrating the first night of Hanukkah on Friday?" asked Rossi.

Spencer nodded.

"I am, and I hope that I'm home in time for Shabbat and the first night of Hanukkah since my grandfather is hoping to have me light the first candle," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer and Rossi were looking at one of the bodies while the coroner pulled out the second body.

"Defensive wounds on both women. More so on the latest victim," said the coroner as he pointed at the second victim.

"She fought back the hardest," said Rossi.

"No ligature marks. They weren't bound," said Spencer as he walked to the first body.

Rossi looked at Spencer and thought about how much Spencer's walking has been improving since Ariel's and Caden's births 11-days prior.

"So how does he keep them from running out?" asked Rossi.

"Maybe he blocked the escape route, or maybe the threat of a knife was enough," said Spencer.

"I might be able to answer that. The stab wounds weren't the only injuries," said the coroner as he accepted a clipboard from his assistant.

"What do you mean?" asked Spencer.

"Melissa Johnson had a concussion. Bethany Heminger, a broken rib," said the coroner.

"An initial assault to prove his dominance, make sure they're too scared to try and escape," said Rossi while Spencer nodded in agreement.

"Something else you should see," said the coroner as he placed the clipboard in Spencer's left hand.

Spencer quickly read the contents.

"Both their stomach contents were the same. Chicken, broccoli, pasta, salad, and red wine," said Spencer.

Rossi realized what was going on.

"He's playing out a fantasy. One he has to control. He sets the scene with flower petals and wine And then he cooks for them," said Rossi.

Spencer looked at Rossi.

"Their last supper," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer followed Rossi on his cane as they approached the room where JJ was working in.

"Find anything?" asked Rossi.

"Several people had access to each home. Housekeeper, gardener, pool cleaner, dog walker, each with their own key and an alibi to match," said JJ.

Spencer made his way towards the empty chair by JJ and the laptop.

"Any cross-over?" asked Rossi.

"None," said JJ while Spencer took a seat next to her, "We even vetted delivery people and utility workers," said JJ.

Spencer looked at Garcia's face on the laptop.

"Garcia, do you have anything?" asked Spencer.

"There are no hits on the prints at all, but I did what sir Derek there asked and I created a paper trail. There's no cross-over between the two victims themselves in the week leading up to their murders, but they did run in similar circles," said Garcia.

"How do you mean?" asked Rossi.

"They both have country club memberships, though to different clubs. They went to upscale restaurants, private concert venues, posh hotels. They enjoyed a high-class, highfalutin lifestyle, an expensive one," said Garcia while Morgan and Emily approached Spencer, JJ, and Rossi.

"A lifestyle he'd fit right into. This guy is educated, intelligent, proper. He's a downright gentleman," said Emily.

"The rose petals sent a pretty specific message," said Morgan while Emily sat down, "He's romancing them whether they want it or not. He's got the social skills to back it up," said Morgan.

Spencer looked at Garcia.

"Hey, Garcia, take a look at dating services and social networking sites. Look for working professionals and privileged elite," said Spencer.

"Check, check, and checkers. Back in a smidge," said Garcia as she signed off.

Morgan sighed.

"We need more," said Morgan.

Rossi looked at Morgan.

"Have we figured out how he's getting into these homes?" asked Rossi.

"No sign of forced entry anywhere. Yet he's still gaining access to their homes Long before the victims ever get home from work. I mean, this guy needs time to cook And set up his scene. He's either got a key or he can move through walls," said Morgan.

Rossi thought about the current time as he thought about Spencer also dealing with being a new father again to twins.

"We need fresh eyes," said Rossi.

Morgan looked at his teammates.

"All right, listen up. I want everybody to go back to the hotel and try to get some rest. We're gonna have to pick this up again in the morning," said Morgan.

A shocked Emily looked at Morgan.

"We're giving up?" asked Emily.

"No, we're gonna take a break. We have to give the profile at morning roll and none of us has slept since the funeral. Once Garcia can get us a paper trail, then we can expand our canvass. Till then there's really not a lot we can do," said Morgan.

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90 minutes later Spencer was in his pajamas and sitting up in bed doing his physical therapy stretches when a pajama-clad Rossi exited the bathroom.

"It must be hard for you to handle the fact that your nephew lost his mother at the same age you lost your parents and uncle Daniel," said Rossi.

Spencer nodded.

"It is, but Ariel and Caden being born on the nine-year anniversary of the day I lost my aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon have provided me some very good distractions," said Spencer.

"I figured that, and how are they doing?" asked Rossi.

"They're definitely thriving while being doted on by Diana, Bridget, and Evan," said Spencer.

Rossi smiled.

"Lucy told me about Evan checking in on you guys when Ariel and Caden wake you and Clarissa up while Bridget sings her new siblings to sleep," said Rossi.

Spencer smiled.

"I do have amazing children," said Spencer.

"Who will grow up to be amazing like their parents and uncle Aaron," said Rossi before tilting his head, "How much do you pay my cousin to be the nanny for your children, cook, and housekeeper?" asked Rossi.

"Clarissa and I pay her $2,500 a month, and we don't charge her any rent or make her pay the utility bill," said Spencer.

"Would you and Clarissa mind if I start paying Lucy and Anthony to take care of your children, household chores, and cooking?" asked Rossi.

"Clarissa and I aren't hurting on money," said Spencer.

"I know, but because of having so much money that I rarely use, I want to save you and Clarissa $2,500 a month by paying Lucy myself while I want to contribute $5,000 a month to the trust funds you and Clarissa have for the kids," said Rossi.

Spencer stared at Rossi in shock before tilting his head.

"I take it that you're not going to take a no for the answer for the trust funds for the kids since you already started one yourself," said Spencer.

"You really are a genius because I have already started trust funds for your kids, Jack, Henry, Hank, and Barbara,and each child and any other children you guys have will each get $500,000 from me for college," said Rossi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm leaving this chapter here, and part two of Slave of Duty will be up within the next couple of days.


	96. Slave of Duty Part Two & Clarissa's Offer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's part two of Slave of Duty with a twist that everyone might approve even though I made some changes to the show. Only a few more chapters until I start the sequel The Profiler and the Nurse: Book Three since I still have a lot more to write for this universe because of having it that Spencer is still in the B.A.U. after the season 14 finale.
> 
> This chapter starts a few hours after chapter 95.

Spencer woke up to his personal cell phone ringing causing the 28-year-old genius to reach over for the lamp on the nearby nightstand and turn it on before slipping his glasses before he saw that it was Clarissa calling him as he answered his phone.

"Even though it's in the middle of the night, is everything OK?" asked Spencer just as he heard a baby crying in the background, "Is that Ariel crying in the background?" asked Spencer as he glanced towards Rossi's bed and saw that Rossi was still asleep.

"Yes. She's not hungry, she has a clean diaper, I tried playing the recordings you made of your voice, and put on one of your dress shirts and nothing will get her to stop crying," said Clarissa tiredly.

Spencer quickly thought of an idea.

"Put her on speaker and I'll sing for her," said Spencer quietly.

"OK," said Clarissa as she put her phone on speaker, "You're now on speaker, Spence," said Clarissa.

A few seconds later Spencer started to quietly sing Tim McGraw's song "Last Dollar" and when he was finished, Clarissa spoke up.

"I guess that Ariel just wanted to hear her daddy sing her to sleep because she's finally asleep, so thank you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"Your welcome, Clara," said Spencer as he yawned.

"I'll get going so we both can get some sleep. I love you, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I love you too, Clara," said Spencer softly before hanging up.

As soon as Spencer placed his phone back on the nightstand, Rossi opened his eyes.

"Ariel having trouble adjusting to her first night without you home?" asked Rossi.

"You heard me sing to her?" asked Spencer.

Rossi nodded.

"I did, and I think that you picked a good song to be Ariel's song," said Rossi.

Spencer smiled.

"Clarissa said the same thing," said Spencer before yawning, "We might as well get some more sleep because we never know if we'll be in our own beds tomorrow night causing me to be on baby duty," said Spencer as he removed his glasses and set them on the nightstand before he turned off the lamp.

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Five hours later Spencer's face broke out into a smile as he saw Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden's faces on his laptop.

"Hi daddy," said Diana.

"Hi daddy," said Bridget.

"Hi Dada," said Evan.

Ariel and Caden both blinked as they cooed at their father.

"Are you looking forward to going back to school today, Diana?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as her side braids bounced.

"I'm leaving for school with Mrs. O' Conner and Aria in about 15 minutes," said Diana.

Spencer nodded.

"And the school's guidance counselor will be talking to you today too," said Spencer.

"I understand that you and mommy want me to talk to a child psychologist for a bit longer," said Diana.

Spencer looked at Bridget.

"So what are you going to be doing today?" asked Spencer.

"Help mommy, Lucy, and Tony with Evan, Ariel, and Caden," said Bridget.

Spencer smiled proudly.

"Knowing Santa, he'll make sure to get you a lot of fun toys for Christmas," said Spencer.

"Good," said Bridget.

Spencer looked at his 17-month-old son.

"Are you going to be mommy's little helper today too?" asked Spencer.

Evan nodded as his curly brown hair bounced.

"Yes, Dada," said Evan just as Ariel and Caden started to cry.

"We have to get going so I can feed the twins while you go eat breakfast," said Clarissa.

After Spencer exchanged 'I love yous' to Clarissa and the kids, Spencer headed down to the hotel lobby for breakfast.

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A few hours later at Washington International School, Diana was sitting on a bench during recess when her friends Aria, Hannah, and Allison came over to her and sat down.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Diana," said Hannah.

"I'm also sorry for your loss," said Allison.

"Thank you," said Diana.

"I lost my great-grandma while you were gone, so I know what it's like to lose a loved one," said Hannah.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Hannah," said Diana.

"Is it true that your new baby brother and baby sister arrived a few days after Thanksgiving?" asked Allison.

Diana nodded as she smiled.

"Ariel and Caden arrived and Caden looks like mommy while Ariel looks like daddy while having my late grandma Diana's blonde hair," said Diana.

"I hope to meet them soon," said Allison.

"Me too," said Hannah.

Aria grinned.

"I already met them because of my mommy and I visiting Nurse Reid in the hospital and when mommy and I went over to Diana's house to help take care of Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden while Dr. Reid and Nurse Reid took a nap, and they're beautiful," said Aria.

Diana looked at Hannah.

"Are you excited about Hanukkah on Friday?" asked Diana.

Hannah nodded as her curly blonde hair bounced underneath its winter hat.

"Skylar and I are both excited," said Hannah.

"I hope that daddy is home for the first night of Hanukkah tomorrow," said Diana.

Hannah smiled.

"With your daddy being a genius like you, he'll make sure to solve the case so he's home tomorrow evening," said Hannah.

"My mommy told me about how your daddy was at solving cases when she worked with your daddy for a few months, so he'll be home tomorrow," said Alison.

"I've known your daddy my entire life, so he'll be home tomorrow, Diana," said Aria.

Diana smiled at her friends Aria, Hannah, and Allison.

"I'm glad that I have friends like you three," said Diana as she pulled her friends into a group hug.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting on the edge of a desk with his hands on the handle of his cane while Rossi looked at all of the officers in the room.

"We believe our unsub is already with his next victim. If he matches the pattern, she'll be a successful woman, probably brunette, early 30s to mid-40s. She'll be at home in Nashville's upper echelon," started Rossi.

"This means that he fits in. He drives the right car, he wears the right clothes, he's highly intelligent. He probably comes from a place of status," said Spencer.

"This guy's sociable, and he's endearing. You would never suspect that this man is capable of murder. But he will do whatever it takes to protect the fantasy that he's trying to relive," said Morgan.

"It's this fantasy which fuels his drive. He's recreating a romantic evening And repeating it with each of his victims," said Rossi.

"He most likely recently had a relationship taken away from him. So look at men who have lost loved ones or have gone through a messy divorce," said Morgan.

"But like Bundy, these women are representations of that first loss. Bundy picked victims who had similar features to the woman that abandoned him, and we believe that our unsub is doing the exact same thing," said Spencer.

"These women were confident, successful, and strong, and they fought back. Which means he has the ability to overpower them fairly easily," said Emily.

"He believes or fantasizes he's in a relationship with these women. No matter how fleeting the initial interaction is, it's everything to him. An invitation," said Rossi.

"Our technical analyst has compiled a list of locations that the victims visited prior to their death. These are high-class establishments. We're going to want to visit the same places," said Spencer.

"So, look for men who fit the profile, but also women who match victimology. If somebody's been paying a little too much attention to them, talk to them. Get a read, then jot their name down so that we can check them out," said Morgan.

"All right, folks, pick up your canvassing assignments and get to work," said Detective Kaminski.

"Thank you," said Morgan.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer got out of the back seat of an SUV as he, JJ, Morgan, Emily, Rossi, and Detective Kaminski headed towards the latest victim's house.

"House belongs to an Erika Silverman, project director in an international design firm. We're assuming the male victim is her boyfriend Grant Franklin," said Detective Kaminski.

Spencer furrowed his eyebrows.

"Male victim?" asked Spencer

"Mm-hmm. they're both pretty beat up. We'll need dental records for a positive ID," said Detective Kaminski.

"Who called it in?" asked Emily.

"UPS guy. Needed her to sign for a package, the door was wide open. We got him out back," said Detective Kaminski.

Morgan looked at JJ.

"JJ, talk to him," said Morgan.

JJ nodded as she walked away while Rossi looked at Detective Kaminski.

"Where's Erika Silverman's body?" asked Rossi.

Detective Kaminski pointed up the stairs.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few minutes later Spencer stood in Erika's kitchen with his cane supporting him while Morgan looked at the dishes.

"The dinner dishes are washed, but the breakfast plates aren't," said Morgan.

Spencer nodded as he thought about how Lucy always gets dishes done after breakfast.

"He didn't clean up this time," said Spencer.

"The boyfriend must have surprised him and disrupted his routine," said Morgan as he started walking in a speed that's easy for Spencer to walk.

Spencer walked in step with Morgan.

"I don't know, I'd say he came pretty close to finishing it. It looks like they watched a movie, had an early breakfast. She was with him all night," said Spencer as he started to head to the garage causing him to pass JJ who was talking to Garcia on the phone.

"Great. what is it?" asked JJ as she watched Spencer use the wall to help himself go down the few stairs before passing her.

A minute later Spencer was in the garage grabbing a napkin from his suit jacket when JJ joined him.

"Hey. so, Garcia couldn't find anything about Erika Silverman's whereabouts over the past week. No stores, no restaurants, nothing," said JJ.

Spencer braced himself with his cane as he used the napkin to prevent himself from getting his fingerprints on the car as he opened the driver seat door.

"There may actually be another way to figure out where she's been. Do we know where any of the victims' cars are?" asked Spencer as he eased himself into the driver's seat of Erika's car.

"As far as I know, they're in impound," said JJ.

"We need access to all four of them," said Spencer as he looked around the inside of Erika's car.

"Four?" asked JJ.

"We should also get Grant Franklin's car. He may have driven Erika somewhere where she met the unsub," said Spencer as he started to go through Erika's GPS history.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Over an hour later, Spencer was sitting at the conference room table while Morgan paged through a file.

"There has to be something in the victimology," said Morgan.

Emily thought about what she learned about Erika.

"If Grant Franklin hadn't come home when he did, Erika would probably still be alive. So how did the unsub miss him?" asked Emily.

JJ looked at what she had on Grant.

"It says he was out of town last week visiting family in Indianapolis," said JJ.

"Still, the violence of those kills indicates he knew both victims," said Emily.

"'Cause the longer victims are with the killer, the more desperate the attack," said Rossi as he looked at his black notebook, "The unsub stabbed Erika Silverman 17 times in the face, Grant Franklin 34 times to the face and genitals," said Rossi.

"It makes sense. The more he perfects his routine, the more invested he becomes," said Spencer.

Morgan who was still reading a file looked at the detective.

"Detective Kaminski, have your men had any luck canvassing the victims' last known whereabouts?" asked Morgan.

"None. I'm thinking of pulling them off for the night," said Detective Kaminski.

Morgan shook his head as he thought about Spencer talking about hoping to be home for the first night of Hanukkah.

"That's a mistake," said Morgan.

"Why is that? The Vic's dead. If he sticks to the pattern, we've got another week before he strikes again," said Detective Kaminski.

"Because he's never gotten this far before. He's desperate to play out his fantasy. A man like this isn't gonna stick to any timetable. He's gonna try to finish this tonight," said Rossi.

Morgan looked at JJ.

"JJ, we need you on the news. Narrow victimology. Let people know that he's out there right now," said Morgan.

JJ grabbed her phone.

"I'm on it," said JJ as she got up and walked away.

"We still don't know where he's finding his victims," said Emily.

Spencer grabbed his cane and heaved himself up.

"But we do know that Erika Silverman lived in Green Hills. That's three points and we finally have our geographical comfort zone," said Spencer as he reached a map and pointed at it, "It's a good bet the unsub lives somewhere in this area, and Erika is our key to figuring out where they met," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Hotch entered the kitchen where he saw Clarissa and Jessica making dinner together while Jack, Diana, Bridget, and Evan were sitting at the dining room table either playing with action figures or coloring causing him to look at four of his favorite children while glancing at the bassinet that contained Ariel and Caden.

"Oh, man, pancakes for dinner. Is there anything better?" asked Hotch.

"Yay!" cheered Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack.

Clarissa laughed.

"No, there's not," said Clarissa.

Hotch looked at son while Jack continued to play with his action figures with Diana.

"Hey, Jack, who are these guys?" asked Hotch.

Jack picked up one of his action figures as he looked at his father.

"This is you, and this is the bad guy," said Jack as he held up another action figure, "They're fighting," said Jack as he mimicked fighting.

Jessica looked at her nephew.

"Who wins, Jack?" asked Jessica.

"Daddy. No one beats daddy," said Jack.

Clarissa and Jessica both teared up while Diana nodded in agreement.

"No one ever beats our daddies, Jack," said Diana.

"Hey, Jack, Diana, Bridget, and Evan. Aunt Clarissa and Aunt Jessica almost got dinner ready. I forgot, what do we do before we eat?" asked Hotch.

"Wash our hands," said Diana, Bridget, and Jack in unison.

Hotch lifted his son out of the chair before he helped Bridget and Evan get out of their booster seats.

"Good job," said Hotch.

"Come on. Daddy…," said Jack as he ran off with Diana, Bridget, and Evan trailing after him.

Jessica looked at her ex-brother-in-law.

"He built those himself. I hope it's OK," said Jessica.

"Of course," said Hotch.

Clarissa looked at her oldest brother and Jessica.

"I appreciate you two coming over so Lucy and Anthony can have a date night tonight," said Clarissa.

"I wanted to spend time with my nieces and nephews," said Hotch.

Jessica nodded.

"Even though I'm not your children's' aunt, I wanted to give you some help tonight too," said Jessica before looking at Hotch, "Jack's my nephew, and you're my family. I'll be here as much as you want," said Jessica.

Clarissa nodded in agreement.

"Even though I have Diana, Bridget, and Evan while just giving birth to Ariel and Caden 12 days ago, I'll always be there for you and Jack too," said Clarissa.

Hotch sighed.

"The bureau has offered me retirement," said Hotch.

Clarissa's eyes went wide.

"What did you tell them?" asked Clarissa.

"You know, Jack needs me now more than ever. That means being here full-time. After Haley and I were apart, he didn't have very much, and that was hard, but knew that at least he had his mom and right now he really needs his dad," said Hotch.

Clarissa hugged her brother.

"Of course he does, Aaron," said Clarissa.

"We both know you and Haley didn't separate because you stopped loving each other," said Jessica.

"Your job just got in the way causing Haley to break your heart by cheating on you," said Clarissa.

"Your team needed you, and despite this offer, I doubt that's changed. Maybe you don't need to retire," said Jessica before looking at Clarissa, "Would you like to tell your brother about what we talked about?" asked Jessica.

Clarissa nodded as she thought about her brother telling her that Jack is now starting school on Monday instead of January 4th of 2010.

"Jack can stay here with the kids and me while you, Spence, and Emily travel for work since Jack will be going to Washington International School with Diana on Monday while I'll start working there as soon as Ariel and Caden turn six-weeks-old so Nurse Shelly can start preparing for her move to Okinawa," said Clarissa.

Hotch nodded as he thought about Clarissa telling him that Jack can stay in the second bed in Evan's room whenever he slept over.

"I appreciate that, but you just gave birth to Ariel and Caden 12-days-ago, Clarissa," said Hotch softly.

"I know, but I have Lucy and Anthony to help me out and watching Jack will be good practice for when I'm ready to have another baby with Spence," said Clarissa as tears started to stream down her face, "After mom died, you and Haley took me in since you refused to let me get emancipated and Haley watched out for me when you were on cases until I left for Yale where I eventually met Spence," said Clarissa as she gave her oldest brother her puppy-dog eyes, "Please... It would mean a lot to me if you'd let me help you out with Jack. For Haley," said Clarissa softly.

Jessica looked at her ex-brother-in-law.

"I already told Clarissa that I would come by in the evenings to help with cooking, bath time, and bedtime," said Jessica.

Hotch hugged his baby sister.

"You're the best little sister that I could ever ask for, Clarissa," said Hotch.

Clarissa quirked an eyebrow.

"Is that your way to tell me yes?" asked Clarissa.

"Yes," said Hotch before giving his sister a stern look, "Please don't tell Spencer about the conversation we just had," said Hotch.

"I promise," said Clarissa before she and her oldest brother went to check in on the kids.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

JJ looked at the laptop in front of her as she looked at Spencer.

"Garcia's got something," said JJ just as there was beeping causing Spencer to turn his chair to the monitor.

"I'm a real genius 'cause this is what I did I took the travel logs from the GPS systems, overlaid their routes against the geographical profile to reveal what the paper trail could not," said Garcia.

"Which was?" asked JJ.

"While Erika Silverman is the only victim who didn't visit a private club, a concert, or go to a fancy restaurant in the days leading upon her death, she did spend a couple of hours at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens on Tuesday," said Garcia.

"Garcia, did either of the other victims go to the park?" asked Spencer.

"No," answered Garcia.

"I don't know if it's relevant, then," said Spencer.

"It is when her navigation system reads in a straight line. To work, back home, to work, back home. I don't think she ever left her house. She even had her groceries delivered," said Garcia.

Spencer turned his chair around and looked at JJ.

"What was she doing on Tuesday?" asked Spencer.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"Let's find out," said JJ.

Spencer smiled a bit as he grabbed his cane.

"At least I'll get to walk around a bit," said Spencer.

"And the more walking you do will help you be one step closer to carrying two of your five children at a time," said JJ.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer slowly walked down the stairs while the manager looked at Spencer.

"As you can see, the park attracts a variety of patrons. Older couples, walkers, tour groups. We'll hold an occasional wedding or concerts on our upper lawn," said the manager.

"Did you have any events here past Tuesday?" asked Spencer.

"Tuesday," said the manager as she checked her phone, "Oh, we had a corporate fund-raiser between 4:00 and 7:00," said the manager.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"That's when Erika Sierman was here," said JJ as she looked at the stairs, "An event up here would be a hard sell for women in heels," said JJ.

"Well, most of our private events hire valets to drive the cars down to the base of the park so they don't have to hike up the hill," said the manager.

Spencer looked at JJ.

"Who has access to your keys but goes unseen?" asked Spencer quietly.

"And to your GPS," said JJ quietly.

"Dealerships program your home address into the navigation system before your car even leaves the lot," said Spencer.

JJ scoffed.

"He had turn by turn directions straight to her front door and the keys to get him inside," said JJ.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer sat next to JJ as he, JJ, and Morgan as they video chatted with Garcia.

"Culpepper Valet Company handled the fund-raiser on Tuesday, and... The same company had contracts with the hotel lounge that Bethany Heminger frequented and the country club Melissa Johnson was a member at," said Garcia.

"That's our connection," said Spencer.

Morgan looked at JJ.

"JJ, get Rossi and Prentiss to pick up the owner," said Morgan.

"Right away," said JJ as she picked up her phone and got up.

Morgan moved his chair so he could be right in front of the laptop.

"All right, baby girl, talk to me. I need employee records and a list of venues that Culpepper contracted out to this weekend," said Morgan.

"Oh, sugar, check your email. It hit your inbox 60 seconds ago," said Garcia.

"Thanks, Penelope," said Morgan as he signed off and started to open up his email.

Spencer looked at the file in front of him.

"All right, Culpepper contracted out to three venues this weekend, two today," said Spencer.

"We might be able to catch this guy in action," said Morgan.

"Unless he's already with another victim," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Spencer was sitting in the back seat of an SUV that Detective Kaminski was driving while they had the rest of the team on speaker.

"The manager said Belser picked up a shift at the Vonner Street Lounge," said Rossi.

"Yeah, we're headed there right now," said Spencer.

"OK. SWAT's gonna meet us at Belser's apartment," said Emily.

"Garcia, did you find anything else on Belser?" asked JJ.

"OK. He attended Southern Charleston Preparatory Academy on scholarship his parents died in a boating accident six years ago. Belser lost his inheritance in the stock market, and since then, he has been racking up debt faster than he can pay it off. He was engaged to society magazine editor Rose Smith until six weeks ago... When it was called off. And the chapel was already paid for," said Garcia.

"So he spent his entire savings trying to live in the world of his fiancée. She was his lifeline the society he'd grown up in," said Morgan.

"Only to have her leave him and wind up penniless," said Detective Kaminski.

"Hey, Garcia, I don't suppose Belser's car has a lo-jack system on it, does it?" asked Spencer.

Spencer heard some typing.

"No. No such luck, Boy Wonder. Need potential victims' names," said Garcia.

"OK. We'll get back to you," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spencer stood by Detective Kaminski and the valet manager at the Vonner Street Lounge when Detective Kaminski looked at Spencer.

"VIP?" asked Detective Kaminski.

"Definitely," said Spencer.

The valet manager started to type on his laptop.

"Let me check the register logs," said the manager as he showed Spencer and Detective Kaminski what he found, "This is a list of all of our customers who made charges in our VIP section tonight," said the manager.

Spencer pulled out his phone and called Garcia.

"They have their own attendant. 15 names. Only six were women," said Detective Kaminski.

"Speak Boy Wonder," said Garcia.

"Garcia, we need you," said Spencer.

"Whatcha got?" asked Garcia.

"All right, six names used credit cards at the Vonner Street Lounge in the past three hours," said Spencer as he looked at the list, "Jennifer Ketelson, Kiegan Murphy, Heather Aldridge, Meg Natraj, Ann Herron, and Katie Gotshall," read Spencer.

Spencer heard some typing.

"OK, I'm cross-referencing the geographical profile with financial records. Oh, these three look good, and one a brunette. Her name is Ann Herron. She lives at 431 Pyle Street," said Garcia.

Spencer quickly hung up and looked at JJ and Detective Kaminski.

"We got him," said Spencer.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Spencer was helping Lucy and Anthony make breakfast when Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden entered the kitchen.

"Look who's home," said Anthony.

Diana, Bridget, and Evan ran to their father and gently hugged him.

"I'm glad that you made it home in time for the first night of Hanukkah, daddy," said Diana.

"Me too, bumble bee," said Spencer as he looked at the pancake batter that he mixed, "What should I add to the pancake mix?" asked Spencer.

"Oclate chips?" asked Bridget.

Diana gave her father her puppy-dog eye look.

"Can we please have chocolate chip pancakes, daddy?" asked Diana.

"Pwetty pwease with sugar on top?" asked Bridget as she worked her eyes while pouting.

Spencer and Clarissa exchanged glances before Spencer smiled.

"We can have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast," said Spencer as he walked over to the pantry and pulled out a bag of chocolate chips and looked at Diana and Bridget, "Would you two have the honor of dumping the chocolate chips into the batter?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," cheered Diana and Bridget.

A few seconds later Spencer cut the bag of chocolate chips in half before handing Diana and Bridget half a bag and allowed the girls to dump the chocolate chips into the batter.

"These are going to turn into some mighty fine pancakes with your help girls," said Spencer as he used the electric mixer to mix up the chocolate chips and batter.

xxxxxxx

20 minutes later the Reid family, Lucy, and Anthony were sitting around the dining room table happily moaning at the pancakes that Diana and Bridget helped their father make.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that afternoon Spencer, Clarissa, Hotch, Jack, Roy, Amelia, and Jessica Brooks were sitting in the living room at the Reid family home while Emily chose to stay home and work on arranging her side of the closet.

"I decided that I'm going to return to the B.A.U.," said Hotch as he noticed the smile form on Spencer's face from the corner of his eye as he focused on his son, "and I'm wondering if you're OK with staying with your aunt Clarissa while Emily and I travel for work?" asked Hotch.

Jack grinned as he thought about learning that he'll be going to the same school as Diana and eventually Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden while Clarissa becomes a nurse at his new school before he looked at his aunt Clarissa.

"I love the idea of staying with you, Auntie Clara," said Jack before tilting his head, "Will I sleep in the second bed in Evan's room?" asked Jack.

"That's the reason why I bought a second trundle bed for Evan's room, and when Caden moves into Evan's room you'll get to choose which trundle you want to sleep in," said Clarissa.

"Cool," said Jack.

Clarissa looked at Roy and Amelia while thinking about Jessica already supporting her being the one to watch Jack instead of her.

"I hope you two aren't upset about me being the one to watch Jack when Aaron's on the road instead of Jessica," said Clarissa.

"We're OK with you being Jack's guardian because Jack will have more fun with you, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden while Aaron is on the road as long as we can come over to spend time with Jack and our new goddaughter," said Roy.

Amelia nodded.

"I just hope that you will let Jack have occasional sleepovers at Roy's and my house too," said Amelia.

Clarissa nodded.

"I can never say no about you two spending time with your grandson as long as his schoolwork isn't interfered with as he gets older," said Clarissa before looking at her watch causing Roy to look at Clarissa.

"Everything OK?" asked Roy.

"Spence's grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins, Jason, and Stephan will be arriving shortly for Shabbat and the lighting of the first Hanukkah candle," said Clarissa.

"Then we'll get going so you guys can get ready," said Roy.

Hotch looked at Roy, Amelia, and Jessica.

"Why don't you three come over to Emily's and my new house for dinner," said Hotch.

"That would be lovely," said Amelia.

xxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer and Clarissa had their arms wrapped around each other as they watched Spencer's grandfather light the first Hanukkah candle causing them to see Maeve and Stephan talking with each other quietly as they exchanged cell phones and typed in each other's numbers.

"I guess that our plans to introduce your cousin to Stephan Gideon worked since they're exchanging phone numbers," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded in agreement.

"I know," said Spencer.

Spencer smiled at his wife who was wearing the necklace that contained Diana's, Bridget's, Evan's, Ariel's, and Caden's birthstones that he gave her for the first night of Hanukkah.

"Happy Hanukkah, Clarissa," said Spencer.

Clarissa smiled at her husband.

"Happy Hanukkah, Spence," said Clarissa as she gently kissed her husband causing Diana, Abigail, and Isaac who were all sitting on the floor playing with dreidels while Bridget and Evan who were playing with blocks to look up and look at the two kissing adults.

"Ewww," giggled Diana, Bridget, Evan, Abigail, and Issac.

Spencer and Clarissa broke out of their kiss so Spencer could make his way to the couch and start peppering Diana and Bridget with kisses while Clarissa peppered Evan with kisses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Updates might be a bit sporadic for a while because my 23-year-old brother (My youngest who still lives at home with my mom, step-father, step-grandma, dogs, and me while my 24-year-old Irish twin lives with his girlfriend and my nearly eight-month-old step-niece) is having shoulder surgery tomorrow morning and I might have to help him around a bit because he had to help me a bit when I had the exploratory laparoscopic surgery in November and the open abdominal surgery 14-weeks ago.


	97. Clarissa Turns 28 & Retaliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the delay for this chapter because I wanted to finish writing Spencer's Done first while I just learned from my doctor that I'm finally healed from the open abdominal surgery that I had in February so I'm really looking forward to going to Noah's Ark in Wisconsin Dells with my friends on June 15th since I couldn't do the water park at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells last month.
> 
> This chapter starts on December 14th of 2009 and my mom and maternal grandma both told me about how much I cried every time I was due to get a new set of casts every two weeks.
> 
> Last chapter that deals with an episode until the upcoming sequel The Profiler and the Nurse: Book Three.

Spencer wrapped his arms around a crying Clarissa as they listened to Caden cry over his clubbed foot being stretched by Dr. Ramona Edwards at Children's National.

"Dr. Edwards should be done soon, love," soothed Spencer.

"I know, Spence, but I now understand the pain that other mothers go through when their baby suffers from a clubbed foot," cried Clarissa.

Dr. Edwards who had finished stretching Caden's foot and ankle looked at Spencer and Clarissa.

"Caden is lucky because he only has one clubbed foot instead of severe bilateral clubbed feet because he'll only have one foot for me to work on instead of both feet," said Dr. Edwards before looking at her nurse, "Nurse Isabel, I'm ready to put a new cast on Caden's foot," said Dr. Edwards.

A few minutes later Dr. Edwards and Nurse Isabel were putting a new white cast that reached up to the middle of Caden's thigh on Caden's clubbed foot.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

As soon as the cast was dry and Clarissa took the chance to nurse and burp her youngest son, Spencer and Clarissa were leaving Children's National with Caden.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that night Spencer woke up to Ariel crying causing him to find Clarissa's side of the bed empty as he reached over to the bassinet that was on his side of the bed and gently scooped up Ava.

"What's wrong, princess?" asked Spencer gently.

Ariel stopped crying causing Spencer to smile as he shook his head.

"You just wanted to be held by daddy, didn't you, princess?" asked Spencer gently.

Ariel cooed and gurgled at her father just as Clarissa came into the room with Caden.

"I thought that I heard Ariel crying," said Clarissa softly.

"She just wanted to be held by me," said Spencer before looking at his oldest son who was in Clarissa's arms, "Is Caden OK?" asked Spencer.

"He's still fussy after the doctor appointment he had this afternoon, so he wanted to be held by his Mama," said Clarissa as she placed a sleeping Caden into his bassinet.

Spencer looked down at Ariel and noticed that she was fast asleep causing him to put his youngest daughter back into his bassinet.

"We should probably get some more sleep because Ariel and Caden were both fed three hours ago, so they'll be hungry again soon," said Spencer as he chose to left out that he was waking up a bit earlier to surprise Clarissa with breakfast in bed for her birthday.

Clarissa nodded as she joined her husband in bed.

"I'm looking forward to having you home from December 21st to January 4th," said Clarissa.

Spencer nodded as she thought about Strauss deciding that his brother-in-law's team would get December 21st through January 4th off because of the rough couple of months they had when it came to his shooting, his brother-in-law being attacked in his own home, his nephew being put in Witness Protection, Haley dying, and it being Ariel's, Caden's, Hank's, and Barbara's first Christmas.

"Me too," said Spencer as he kissed his wife, "I love you," said Spencer softly.

"I love you too," said Clarissa softly before closing her eyes.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Clarissa woke up to being peppered with kisses by Diana, Bridget, and Evan.

"Happy birthday, mommy," said Diana as she kissed her mother on the cheek.

"Thank you, Diana," said Clarissa.

Bridget smiled at her mother.

"Happy birthday, mommy," said Bridget as she kissed her mother on the cheek.

"Thank you, Bridget," said Clarissa.

Evan smiled at his mother.

"Happy birfday, Mama," said Evan as he gave his mother a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

Clarissa smiled as she thought about how much Evan's language skills have grown since the month that her husband was forced to take off after his shooting.

"Thank you, baby boy," said Clarissa.

Evan gave his mother his 'Hotchner glare'.

"I no baby. I big boy," said Evan firmly.

Clarissa released a tear as she thought about her son now being 18-months-old.

"Sorry, big boy," said Clarissa before looking at her oldest daughter as she felt her emotions start to act up as the thought about her first baby turning six in six days, "Where's your father?" asked Clarissa.

"Dada make me yummy breakfast, Mama," said Evan as he lifted up his t-shirt that said IT'S MY MOMMY'S BIRTHDAY TODAY and rubbed his belly, "Pancakes yummy yummy in my tummy," said Evan.

"Bridget, Evan, and I already ate pancakes, scrambled eggs, and breakfast sausage for breakfast and daddy is coming up with breakfast in bed for you," said Diana just as her father slowly came into the master bedroom while carefully carrying a tray filled with pancakes, scrambled eggs, and breakfast sausage with his one free hand and made his way to Clarissa.

"Thank you for the lovely breakfast in bed," said Clarissa.

Clarissa accepted the try from her husband as Spencer leaned down and kissed her.

"Happy birthday, love," said Spencer.

Clarissa kissed her husband.

"I can't believe that it's been nine years since you first asked me to be your girlfriend today, Spence," said Clarissa.

"I can't believe it either, but I don't regret asking you out at all," said Spencer just as Ariel and Caden started to cry causing Clarissa to sigh.

"They're hungry," said Clarissa.

"How about you feed them while I feed you your breakfast," said Spencer.

"OK," said Clarissa.

A minute later Clarissa was breastfeeding Ariel and Caden while Spencer fed Clarissa her breakfast.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Later on that evening Clarissa smiled as her oldest brother pulled her into a hug as she mentally told herself that she has another reason why to castrate Sean again.

"Happy birthday, Clarissa," said Hotch.

"Thank you, Aaron," said Clarissa.

Hotch looked into his sister's blue eyes.

"I can't believe that I held you for the first time 28 years ago today, and knowing mom and dad they would be proud of the woman, wife, and mother you ended up becoming," said Hotch just as Spencer entered the living room on his cane and smiled at his nephew.

"Dinner will be done in 30 minutes, so I'm going quickly light the fifth Hanukkah candle before I do a magic show for you, Diana, Bridget, and Evan," said Spencer.

Jack grinned as he thought about his uncle Spencer being his most favorite uncle.

"OK," said Jack.

A minute later Diana was helping her father light the fifth Hanukkah candle before he put on a magic show for the kids.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

After everyone finished Clarissa's birthday cake; Spencer's, Hotch's, and Emily's phones started to ring causing Spencer, Hotch, and Emily to sigh as they saw a text message about an Amber Alert in Lockport, New York.

"We're definitely gonna have to go in now," said Hotch before looking at Spencer, "Since we're now next door neighbors, you might as well ride with Emily and me," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded while Jack looked at his father.

"Please stay safe, daddy," said Jack before looking at his daddy's fiancee, "Please stay safe, Emily," said Jack.

"I will," said Emily.

Hotch nodded while being grateful that Jack has already picked out which clothing and pajamas he wanted to stay at his aunt Clarissa's and uncle Spencer's house.

"I will, and please be a good boy for your Auntie Clarissa, Lucy, and Anthony," said Hotch firmly.

"I will, daddy," said Jack.

Clarissa looked at her oldest brother.

"Jack will be fine with us, and we'll call you guys in the morning," said Clarissa.

xxxxx

10 minutes later Spencer, Hotch, and Emily were driving to Quantico together.

xxxxxxxx

Less than 24 hours later Spencer was helping his brother-in-law and Rossi pack up their case files in Lockport, New York when Rossi looked at Hotch.

"First case back, we won, and you and Emily will be home for breakfast with Jack," said Rossi.  
Hotch sighed.

"We never figured out why Schrader killed Stacy Ryan. She had no connection to his daughter or his ex-wife," said Hotch just as a furious JJ stormed into the room.

"There's been an accident. Emily's in the hospital, Bunting's dead," said JJ.

Spencer's eyes went wide as he looked nervously at his brother-in-law who was working hard to control his emotions at the thought of his fiancee being in a car accident causing him to speak up for his brother-in-law.

"Is she all right?" asked Spencer.

"She has a concussion," said JJ.

Spencer winced as he thought about the concussion he sustained at the hands of Tobias Hankel and the concussions Emily sustained on the job.

"Is Morgan with her?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah," said JJ.

"Where's Schrader?" asked Rossi.

"Northbound in a truck," answered JJ.

Rossi furrowed his eyebrows.

"A truck?" asked Rossi.

"He has a partner," said JJ.

A shocked Rossi spoke up.

"What?" asked Rossi.

Hotch thought about what needed to be done to catch the person who gave his fiancee a concussion.

"We need roadblocks-now," ordered Hotch.

"Do we have a tag?" asked Rossi.

JJ passed a piece of paper to Rossi.

"Uh, Emily murmured a partial," said JJ.

"Better than nothing," said Rossi before he walked away.

"He could be headed to Canada. We need somebody who knows the area," said Hotch.

"I'll get an officer," said JJ before she walked away.

"And JJ-," called out Hotch.

JJ turned around as she walked backward as she noticed the fury showing in Hotch's eyes.

"Yeah, you want Schrader's face everywhere," said JJ before she walked away.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Schrader was a bank robber. Now he's murdered a woman, kidnapped his daughter, and killed a cop," said Hotch angrily.

Spencer nodded.

"He's obviously more sophisticated than we originally thought," said Spencer.

"He's got a bigger plan. It's not just about getting his daughter and fleeing the country," said Hotch.

"We never profiled that he'd have a partner," said Spencer.

"We don't know this guy at all," said Hotch as both he and Spencer turned their heads to look at a photo of Dale Schrader before Spencer looked at his brother-in-law.

"Are you going to be OK?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," said Hotch.

xxxxx

Spencer leaned on his cane as he drew a circle over Schrader's name on the whiteboard before he turned around and looked at his brother-in-law.

"All right, so Schrader pulled a series of bank heists in the 1990s," said Spencer as he started to pace around a bit with the aid of his cane to keep his knee from getting stiff, "He was the only one to ever go away for the crimes. He was a model prisoner, only served 11 of his 15 years, was released early on good behavior, and any friends he had are either dead or still in prison," said Spencer as Rossi them.

"A three-ton truck was found north of the accident, not too far from Canada," said Rossi.

Spencer made eye contact with Rossi.

"We have the heaviest presence at border crossings. He probably knows that," said Spencer.

"I don't think he's gonna sit still for long," said Rossi.

"He might have to, depending on how injured he is," said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Hotch.

"What do we know?" asked Rossi.

"Dale Schrader went to prison for robbery. He was hands off. All of his crimes were impersonal. Two days after he's released, he kills Stacy Ryan and he kidnaps his daughter. It's both personal and emotional," said Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"When he's not attached to the crime, he pulls it off, but the minute he's invested, like with his daughter, He lets his guard down and gets caught. It makes sense," said Spencer.

"So he's not the hard-ass we thought he was," said Rossi.

"But if Jenny were what he wanted, he had her. He could have left," said Hotch.

"Yeah, we thought he took her and ran to Canada, right?" asked Spencer just as JJ started coming

towards them.

"That theory made sense. Why didn't he?" asked Rossi just as JJ handed him pictures.

"Pictures from the accident," said JJ.

Spencer, Hotch, and Rossi started to look at the pictures while Hotch thought about his fiancee.

"Any word on Emily?" asked Hotch.

"Apparently she's arguing with the doctors," said JJ.

Hotch's lips twitched up a bit as he thought about how his baby sister, his brother-in-law, and Emily were some of the most stubborn people he knows.

"That's good," said Hotch.

Spencer glanced at the pictures that Rossi was looking at.

"This took a lot to pull off. What if he's got a group of guys to call on?" asked Rossi.

Spencer nodded.

"I agree. All those bank jobs were a solo," said Spencer as he looked at another picture, "but this is a lot for one man to orchestrate," said Spencer.

"Figured out why he killed Stacy Ryan?" asked JJ.

Hotch started to dial Garcia's number on the land-line.

"We haven't found any connection to Schrader, but he may be connected to the partner," said Spencer.

"How?" asked JJ.

"Killing her might have been advance payment for breaking him out of custody," said Spencer.

At that moment Hotch had Garcia on the phone.

"Garcia, I need everything you've got on Stacy Ryan," said Hotch.

After searching for a minute, Garcia spoke up.

"Stacy Ryan had two times in her life- When she was high and when she was waiting to get high. The only thread I have between them is that her brother spent time with Schrader upstate like... five years ago," said Garcia.

"Why would Schrader kill a junkie?" asked Hotch.

"It doesn't make sense," said Rossi.

"Where's the brother now?" asked Hotch.

Garcia did some typing.

"Dead," answered Garcia.

"It doesn't feel like Schrader does anything randomly. Stacy must have meant something to him," said Hotch.

"Yeah, but... What?" asked Garcia.

xxxxxxxx

JJ entered the conference room.

"Schrader's face is all over the news," said JJ.

"He's been on the run for almost two hours and we're no closer to catching him.

"We need to find the partner," said Spencer just as he saw Morgan and Emily enter the room, "Hey," said Spencer.

"Hey," said Emily.

Spencer stood up with the aid of his cane.

"How are you?" asked JJ.

"I feel like I got hit by a truck," deadpanned Emily.

JJ pulled out a chair for Emily as she thought about all the chairs she pulled out for Spencer the past couple of months.

"Here, sit," said JJ.

Emily slowly sat down.

"Thanks," said Emily as she continued her phone call with Garcia, "Uh, Garcia, tell everyone what you just told me," said Emily as she took her phone off speaker.

"I have unearthed more of Schrader's past. Now, what we do know is that he robbed 15 banks in the state of New York in the nineties. However, what your resident glamour-puss smarty-pants just found out was that most of that money was never recovered," said Garcia.

"Where is it?" asked Spencer.

"My best guess- only he knows," said Garcia.

"Good reason to stick around Lockport," said Rossi.

"The last robbery, the one that put him away, should have been routine, right? So what happened?" asked JJ.

"Maybe someone turned him in," said Morgan.

Garcia who was looking at the information she had spoke up.

"He kept to himself, always worked alone. Who'd turn him in?" asked Garcia.

"We're missing somebody," said Rossi.

"Garcia," said Hotch.

"Yes, checking, sir," said Garcia.

A minute later Garcia spoke up.

"Records leading up to Schrader's arrest show this other bank robber named Dan Otey. And he was looking at copious amounts of time, then he strikes a deal and all of a sudden Schrader is arrested," said Garcia.

"It can't be a coincidence," said Rossi.

Spencer thought about what he learned from his uncle Gordon.

"You know, it's not uncommon for criminals to buy jobs off one another. Maybe that's what Schrader did, but Dan Otey sold him out for a lesser sentence," said Spencer.

"It doesn't make sense. Otey was a rat and now he's the partner?" asked JJ.

"Yeah, you're right. Schrader wouldn't trust him. If anything, he'd want him dead," said Spencer.

"Probably, but he'd use him first. He'd tell Otey that he owes him one and that he might save his life if he helps him get out of this jam," said Morgan.

"Where's he now, Garcia?" asked Hotch.

Garcia did some typing.

"Uh, Dan Otey is a local. He lives off of Route 7," said Garcia.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Hotch looked at the board.

"Schrader gets off on power. That and money are what motivate him," said Hotch.

"And revenge. 11 years away, he comes out a murderer," said Morgan.

"Who needs a partner, somebody as bold as him," said Rossi.

"And where did they meet?" asked Spencer.

"Schrader was away and patient. The minute he got out, he hooked up with his partner first, and then he killed Stacy Ryan on his way to kidnap his daughter," said Hotch.

"What's missing from his day?" asked Morgan

"The money," said Rossi.

"He took his daughter but left the money. That doesn't make any sense," said Morgan.

"Did he have another plan on how to support himself in Canada?" asked Hotch.

"He's only known a life of crime. He's incapable of change. Time away proved that," said Rossi.

Emily thought about what she learned from Otey's wife.

"Well, Otey's wife said that the partner locked them away, like he didn't want them to get hurt," said Emily.

"He was protective. That's weird, right?" asked JJ.

"They're both dominant personalities, but they sound like they played good cop/bad cop," said Morgan.

Emily looked at Morgan.

"Well, it's been four hours since the accident. You still think I'm in shock?" asked Emily.

"There's one way to find out," said Morgan as he stood up as he and Emily walked away.

xxxxxxxx

Spencer followed JJ as they walked towards Hotch, Emily, Morgan, and Rossi.

"Anything on Schrader's case?" asked JJ.

"The usual suspects- judge, lawyers," said Rossi.

"They're all accounted for this morning," said Morgan.

Spencer who decided to give his knee a rest took a seat next to Morgan.

"If it's revenge, then it's gotta be someone who put him away," said Spencer.

"Well, it's not the officers who arrested him or the judge who sentenced him," said Hotch.

Emily who was staring at the board spoke up.

"Then who is it?" asked Emily.

Hotch looked at Garcia who was video conferencing with them.

"Garcia, I need the names of every law enforcement agents involved in the Schrader case," said Hotch.

"You know everybody," said Garcia.

"Yeah, but I want every single employee the year that he was arrested. OK, give me a minute," said Garcia.

Morgan decided to tease his wife.

"A whole minute? Come on, baby girl, what, are you losing your touch?" asked Morgan.

Garcia clucked her tongue.

"Oh, watch your pretty mouth. Personnel records come at you now," said Garcia.

A few seconds later Spencer accepted the personal records from an officer and quickly went through them causing Hotch who was grateful for his brother-in-law being able to read 20,000 words per a minute to look at his brother-in-law.

"Who's still active?" asked Hotch.

Spencer quickly made eye contact with his brother-in-law.

"Most," answered Spencer.

"Would he risk using an active officer?" asked JJ.

"Depends on how much he hates them," said Rossi before looking at Spencer, "Has anyone retired?" asked Rossi.

Spencer quickly recalled what he read.

"Yeah, two of them. Let's see-," as he looked at the two records, "Matt Massey, Jeff Messick. Both married with kids, white, in their 50s," said Spencer.

Emily looked at the man who was going to be her brother-in-law in about five months.

"Wait, can I see those pictures?" asked Emily.

Spencer passed them to Emily who looked at them.

"No," said Emily before looking at the second one, "No. Why wouldn't he go after one of the officers

who arrested him? It makes the most sense for revenge," said Emily.

Morgan who was looking at a record spoke up.

"Hey, wait a minute, guys. Listen to this," said Morgan before he started to read out loud, "There was a witness who never testified on Schrader's behalf," said Morgan as he passed the papers to Hotch.

Hotch quickly read the report.

"Schrader could see that as a betrayal. He gets out of prison and uses him to get what he wants. Garcia, I want you to run a history on a witness from the Schrader case, Joey Short," said Hotch.

Spencer fiddled with the handle of his cane.

"Joey Short. Was born in '66 in NYC. Didn't hold a lot of jobs except for construction. In and out of rehab," said Garcia.

"Where is he now?" asked

Morgan.

"His last known address was 10 years ago," answered Garcia.

"Did he do time?" asked Rossi.

Garcia did some typing.

"Mm-mmm. No," said Garcia.

Morgan sighed.

"Come on, Garcia. People don't just disappear. This guy's got a history with a lot of holes in it. He went to rehab. You know, maybe this guy had to walk the walk," said Morgan.

Hotch quickly realized why Joey Short would have disappeared.

"He was undercover," said Hotch.

Emily nodded as she thought about the times she went undercover for Interpol.

"That makes sense. Those guys are up for anything, and they take big risks, professionally and personally," said Emily.

Spencer nodded.

"It explains his behavior, too. Good guy doing bad things," said Spencer.

"Garcia, can you get us Joey Short's real name?" asked Morgan.

Garcia did some typing.

"It's not here," said Garcia.

"Well, if Schrader can find it, so can we. The guy needed to be Schrader's friend, so they're probably around the same age. Look for academy graduates in the early nineties," said Morgan.

"OK," said Garcia as she started to do typing.

Morgan who was thinking about the deep undercover work he did before joining the B.A.U. spoke up.

"Did any of them not go into police work?" asked Morgan.

"Baby, I don't follow you," sighed Garcia.

"If he went undercover, then anything tied to the academy would have to be severed. I mean, the guy graduated, he had to immediately start working his history as Joey Short. He went into construction, made his contacts in the bank robbery world, and then he met Schrader, earned Schrader's trust, and then turned him in and got out of the game," said Morgan.

"OK," said Garcia as she quickly found what everyone needed, "Here's a couple of guys look like they dropped out," said Garcia.

"You got any pictures?" asked Morgan.

"Sending them your way now," said Garcia.

At that moment the laptop beeped causing Emily to look at the picture.

"That is the guy. That picture is 10 years old, but that's him," said Emily.

Garcia quickly looked up Joe Muller.

"That is Joe Muller. He has a wife and two kids," said Garcia.

Emily looked at her teammates.

"That's definitely the guy. Where is he now?" asked Emily causing JJ to pull out her phone and search for Joe Muller.

A few minutes later JJ was finishing up a phone call.

"OK, thanks," said JJ as she hung up and looked at her teammates, "Muller's not at home. No one is.

His wife didn't show up at work, the kids weren't at school yesterday or today," said JJ.  
Rossi quickly realized what could have happened to Joe Muller's family.

"Schrader probably has them, hostage," said Rossi.

Morgan quickly thought about his and Garcia's six-month-old twins Hank and Barbara who were already crawling.

"Yeah, but where?" asked Morgan.

"What could Joe Muller do for him?" asked Emily.

"The only thing that's left. He can get him the money," said Spencer.

"Well, no one even knows where it is," said Emily.

"Schrader knows," said Spencer.

"Where do these guys hide money?" asked JJ.

Spencer looked at JJ.

"Someplace safe," said Spencer.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"Would he be bold enough to hide it a safe deposit box?" asked JJ.

"A thief using a bank? Yeah, maybe," said Spencer.

"Schrader can't walk into a bank. His face is everywhere. No one would think twice if Muller walked in," said JJ.

"He'd have to have a key," said Spencer.

"Where's the physical evidence from the Schrader case?" asked Emily.

"We don't have it," said Morgan.

"Well, if we can figure out where Schrader hid the money, we'll know where he's going," said Emily.

xxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer fiddled with the handle of his cane as he listened to Joe Muller talk as he tried to keep the thoughts about what if he was in Joe Muller's footsteps and Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, Ariel, and Caden were the ones being held, hostage.

"The only person who knew where my family was and now he's dead. I had every chance to kill him.

But I couldn't. Because he had my family. Two days. Somewhere," said Joe.

Emily held up a picture of Joe's wife and two sons.

"And this photograph is the only proof of life?" asked Emily.

Joe looked at the B.A.U. team.

"Where's my phone?" asked Joe.

Spencer quickly grabbed Joe's phone and passed it to him and a few seconds later Joe was playing a voicemail.

"Joe, honey, it's me. He got us. All of us. I don't know where we are. God, I am so sorry," cried Molly.

"Help us, daddy!" cried a boy.

"Just do what he says, OK? Please just do whatever he says," cried Molly.

"I'm gonna get Garcia to trace this," said Morgan as he picked up a phone.

"Unknown name, unknown number," said Joe.

"She might be able to help," said Morgan before he walked away.

"There was only one phone call?" asked JJ.

"I tried to get him to let me talk to them again, but he wouldn't," said Joe.

"There must not be anyone there watching them," said JJ.

"So he hid a family where no one hears them call for help," said Rossi.

"Someplace remote. That cabin?" asked Spencer.

"No. The locals tore it apart. There's no one there," said Emily.

Joe started to pace.

"Where are they?" asked Joe.

"You saw Schrader since he's had your family. You saw something or heard it. There's got to be some clue," said Hotch.

"When was the last time you saw your family?" asked Hotch.

Joe flashed back to the last time he saw his family.

"You notice any cars on the street?" asked Hotch.

"Nothing," said Joe.

"Our routine's the same every day. The kids have to be at school by 8:15, then Molly heads to work," said Joe.

"She didn't make it to either yesterday. What was her route?" asked Spencer.

"Uh, north on Route 7, east on 22," said Joe.

"Is that route isolated during the morning commute?" asked Rossi.

"No," said Joe.

"If he was watching, there's a good chance she never left the driveway," said Hotch.

"I drove out first. I just left them there," said Joe.

"Where did he find you?" asked Spencer.

"At the hardware store. He told me how for 11 years he'd been trying to figure out how he got locked up. He knew Otey had ratted him out for the robbery, but that wasn't enough to put him away. He said I was the piece that didn't fit. He figured out I was a cop," said Joe.

"And he took your family," said Hotch as he grabbed a photo, "Did you ever see this woman?" asked

Hotch as he showed Joe a picture of a woman.

"Yeah. I think she's some junkie. I saw her right after he told me…," said Joe as he repeated what Dale said and what he witnessed.

After Joe was finished, Hotch looked at him.

"You didn't know what she was talking about?" asked Hotch.

"No," said Joe.

"He could have left the body in the alley," said Hotch.

"Why didn't he?" asked Emily.

"He didn't want to draw attention to that place," said Rossi.

"Where was it?" asked Emily.

"Uh, south of Van Wick," said Joe.

Rossi noticed the look on Detective

"Bad area?" asked Rossi.

"Abandoned. Junkies took over," said Joe.

"Perfect place to leave hostages," said Spencer.

"Can you take us back there?" asked Emily.

"Wait. You think she knew about my family," said Joe.

"Her murder was the only thing that didn't fit, and now it makes sense. Schrader killed her to shut her up," said Emily as she stood up.  
Xxxxxxxx

A few hours later Spencer, Hotch, and Emily entered the Reid family home to find Clarissa sitting on the couch with Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack who were already in their pajamas while noticing that the sixth and seventh Hanukkah candles were lit causing him to smile at the idea of being home for the last night of Hanukkah.

"Hi," said Spencer.

Clarissa, Diana, Bridget, Evan, and Jack turned their heads and grinned.

"Daddy," said Diana, Bridget, and Jack.

"Dada," said Evan.

A few seconds later Diana, Bridget, and Evan were gently hugging their father while Hotch scooped up his four-year-old son and looked at his son.

"Were you a good boy for Aunt Clarissa?" asked Hotch.

Jack nodded.

"Yes, daddy. I help set the table. I ate all the food that is given to me. I help feed Merton and Daisy. Worked on my letters and reading with Diana. Help change Ariel's and Caden's diapers. Help keep Bridget and Evan busy when Auntie Clara was tending to Ariel and Caden," said Jack.

Hotch set his son down while Clarissa nodded as she got up and walked towards her big brother and husband.

"Jack was such a delight while he was here," said Clarissa.

Emily looked at her future step-son.

"Let's go grab everything you need to take home with you because it's a school night," said Emily firmly.

"OK," said Jack as he led his future step-mother upstairs.

Hotch grabbed his wallet and pulled out a $50 bill and handed it to his sister.

"Thank you so much, Clarissa," said Hotch.

Clarissa reluctantly took the money as she thought about her brother winning the argument about him paying her $50 for every case she takes it in.

"You're welcome, Aaron," said Clarissa.

Xxxxxxxx

An hour later Spencer and Clarissa were sitting up in bed while Ariel and Caden slept in their bassinets when Clarissa looked at her husband.

"Are you looking forward to seeing if you are ready to ditch that cane tomorrow?" asked Clarissa.

Spencer nodded.

"I'm looking forward to ditching my cane because I'll be able to carry two kids at a time and give piggyback rides again," said Spencer.

Clarissa smirked as she thought about giving birth 20 days ago and how they started having non-penetrative sex a week after Ariel's and Caden's births despite her husband having to be on the bottom yet.

"And I'm looking forward to you being on top of me again," said Clarissa as she started to unbutton her husband's pajama top before pulling him into a steamy kiss to start off their session of non-penetrative sex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I already started the next chapter and I'm already having fun writing the chapter because of having the Reid family deal with the December of 2009 North American Blizzard because of figuring out ways for the Reid family (Excluding three-week-old twins Ariel and Caden), Lucy, and Anthony to entertain themselves without watching TV or movies during a power outage.


End file.
